The Gaze

Modelling the Uncertainty of International Tourist Arrivals in Nepal
Him Lal Ghimire* Rajendra Man Shrestha**

Abstract Tourism is an education in sharing by different kinds of people as well as in understanding various aspects of history, art and nature which connect not only people living close to each other, but also those coming from a long way. Several researchers had used various mathematical models in tourism. As a result of time-varying effects, there have been fluctuations in international tourist arrivals in Nepal. These fluctuations in demand can have significant impacts. It is therefore very important that tourism planners and policymakers should have an understanding of volatility and models to forecast volatility of tourist arrivals which is relatively new area of studies. Generalized Autoregressive Conditionally Heteroscedastic (GARCH) Model is a non-linear model widespread used in econometrics. Monthly tourist arrivals to Nepal show very strong seasonal patterns, so it is imperative to identify and incorporate these patterns into the conditional mean. This paper aims to use GARCH model for monthly tourist arrivals in Nepal from 11 major countries. Key words: descriptive statistics, time-varying, fluctuations, volatility. Introduction Tourism is an education in sharing by different kinds of people as well as in understanding those aspects of history and art which connect not only people living close to each other, but also those coming from a long way. Tourism is a complex phenomenon which is supported by and stimulates a whole network of varied resources and skills; tends increasingly to combine local infrastructures with global demand (Galli and Guerzoni, 2002 : 3). Tourism is defined by WTO for statistical purpose with three important components: purpose of visit, origin of traveler and length of stay in the destination. On the basis of which a potential difference between visitors, tourists and excursionists also marked out. Tourists are defined as those who travel away from their usual environment for a period not exceeding one consecutive year, for specific purpose. Depending upon origin and duration of stay, the tourists first
* Mr. Ghimire is Ph.D. Research Scholar of Tribhuwan University, Nepal. him@ullens.edu.np **Mr. Shrestha is Ph.D. Scholar of Tribhuwan University, Nepal.
2 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)
categories be recognized (Weaver, 1998 : 2). People started to travel from one place to another, leaving their home area, with different motives. However, historical records show that people travel for trade and religious rites in the ancient world. They were impelled by the innate human desire to explore their surroundings, discover the unknown and seek near experiences. Other motivations like curiosity, health, sports and knowledge make them travel for pleasure to renewed places (Tewari, 1994 : 2). Tourism is also a multi-layered phenomenon which includes travel agencies, tour operators, airlines, cruise lines, car rental agencies, credit cards companies, public relation firms, tourism bureaus and the media (Shrestha, 2002; in Stephanie, 2000 : 9). Today, tourism is also the subject of great media attention and the media obviously promotes tourism. Tourism is a socio-economic phenomenon comprised of the activities and experiences of tourists and visitors away from their home environment, serviced by the travel and tourism industry and host destinations. The sum total of this activity, experience and service can be seen as the tourism product. Understanding the interrelationship between several parts of the system enables all tourism stakeholders to improve planning and management effectiveness and enhance the likelihood of success (UN, 2003 : 7). Nepal is the country of birthplace of Lord Buddha with the highest mountain in the world, the great Himalayas and many pearls of natural beauty, historical and cultural diversity, tourism has been familiar in Nepal since long. Tourism is one of the dynamic and productive business activities directed for the production and services. It is an activity generating a number of economic and social benefits to the country. It provides the goods and services for the customers (generally foreigners) which ultimately generates employment and income for the locals. With this not only the tourism stakeholders generate the earning from the operation of the business activities, but also the people related directly or indirectly with such business generate their earning. Further, tourism as an economic activity produces various direct, indirect and induced impacts in the economy. It plays an important role in the Nepalese economy, particularly in terms of foreign exchange earnings and employment opportunities. Further, the resultant income flows and circulates in the economy and boosts other economic activities ultimately inducing many rounds of income. Therefore, the role of tourism becomes distinct and significant in the economic growth and development of the country like Nepal (Ghimire, 2009 : 29; in Gautam, 2008 : 63). Review of literature Modelling the volatility of tourism demand is a relatively new area of studies. Nevertheless, there have been some attempts in this area, most notably Chan, Lim and McAleer (2005), Chan et al. (2005) and Shareef and McAleer (2005). The main utility of the multivariate volatility models used is that they explicitly take into account volatility correlation between markets. A wide range of other univariate and multivariate conditional volatility models can be used in estimation. The authors estimated three multivariate models such as Constant Conditional Correlation GARCH (CCC-GARCH) approach of Bollerslev (1990), Vector Autoregressive Moving Average GARCH (VARMA-GARCH) of Ling and McAleer (2003) and VARMA Asymmetric GARCH (VARMA-AGARCH) of Hoti et al (2002). Chan, Lim
Ghimire/Shrestha : Modelling the Uncertainty... 3
and McAleer find the presence of interdependent effects in the conditional variances between the four leading source countries, and asymmetric effects in tourist arrivals. The authors reported that their estimates are robust to the alternative specifications of the multivariate conditional variance. Chan et al. (2005) used several techniques to investigate the conditional volatility in monthly international tourist arrivals to Barbados, Cyprus and Fiji. They estimate a constant volatility linear regression model by OLS as a baseline for comparison with three time-varying conditional volatility models ARCH, GJR and EGARCH. Overall, the authors report evidence of short run persistence, and occasionally long run persistence, of shocks to international tourist arrivals. Bollerslev (1986), incorporating the concept of the ARMA (autoregressive moving average) model in the ARCH model by adding the conditional variance of the previous lags into the ARCH model, proposes the Generalized ARCH (GARCH) Model. The GARCH (p, q) model specification for the conditional variance equation is: j = 1, 2 ,., q)
t2 = 0 + i t2i + j t2 j , where 0 > 0, i 0 , j o (i = 1,2, p,
Here, t2 is the conditional variance at time t, 0 is a constant parameter, i are coefficients,

2 t2i are the ARCH terms, and t j , the last periods forecast conditional variances, are
the GARCH terms. Just like the ARCH model, all the coefficients in the RHS of the equation, namely i and j, are required to be non-negative so that the equation would not be meaningless. In the GARCH model, i + j must be less than 1 to satisfy the stationary condition. If i + j is close to 1, it means that the impact of news on volatility will last for a long time. McAleer, Chan and Marinova (2002) used monthly data on international tourist arrivals, univariate and multivariate uncertainty models are estimated for 14 tourism source countries, as well as total tourist arrivals. There was a distinct seasonal pattern in each tourist arrivals series. Although there are several alternative methods for modelling seasonality, twelve seasonal dummy variables are included for simplicity in the respective tourist arrivals models of monthly international tourist arrivals from source i = 1,,15, TAij, as follows:
TAij = ij Dijt + it where D = 1 in month j = 1,..,12, and D = 0 elsewhere. ijt ijt

j =1
12
Regarding the regularity conditions of the GARCH (1, 1) model, both the log-moment and second moment conditions were satisfied for Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. Although the log-moment condition could not be calculated for Finland, Norway and Sweden, the second moment condition was satisfied, so that the QMLE were consistent and asymptotically normal. Such results suggested that the empirical estimates were statistically valid for these tourism source countries. Overall, these univariate results suggested that, in general, the GARCH (1, 1) model provides an accurate measure of the uncertainty in international monthly tourist arrivals shocks for the 14 leading source countries, as well as total tourist arrivals, to the Canary Islands. The univariate estimates suggested that the GARCH (1, 1) conditional volatility model provides an accurate measure of uncertainty in
monthly international tourist arrivals from the 14 leading source countries, and total monthly tourist arrivals. The estimated conditional correlation coefficients indicated whether there is specialization, diversification or independence in the international tourism demand shocks to the Canary Islands. At the multivariate level, the conditional correlations in the monthly tourist arrivals shocks were generally positive, varying from small negative to large positive correlations. These estimates suggested that the shocks from alternative tourist sources were independent or specialized rather than diversified. Therefore, the Canary Islands should specialize on tourist sources that provided the largest numbers and growth in tourist arrivals rather than diversify the tourism base. Shareef and McAleer (2007) on "Modelling the uncertainty in monthly international tourist arrivals to the Maldives" estimated monthly international tourist arrivals and the associated uncertainty for the eight principal tourist source countries in the paper. Univariate and multivariate time series models of conditional volatility (or uncertainty) were estimated and tested by the researchers. The conditional correlations were estimated and examined to discover whether there is specialization, diversification or segmentation in the international tourism demand shocks from the major tourism source countries to the Maldives. The estimated static conditional correlations for monthly international tourist arrivals, as well as for the respective transformed series, were found to be significantly different from zero, but also relatively low. These estimates gave an indication of the relationship between shocks to the growth rate of monthly international tourist arrivals, as well as the direction of causality in the monthly international tourist arrivals across the eight major international tourist sources to Maldives. The research also recommended the government and major tour operators to emphasize their marketing efforts independently of each tourist source country. This paper has been very relevant to this study. The data series were analyzed in terms of the number of tourist arrivals, the corresponding logarithms (logs), annual differences, log-differences, and associated uncertainties. Monthly tourist arrivals to Maldives showed very strong seasonal patterns and were imperative to identify and incorporate these patterns into the conditional mean. The fundamental assumption was that a moving average expressed the trend and cyclical component of the times series adequately. The original monthly international tourist arrivals series (TAt) were divided by the respective moving average figure for each month (MAt), and expressed as a percentage to produce the ratio-to-moving average. These ratios were averaged over months and then isolated the seasonal and cyclical components. The researchers used following general form:
TAt = ARMA( p , q) + i Dit + i Dit t + t

i =1 i =1
12
12
Conditional Volatility = GARCH (1,1) Where TAt, is monthly tourist arrivals at time t. D it ( = 1, 2, 12 and is equal to zero elsewhere) denotes seasonal dummies; t = 1 to T, where T = 120 for all eight series. D itt is the seasonal dummy multiplied by the deterministic time trend to capture the trend effect of the seasonal dummies. Several models have been tested and fitted to determine the most appropriate ARMA process to describe monthly international tourist arrivals from the eight major tourist originating countries to Maldives. The choice of model that best explains monthly
tourists to Maldives was chosen on the basis of the statistical significance (at the 5% level) of the AR and MA coefficients, of the seasonal dummy variables, and the absence of serial correlation in the unconditional shocks. Several researchers had used various mathematical models in tourism. However, very few researchers have used it in the context of Nepal. Gautam (2008b : 65) used regression equation of economic growth model: yt = +
X
t =0 i
t i
+ t . The coefficients were
estimated by using Ordinary Lest Square (OLS) method both in levels and logarithm form. Methodology There are infinite numbers of non-linear models. However, only a small number of nonlinear models have been found to be useful for modeling tourist data. The most popular nonlinear models are the ARCH or GARCH models used for modeling and forecasting volatility which allow the behaviour of a series to follow different process at different points in time. As a result of time-varying effects, such as changes in economic fortunes abroad, natural disasters, ethnic and political conflicts, crime, terrorist incidents, and other exogenous factors, there have been periods of considerable fluctuation in international tourism demand to Nepal. These fluctuations in demand can and do have a significant impact on the solvency of hotels, airlines, travels, employment in the industry and overall economic activity. It is therefore very important that tourism planners and policymakers have an understanding of volatility and models to forecast volatility of tourist arrivals. For Nepal, it is crucial to obtain accurate estimates of the uncertainty surrounding monthly international tourist arrivals based on time series data. An attempt was made to model the uncertainty in monthly international tourist arrivals and examine the associated volatilities of monthly tourist arrivals from 11 major tourist source countries, namely with ranks India, UK, Japan, USA, Germany, France, Sri Lanka, China, Bangladesh, Netherlands and Italy for the period 19972008. The data series were analyzed in terms of the number of tourist arrivals at level, the corresponding logarithms (logs), annual differences, log-differences, and associated uncertainties. It may be argued that the preferred series to model monthly international tourism demand is one which has a distribution closest to a normal distribution. For the validity of the preferred series, the descriptive statistics were examined. Generalized Autoregressive Conditionally Heteroscedastic (GARCH) Model is a nonlinear model widespread used in econometrics. Following specification was considered:
yt = E ( yt / Ft 1 ) + t t = Dtt
Where yt = ( y1t ,......, ymt ) ' measures the tourist arrivals from the 11 leading source countries and total tourist arrivals, t = (1t ,......,mt ) ' is a sequence of independently and identically distributed (iid) random vectors that was obtained from standardizing the tourist
arrivals shocks, t , using the standardization Dt = diag ( h1t 2 ,......., hmt2 ), Ft is the past
1 1
information available to time t, m is the number of tourism source countries, including total tourist arrivals, and t = 1,, monthly observations. Engle (1982) in his model assumes that the conditional variance is a positive function of the value of the previous error terms instead of a fixed constant. In other words, the error variance depends on p lags of squared errors, and the GRCH (p, q) model is specified as follows:
t2 = 0 + i t2i , where (i = 1,2, p)

Here, is the conditional variance at time t, 0 is a constant parameter, i are coefficients, and are the GARCH terms. Since is a conditional variance, its value must always be positive. In order to ensure that the equation is meaningful, all the coefficients in the RHS of the equation, namely, i are required to be non-negative. Since the conditional variance, is affected by the past error terms, and i are always non-negative, the present volatility is positively correlated with the past error terms, which is known as volatility clustering. Since the model is no longer of the usual linear form, OLS cannot be used for GARCH model estimation. There are a variety of reasons for this, but the simplest and most fundamental is the OLS minimizes the residual sum of squares. The RSS depends only on the parameters in the conditional mean equation, and not the conditional variance, and hence RSS minimization is no longer an appropriate objective. In order to estimate models from the GARCH family, another technique known as maximum likelihood is employed. Essentially, the method works by finding the most likely values of the parameters given the actual data. More specifically, a long-likelihood function is formedand the values of the parameters that maximize it are sought. Maximum likelihood estimation can be employed to find parameter values for both linear and non-linear models. EViews 6.1 and SPSS 16.0 software were used to compute the models and analyze the data. Tourist arrivals in Nepal An attempt has been made to analyze the international tourist arrivals. UNWTO world tourism barometer shows that international tourist arrivals reached 924 million, up 16 million over 2007, representing a growth of 2% in 2008. The year 2008 has been extremely volatile world economy (financial crisis, commodity and oil price rises, sharp exchange rate fluctuations), tourism demand slowed significantly through the year. The last six months of 2008, in particular, showed an abrupt shift in trends, with international tourist arrivals flat or showing negative growth. Overall, the 5% growth between January and June gave way to a 1% decline in the second half of the year. World's first ranked country France had (9.02%) share in tourist arrival followed by Spain (6.49%). Nepal's share is very negligible with (0.06%) in world total (UNWTO, 2009 p 3; Nepal Tourism Statistics, 2008). In terms of numbers only six thousand odd tourists were in 1962 that the number rose to more than one hundred fifty thousand in Nepal by 1978. With full effort of 5 years till the
special tourism year "Visit Nepal Year (VNY) -1998", there was an increase of tourist arrivals in Nepal. However, for several reasons, Nepal is still unable to attract significant number of tourists despite its world top class tourism products. Nepal Tourism Year 2011 is also unable to bring momentum in Nepalese tourism industry. The target of getting 1 million tourists in a year is almost impossible. The unstable political situation of the country has been the main reason to have this type of uncertainty in tourism. Descriptive statistics of monthly tourist arrivals For Nepal, it is crucial to obtain accurate estimates of the uncertainty surrounding monthly international tourist arrivals based on chronological data. An attempt was made to model the uncertainty in monthly international tourist arrivals and examine the associated volatilities of monthly tourist arrivals from the 11 major tourist source countries as mentioned above. The descriptive statistics for monthly international tourist arrivals in levels is given in tables. It may be argued that the preferred series to model the monthly tourist arrivals to Nepal is one which has a distribution closer to a normal distribution. The monthly tourist arrivals series in levels depict very high coefficient of variation (CV) for the 11 tourist source countries. Among 11 countries, India has the lowest CV i.e. highest consistency towards monthly tourist arrivals pattern for Nepal. It also shows highest average monthly tourist arrivals for Nepal. Sri Lanka has the highest CV i.e. lowest consistency towards monthly tourist arrival pattern for Nepal. Among 5 Asian countries, Sri Lanka has the second position for the higher average tourist monthly arrivals for Nepal. Jarque-Bera, a test statistic of Normality, shows that all the source countries have no normality patterns as the p-values for all the cases are less than 5% level of significance although the value of skewness for Japan is very close to zero. Sri Lanka has the highest value of skewness very close to 3, higher positive skewness. Similarly, UK has the values of Kurtosis very close to 3. Although, Japan has smaller Skewness and higher Kurtosis, it shows a non-normality nature in monthly tourist arrivals. . Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Italy, China and USA have very higher degree of kurtosis. Monthly tourist arrival data should have normality for further analysis. To achieve this property, suitable transformations are to be done (see Table no 2). Unit root test Prior to estimating the conditional mean of the univaritate time series, it is required to test whether there is a presence of unit roots in the series as their presence has adverse consequence for estimation and inference. In the classical regression model, it is assumed that the variables are stationary and errors are also stationary with zero mean and constant variance. In the case where the series are non-stationary, the judgment would be otherwise and leads to a spurious regression (Granger & Newbold, 1974; Shareef & McAleer, 2007). Here, the aim is to model univariate time series data where lagged dependent variables are included to capture dynamics. Furthermore, it is also modeled the conditional variance of the data generating process. If the series are non-stationary, then the variance of the data generating process will become infinitely large and thus the statistical inferences will be affected. In this context, the Philip-Perron (1990) (PP) test for stationary with truncated lags of order 5 for
each of the eleven series in levels and the results are given in the appendix. Results of the test for the null hypothesis that monthly tourist arrivals have a unit root are given in the table (see Table no 4). The critical values for the rejection of the null hypothesis of a unit root are -3.486 and -2.886 at 1% and 5% level of significance respectively. For Bangladesh and China, the test suggests that the series in levels have unit roots at 5% level of significance. Similarly, for the same two countries, the test suggests that the series in logarithms have also unit roots at 5% level of significance. However, for the rest of countries, the series are in levels and in the transformed form are stationary. These results are not particularly surprising. Enders (2004 : 176) states that non-stationary variables may have pronounced trend or appear to meander without a long-run mean or variance. This is precisely the case for Bangladesh and China, with both having very strong linear trends. These tests have been conducted using several lags, but the results were robust to such changes. The choice of implementing the PP test over the widely used augmented DickeyFuller (ADF) test is due to mainly to the presence of GARCH errors. ADF test incorporate techniques explicitly accommodating a serial correlation structure in the errors, but not hetereoscedasticity. However, the PP test takes into account both serial correlation and hetereoscedasticity using non-parametric techniques. As argued in Phillips - Parron (1990), the PP test typically has higher power in finite samples than ADF test. Results for seasonality of the monthly tourist arrivals Monthly tourist arrivals to Nepal show very strong seasonal patterns, so it is imperative to identify and incorporate these patterns into the conditional mean. The traditional and most frequently used technique is the Ratio-to- Moving Average (Multiplicative) Method to find it. The technique is straightforward and computationally convenient. In this approach, the fundamental assumption is that a moving average expresses the trend and cyclical component of the time series adequately. The original monthly tourist arrivals (TAi) are divided by the respective moving average figure, (MAi) for each month, and expressed as a percentage to produce the Ratio-to-Moving Average. These ratios are averaged over 12 months. The ratios then isolated the combined effects of trend and cyclical variations. Regardless of whether, the monthly seasonal indices are calculated based on tourist arrivals on levels. Seasons in tourism are determined in months and the allocated index for a given month is always one. If the calculated index exceeds 1, then the monthly tourist arrivals exceed the trend and cyclical components due to underlying seasonal factors. The monthly seasonal indices estimated for the monthly tourist arrivals in levels for the 11 major source countries are given in (see Table no. 5), where the seasonal concentrations can be readily identified. As five of the eleven major tourism source countries are from Western Europe, the seasonal concentrations of monthly tourist arrivals occur during European Winter months, roughly from September to March. The peak month is October for France, Germany, Netherlands and United Kingdom and August is the peak month for Italy. However, for the same duration, most of the Asian countries have different months for the peak seasonality index. Therefore, the peak month for India has been June, that for Bangladesh has been
October; peak months for Sri Lanka have been March and August. China and Japan have peak month, November. Nevertheless, the peak month for Japan has been March too. During the same duration, the primary peak month for USA has been October. March and November have also shown the secondary peak months for USA. The lowest months for countries like France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom (Western European countries), Japan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh (Asian countries) and USA (Northern American country) have been during their summer months where they tend to choose domestic tourism to overseas travel. Only country, India has February as the lowest month. Peak seasonal months for India were May, June and July as Indian tourists feel usually very adverse and unpleasant environmental condition during those months in their country. More than 20% of tourists from Italy, Netherlands and Sri Lanka have visited Nepal on December. Sri Lanka is only the country from where the tourists have visited Nepal mostly on two months such as November and December. Sri Lanka has the least tendency (less than 0.72%) to visit Nepal on January and February. The tourists from France have more than 10% for months March, April, October and November. Germany is the only country from where more than 10% tourists have visited Nepal on March. However, about more than 8% tourists from all 11 countries have visited Nepal from September to December. Moreover, Indian tourists have shown the highest percentage (of 34.34%) to visit Nepal among all 11 countries. In ranking, the United Kingdom, USA and Japan have been almost at second position to visit Nepal. Similarly, France, Germany and Sri Lanka have about the third position for their number of tourists visiting Nepal. Results for conditional mean GARCH (1, 1) of the monthly tourist arrivals Estimates of the conditional mean for the ARMA (p, q) GARCH (1, 1) model defined as for the level of the monthly tourist arrivals for the 11 main tourist source countries are given in (see Table no 6). The conditional mean estimates are obtained through a modeling procedure in which only significant variables are included until a parsimonious specification is achieved. It is evident from the results that there is a very strong degree of habit persistent in the monthly tourist arrivals from Germany, United Kingdom, India, China and USA as the AR(1) has coefficients very close to 1 or more than 1. Moreover, the coefficients are also highly significant at 5% level of significance. Netherlands, France, Bangladesh and USA have AR(1) values different from that of other countries and the coefficients, although are very significant are all less than 1. That is why; those countries are showing a little less degree of habit persistent for the monthly tourist arrivals. However, Sri Lanka and Japan have negative AR(1) values, which are also highly significant. They have habit persistent in their monthly arrivals to Nepal but in an opposite fashion. It means there may be some adverse effect on their monthly arrivals to Nepal by the monthly arrivals of other countries. Results for conditional variance GARCH (1, 1) of the monthly tourist arrivals In case of the conditional variance for the GARCH (1, 1) model the variance model is defined as: GARCH = C (4) + C (5)*RESID (-1)2 + C (6)*GARCH (-1) for the monthly tourist
arrivals, the second moment conditions are satisfied by France, Germany, Italy, India, China and Japan. Regularity conditions for Log-moment are e" 0, e" 0. On comparing the results of the log-moment, they are seemed to be partially satisfied for most of the countries. Hence, the consistency and asymptotic normality of the QMLE are not guaranteed. This situation suggests the transformation of the monthly tourist arrivals in level into any other form (see Table no 7). However, the result shows that the estimate of the GARCH coefficients, or , is significant for all the countries except United Kingdom, India and Sri Lanka. The point is to be noted here that is negative for all the countries except France. This does not permit to interpret its significance due to the regularity condition. While the estimated ARCH effect, or , is significant in all cases and all are positive except for France. These results imply that a shock to the monthly tourist arrival series has short run persistent in all cases except France. However, a shock to the monthly tourist arrival series has long run persistent only in France. Conclusion In this paper, the uncertainty of monthly international tourist arrivals from the eleven major tourist source countries to Nepal have been modeled based on historical data. The empirical results provided a gauge to compare the conditional means and the conditional volatilities associated with monthly international tourist arrivals. It also enabled validation of the regularity conditions under lying the model and high-lighted the importance of evaluating the uncertainties surrounding monthly international tourist arrivals. After 2006 movement and peace process also didn't solve the problem of continuous instability and poor security situation of the country which has been affecting the tourism badly. However, tourism is one of the more obvious non-human casualties of this tragic phenomenon which created fear to the visitors. Tourism accounts for a substantial proportion of foreign exchange earnings, which enables the importation of consumer as well as capital goods for economic development, leads to a significant share of government revenue, is a key determinant of development expenditure, and provides employment for a considerable proportion of the workforce. The monthly tourist arrivals series in levels depict very high coefficient of variation (CV) for the 11 tourist source countries. Jarque-Bera, a test statistic of Normality, shows that all the source countries have no normality patterns as the p-values for all the cases are less than 5% level of significance although the value of skewness for Japan is very close to zero. Sri Lanka has the highest value of skewness very close to 3, higher positive skewness. Similarly, UK has the values of Kurtosis very close to 3. Although, Japan has smaller Skewness and higher Kurtosis, it shows a non-normality nature in monthly tourist arrivals. Srilanka, Netherlands, Italy, China and USA have very higher degree of kurtosis. Monthly tourist arrival data should have normality for further analysis. To achieve this property, suitable transformations are to be made. As five of the eleven major tourism source countries are from Western Europe, the seasonal concentrations of monthly tourist arrivals occur during European Winter months, roughly from September to March. The peak month is October for France, Germany, Netherlands and United Kingdom and August is the peak month for Italy. However, for the
same duration, most of the Asian countries have different months for the peak seasonality. The peak month for India has been June, that for Bangladesh has been October and peak months for Sri Lanka have been March and August. China and Japan have peak month, November. Nevertheless, the peak month for Japan has been March too. During the same duration, the primary peak month for USA has been October. March and November have also shown the secondary peak months for USA. ARMA (p,q)GARCH(1,1) model showed that there was a considerable degree of habit persistence and seasonality, particularly for the peak tourist season, which coincides with the European winter months. The conditional mean estimates are obtained through a modeling procedure in which only significant variables are included until a parsimonious specification is achieved. It is evident from the results that there is a very strong degree of habit persistent in the monthly tourist arrivals from Germany, United Kingdom, India, China and USA. In the case of the conditional variance for the GARCH (1, 1) model, the second moment conditions are satisfied by France, Germany, Italy, India, China and Japan. Regularity conditions for Log-moment are e" 0, e" 0. On comparing the results of the log-moment, they are seemed to be partially satisfied for most of the countries. Hence, the consistency and asymptotic normality of the QMLE are not guaranteed. This situation suggests the transformation of the monthly tourist arrivals in level into any other form. However, the result shows that the estimate of the GARCH coefficients, or , is significant for all the countries except United Kingdom, India and Sri Lanka. The point is to be noted here that is negative for all the countries except France. This does not permit to interpret its significance due to the regularity condition. While the estimated ARCH effect, is significant in all cases and all are positive except France. These results imply that a shock to the monthly tourist arrival series has short run persistent in all cases except France. However, a shock to the monthly tourist arrival series has long run persistent only in France. Tourism brings several good things to the country but equally poses many threats and socio-cultural, environmental and economical distortion which could be rather controlled by the planning and implementations of the policies, concrete actions and prompt commitments. Nepal should be very much careful for conservation and utilization of the world's top class tourism products for the sustainable development. The government and policy makers should think to minimize or control the incidents which affect the tourism industry badly. The government should have far sighted and concrete plan for the sustainable tourism development and should develop necessary policies and code of conducts, ensure the tourists for quality services and their security, repaint the country's present image as one of the world's economic but very exciting destination (Ghimire, 2003 : 45). Because of Nepal's diverse touristic attraction, it can be the destination for all and destination for whole year.
Table 1: Descriptive statistics of top ten international tourist arrivals Years 1998 95915 37765 41070 40442 26263 24506 16649 7139 8731 16211 11491 8745 8057 8243 13662 8306 8443 11160 12376 7742 5507 5031 8738 8715 7562 9844 9805 13930 21187 13376 15865 21577 15774 14866 32052 17518 18838 20680 18539 19833 29783 16025 14444 14361 21323 18938 14128 14835 20250 16124 18770 27413 49947 13326 21170 16800 27339 14607 20201 16474 24012 8947 8892 7207 10589 7736 11243 28830 23223 27412 24231 18460 22242 27058 33533 21007 22101 24667 25151 22708 32367 64320 66777 86363 90326 96434 93722 96010 35499 37386 35902 23862 21992 11031 0 6004 14403 12864 12870 17198 9262 5638 12432 24490 26378 39332 38893 36852 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Total Rank 1 2 3 30076 333051 18552 235799 22402 233542 37817 227783 35166 151593 20067 143844 10900 136240 7914 121465 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Source: Nepal Tourism Statistics, 2008 91177 1198372 33658 355306 23383 347226
Country
1997
India
133438 143229 140661
U.K.
29998
Japan
35038
U.S.A.
30056
Germany
22374
France
21573
Sri Lanka
4021
China
Bangladesh
6206
Netherlands
9214
Italy
11034
Table 2: Descriptive statistics of monthly international tourist arrivals Italy 843.5 713.0 3887.0 139.0 633.1 2.1 8.5 284.3 0.0 66.9 40.1 65.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 140.0 61.8 67.3 514.1 5.1 5.0 10.7 6.7 172.3 0.0 85.6 1.2 1.4 2.6 1.9 3333.0 649.0 2175.4 966.0 3277.0 187.0 0.0 261.0 472.0 1264.3 0.7 2.8 10.8 0.0 52.4 20407 3478.0 11955.0 5318.0 6019.0 141.0 587.9 2.1 8.3 279.5 0.0 69.7 809.5 7858.5 764.0 637.5 783.5 2219.5 1987.5 6971.0 908.0 1050.8 1.6 6.2 121.2 0.0 45.6 946.1 8322.0 998.9 1553.7 1128.2 2411.3 2305.9 Netherlands India Bangladesh Sri Lanka China Japan USA UK 2467.4 2019.5 6399.0 693.0 1247.2 1.0 3.4 26.0 0.0 50.5
Statistics 1637.5 1360.5 5204.0 3455.0 246.0 1006.8 1.2 4.4 48.1 0.0 61.5
For Monthly Tourist Arrivals at levels (Series)
France Germany
Mean
1621.8
Median
1342.5
Maximum
4900.0
Minimum
271.0
Std. Dev.
988.0
Skewness
1.1
Kurtosis
3.8
Jarque-Bera
33.7
Probability
0.0
CV
60.9
Note: The number of observations is 144 for each tourist source country (Alpha = 5%).
Table 3: Percentage of Arrivals to Nepal in each month during period 1997 2008 Countries Italy 2.63 4.05 4.84 5.33 5.87 6.68 7.23 7.58 8.61 10.21 13.69 23.27 21.46 13.97 13.61 12.32 11.74 10.94 10.52 9.60 9.78 9.18 9.10 9.34 12.02 16.50 21.10 23.82 8.55 8.56 8.93 9.84 7.94 8.07 8.43 8.07 8.18 8.80 9.34 11.02 12.43 14.70 6.88 7.67 7.87 3.18 7.60 6.11 7.21 7.50 1.92 6.66 5.47 6.88 6.99 1.34 6.12 6.40 7.00 7.64 8.31 8.95 10.86 12.00 13.36 14.75 4.70 6.38 6.43 1.10 5.59 4.43 4.18 5.74 5.83 0.71 5.15 3.70 5.57 5.96 6.70 7.21 7.67 7.94 8.45 9.10 10.04 11.42 14.74 2.70 5.07 4.34 0.40 4.42 2.60 5.20 Netherlands India Bangladesh Sri Lanka China Japan USA UK 3.44 4.71 5.20 5.60 6.06 7.10 7.87 8.81 9.81 11.94 13.22 16.26 4.69 7.95 13.41 9.00 5.78 2.90 4.07 5.79 10.91 19.24 10.98 5.29
Month
France Germany
January
4.51
February
7.34
March
10.41
April
11.92
May
5.00
June
2.22
July
5.26
August
8.05
September
8.02
October
19.71
November
12.43
December
5.14
Table 4: Unit Root test (Phillips-Perron Test for stationary with Constant, time trend and five truncated lag) Tourist Source France Germany Italy Netherlands UK India Bangladesh Sri Lanka China Japan USA Levels -7.344744 -6.224531 -9.063175 -8.261977 -6.030232 -5.994103 -2.197020 -3.975739 -1.941070 -5.746032 -5.763900 Logs -6.649081 -5.346971 -8.290873 -7.528995 -6.404668 -5.734570 -2.692645 -5.569709 -2.085150 -6.287795 -4.956598 Annual difference -18.07917 -13.25064 -21.85108 -21.69348 -15.84175 -29.59334 -15.20909 -11.27203 -16.50049 -14.08197 -17.76780 Log-difference -14.68700 -10.63635 -19.97241 -19.81243 -16.24894 -16.31013 -17.82244 -12.87702 -15.00704 -15.19804 -16.22388
Note: The null hypothesis is that monthly international tourists arrivals have a unit root. The critical values for rejection of the null hypothesis of a unit root are -3.476472 and -2.881685 at 1% and 5% respectively. The two items in bold indicates non-rejection of the null hypothesis of a unit root. The series in levels are stationary for all countries except Bangladesh and China. The series in natural logarithm are stationary for all countries.
Table 5: Seasonal Indices for monthly tourist arrivals, 1997-2008 Italy .619 .703 .912 .937 .545 .335 .6471 2.860 .934 1.611 1.130 .7621 .811 .779 1.065 1.370 1.396 .827 1.066 1.136 2.503 1.918 .936 1.151 1.258 1.034 .883 .999 .857 .719 .942 .926 2.793 1.199 1.534 1.370 .405 .749 .649 1.054 .956 .243 .330 .429 1.510 .868 .107 .837 .964 .865 1.063 1.156 1.277 1.340 .644 .703 1.478 .924 .094 .892 .962 1.241 .924 1.092 .235 .882 .882 .475 .320 .475 .899 .910 1.157 1.637 1.481 1.157 1.471 .805 1.062 2.196 .792 1.520 .714 .948 .734 .866 1.639 .846 1.306 .636 .708 .835 .946 .178 1.079 .930 .909 .907 1.209 1.036 .909 .766 .774 .694 1.002 1.666 1.255 .868 Netherlands UK India Bangladesh Sri Lanka China Japan USA
Month .533 .944 1.60 1.110 .724 .368 .489 .731 1.327 2.263 1.293 .612
Country
France Germany
January
.563
February
.824
March
1.23
April
1.374
May
.604
June
.269
July
.640
August
.972
September
.983
October
2.385
November
1.483
December
.662
Note: The Seasonal index, more than 1 indicates the monthly tourist arrivals exceed the trend and cyclical components due to underlying seasonal factor.
Table 6: Conditional mean of monthly tourists arrivals in level, 1997-2008 Germany 0.904 20.053 .000 -0.481 -19.503 .000 -.916 -163.7 .000 .6746 10.11 .000 - 0.0907 0.902 -8.6E+14 1.05E+32 .000 .000 -.331 -3.79 .0001 -0.37 -4.297 .000 -0.901 -0.815 -5.73E+08 -12.37 .000 .000 0.909 -.350 7.06E+16 -13.11 .000 .000 .820 -.365 4.84E+09 -5.33 .000 .000 -.0381 -16826373 .000 .6746 10.11 .000 0.372 12.20 .000 -.590 -17.03 .000 -.353 -3.52 .0004 0.502 8.97 .000 .470 14.64 .000 -0.560 -19.33 .000 0.676 6.807 .000 1.56 38.035 .000 1.33 12.332 .000 .443 7.0966 .000 -.8835 -68.42 .000 1.0164 55.057 .000 -.407 -12.6 .000 .857 38.38 .000 Italy Netherlands UK India Bangladesh Sri Lanka China Japan USA
Coefficients
France
AR(1)
0.324 7.975 .000
AR(2)
-0.180 -4.27 .000
SAR(1)
SAR(2)
MA(1)
MA(2)
SMA(1)
Note: The three entries corresponding to each parameter are their estimates in bold, their calculated asymptotic z values and their p-values respectively.
Table 7: Conditional variance of GARCH (1,1) monthly tourists arrivals in level Country Coefficients Log-moment Second moment France 152523.0 -0.1037 0.899 8.88 -2.55 2.24E+09 NA for < 0 0.7953 000 .0107 000 Germany 743035.6 10.443 000 284655.9 11.68 .000 336546.0 9.77 .000 115415.0 3.40 .0007 3536596.0 4.21 .000 65084.96 7.730 .000 179834.0 1.416 .1568 58254.07 3.259 .0011 150836.2 4.062 .000 155878.4 6.024 .000 0.312 3.309 .0009 1.188 34.14 .000 1.304 17.95 .000 2.0467 84.979 000 1.025 2.70 0069 1.130 3.294 .000 1.624 3.111 .0019 1.207 38.54 .000 1.187 46.135 .000 1.251 4.170 .000 -0.507 -4.173 000 -0.3156 -5.55 .000 -0.338 -2.707 .0068 -0.004 -.7936 0.427 -0.105 -1.26 .206 -0.0386 -2.473 .0134 -0.0023 -.318 .750 -0.0471 -9.526 .000 -0.0381 -4.77 .000 -0.0919 -3.924 .0001 NA for < 0 -0.195
Italy
NA for < 0
0.8724
Netherlands
NA for < 0
1.1141
UK
Not significant of
2.0427
India
Not significant of
0.920
Bangladesh
NA for < 0 Not significant of NA for < 0 NA for < 0
1.0914
Sri Lanka
1.6217 0.3022
China
Japan
NA for < 0
0.9482
USA
NA for < 0
1.159
Note: The three entries corresponding to each parameter are their estimates in bold, their calculated asymptotic z values and their p-values respectively. Regularity conditions for Log-moment are e" 0, e" 0; That for Second moment is + < 1. For GARCH (1, 1), is the constant conditional volatility, is the ARCH effect and is the GARCH effect.
References Bollerslev, T. (1990). Modelling the coherence in short-run nominal exchange rates: A multivariate generalized ARCH approach. Review of Economics and Statistics, 72, 498-505. Bollerslev, T.(1986). Generalized auto regressive condition alheterosce-dasticity. Journal of Econometrics, 31,307327. Chan, F., Lim, C. and M. McAleer (2005). Modelling Multivariate International Tourism Demand and Volatility. Tourism Management, 26, 459-471. Chan, F., Hoti, S., Shareef, R., & M. McAleer (2005). Forecasting International Tourism Demand and Uncertainty for Barbados, Cyprus and Fiji. In The Economics of Tourism and Sustainable Development, Lanza A., Markandya A., and Pigliaru F. (eds). Edward Elgar: UK, 30-35. Chan, F., Hoti, S. and M. McAleer (2002). Structure and Asymptotic Theory for Multivariate Asymmetric Volatility: Empirical Evidence for Country Risk Ratings. Paper Presented to the Australasian Meeting of the Econometric Society, Brisbane, Australia. Enders,W.(2004). Applied time series econometrics. New York: Wiley. Engle, R. (2001). GARCH101: The use of ARCH/GARCH Models in Applied Econometrics. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15, (4), 157168. Engle, R.F. (1982). Autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity with estimates of the variance of United Kingdom inflation, Econometrica, 50, 987-1007. Galli, M. C. & Guerzoni, G. (2002). Training Course for experts in the development, Programming and Management of Cultural Tourism in the Adriatic-Ionian Regions, Project and Development Strategies. Uniadrion University of Bologna. Gautam, B.P. (2008). Economic Impact of Tourism Finance in Nepal. Economic Review, Kathmandu: Nepal Rastra Bank, No. 20 Granger, C.W.J., & Newbold, P.(1974).Spurious regressions in econometrics. Journal of Econometrics,2, 111-120. Ghimire, H. L. (2006). Lumbini: A Touristic Overview. In Lumbini: Present Status and Future Challenges. Kathmandu: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Kathmandu Office. Ghimire, H.L. (2009). Tourism in Gorkha: A boon and challenges, Kathmandu: Gorkha Tourism. Ghimire, H. L. (2005). Trend of Pilgrimage Tourism in Lumbini: An Overview. International Tourism conference Perspective in Tourism Marketing (Conference Proceedings). Mugla, Turkey. Ghimire, H. L. (2003). Tourism Policy Perspective in Nepal: Some Observations. Public Administration Journal (Paj) 18 & 19, Kathmandu: Public Administration Campus, T.U. Hoti, S., Leon, C. and McAleer, M. (2004). Modelling the Uncertainty in International Tourist Arrivals to the Canary Islands (Retrieved from http:// www.economics.adelaide.edu.au/workshops/doc/can_is.pdf on Dec. 29, 2009) Kunwar, R. R. (2006). Tourist and Tourism Science and Industry Interface. Kathmandu:
International School of Tourism and Hotel Management. Laimer, P. & Wei, J. (2006). Data Sources on Tourism Expenditure. The Austrian Experiences Taking Into Account the TBoP Requirements. International Workshop on Tourism Statistics Jointly organized by UN Statistics Division and UNWTO Department of Statistics and Economic Measurement of Tourism, Madrid: UNWTO Headquarters. Miller, M.L. & Gallucci, V. F. (2004). Quantitative Tourism and Fishery Management: Some Applications of the Logistic Model. Submitted to Tourism in Marine Environments. (Retrieved from http://www.destinationrecovery.com/destinationlifecycle.html). Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation, (2009). Nepal Tourism Statistics. Kathmandu, Nepal. McAleer, M., F. Chan and D. Marinova (2002). An econometric analysis of asymmetric volatility: Theory and application to patents. Presented to the Australasian meeting of the Econometric Society, Brisbane, Australia, July 2002, to appear in Journal of Econometrics. Phillips, P.C.B., & Perron, P.(1990).Testing for a unit root in time series regressions. Biometrika, 75(2), 335346. Shareef, R. and M. McAleer (2005). Modelling International Tourism Demand and Volatility in Small Island Tourism Economies. International Journal of Tourism Research, 7, 313333. Shareef, R. & McAleer, M. (2007). Modelling the uncertainty in monthly international tourist arrivals to the Maldives. Tourism Management 28, 23-45 (Retrieved from http:// www.amazon.com/Modelling-uncertainty-international-arrivals-Maldives/dp/ B000PAUC1M) Shareef, R. & McAleer, M. (2007). Modelling Multivariate Shocks in International Tourist Arrivals to the Maldives (Retrieved from http://www.mssanz.org.au/modsim05/papers/ shareef_2.pdf) Shrestha, H. P. (2000). Tourism in Nepal- Marketing Challenges. New Delhi: Nirala Publications. Tewari, S.P. (1994). Tourism Dimensions. Delhi: Atma Ram & Sons. Theobald, W. F. (1997). The Context Meaning and Scope of Tourism, 3-19. in William F. Theobald (ed.). Global Tourism: The Next Decade, Butterworth. Turner, V. & Turner, E. (1978). Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture. New York: Colombia University Press. United Nations [UN], (2003). Poverty Alleviation through Sustainable Tourism Development. New York: Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Weaver, S. & Neil, J. (1998). Ecotourism impacts, potentials and possibilities. Butterworth: Heinemann, Oxford.
Theorizing Web 2.0 Phenomenons in Tourism: A Sociological Signpost

Roman Egger*
Abstract The term Web 2.0 is currently on everyones lips; even the tourism industry is awash with decision makers who are frantically searching for standardized, practicable guidelines on how not to sleep through yet again what has been touted as the new era of the Internet Version 2.0 especially now that we are finally getting a handle on Version 1.0. As to be expected, the checklists and manuals we have long searched for that offer us instruction on how to encounter this phenomenon are for the most part lacking. This is not surprising when you consider confronting the challenges of an extraordinarily vague formulation. In workshops, symposiums and congresses, people throw catchwords and technical terms about in an effort to describe what Web 2.0 stands for and determine its apparent meaning for tourism. Profound issues and attempts at explanations are rare indeed and empirically verified statements are almost wholly lacking. Therefore, the aim of this article is to deliver a selection of sociological explanatory approaches, thereby creating the theoretical starting blocks for further research efforts. Consequently, the objective here can not be to explain the theories in their entirety and discuss in detail their individual contributions to the various Web 2.0 phenomena. Instead, the goal is to bring to light starting points for a theoretically founded debate on the subject. The overview in the form of a table at the end of the contribution describes selected sociological approaches and puts them into the context of Web 2.0 and tourism by way of examples. Keywords: Web 2.0, Social Web, Sociological Theories, Action Theory, Systems Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, Theory of Dramaturgical Action, Ethnomethodology Introduction In just a few years, the Internet has established itself as an indispensible medium. Today, we often speak of an information, networked, or knowledge society in which almost every aspect of life has become dependent on the quality and availability of information. We frequently forget that major figures like Bacon, Taylor, Leibniz, etc. laid the foundations for this society
* Dr. Roman Egger is Professor and Head of Tourism Research Department at Sulzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria. e-mail: roman.egger@fh-salzburg.ac.at www.tourismusforschung.at
and that the rapid developments are the consequence of evolutionary not revolutionary events. Mattelart (2003) makes an impressive observation in this respect: "The stakes of the new digital universe are too multiform and interdisciplinary to be left to technological determinism alone." This statement is even more accurate when, as illustrated in the following, we consider Web 2.0, a collective expression that comprises both the technical, but above all social and societal advancements of the Internet. The term is duly criticized for its vagueness, and far beyond an appropriate ISO definition, we are instead concerned with describing a wealth of concepts and principles that attempt to capture the essence of Web 2.0 (Alby, 2007). The current hype surrounding the now inflationary use of catch phrases surrounding the "interactive web" has also had an enormous impact on the tourism industry. This is not surprising because social activity and thus interaction and communication with members of a social system are inherent to travel, making tourism especially suited for Web 2.0 approaches along the entire customer buying cycle. However, Mattelarts demand of interrupting the short-lived, technology-oriented point of view, has already practically reached the point of exaggeration due to the strong emphasis of the social components of Web 2.0. The following article attempts to obtain a behind-the-scenes view of these developments through the discussion of a variety of theoretical beginning approaches. "The theoretical lens should allow the viewer to catch a glimpse of reality, which if possible is better, clearer and sharper than the view that is completely devoid of theory" (Vester, 1999). In particular for tourism, which is perceived to be an information business and is therefore subject to the dynamics of the information society, theoretical approaches for explaining Web 2.0 phenomena seem necessary especially when you consider that models and theories shed light on the nuts and bolts that must be mastered in practice. Tourism in the Age of the Information Society As early as the sixties, communications scientist Marshal McLuhan analyzed the global information society and the corresponding abrogation of space and time. At the time, the information sector was developing alongside the agriculture, craft and service sectors, as the division of labour within what had once been interrelated production processes demanded optimized coordination and, consequently, an improved supply of information (Egger, 2007). In response to the "market-pull approach", information and communications technologies (ICT) were developed in order to keep up with the constantly growing demands on timely and targeted data processing. Then, starting in the eighties, PCs also become affordable enough for home use and the Internet has been making its way through offices and living rooms for around 10 years now. Politicians recognized the need for promoting and regulating a burgeoning information society. Among other things, this led to measures for achieving the necessary media competency, in particular in the area of education and within the job market. The TIME sector, comprising telecommunications, media and electronics, is marked by a massive convergence of the individual subsectors (Egger, 2005), which consequently leads to a technologization of a number of areas of our lives. In addition to the computer, countless complementary devices have become pervasive in our society and the Internet Protocol offers the universal plug, so to
Egger: Theorizing Web 2.0 Phenomenons in Tourism: A Sociological Signpost 23
speak, that we need to dive into the digital parallel world. The German philosopher Karl Jaspers formulated it remarkably accurately more than half a century ago: "It would be impossible to overestimate the emergence of modern technology and its impact on absolutely every area of life" (Jaspers, 1955). The modern tourism industry developed alongside this technical progress, and has been one of the largest branches of the economy worldwide since the middle of the 20th century. The rapidly advancing technological development of means of transport, the international expansion transportation connections and professionalization on the part of the service providers were accompanied by increased leisure time and financial resources along with a growing urge to travel. Since tourism can be seen as a social phenomenon, it is clear that all social changes have a direct impact on tourism and promote its dynamic nature accordingly. Despite the tourism industrys seemingly slow development, it has already become the largest branch of eCommerce. Some voices in the economy ask justifiably: How can the tourism industry adapt to the demands of Web 2.0 when it is not even capable of fully realizing the potential of Web 1.0? Numerous analyses and studies prove that there is enormous customer potential within the online travel market. According to AGOF Internet Facts, 84.2 percent of all German Internet users take advantage of the web for researching information on travel and tourism products and over 53 percent have purchased tourism services via the Internet and/or paid to access these services online (AGOF, 2008). Most tourism service providers now find themselves between the development stages II and III illustrated in Figure 1 and are thus confronted with increased intensity and complexity of value added, which require new operative, and in many cases also strategic skills. New forms of interaction and communication improve the relative strength of the customer and present the supplier side with tremendous challenges. Web 2.0 applications put guests not only in the role of the "prosumer" (producer and consumer), but also the "produser" (producer and user). This makes them individual designers, planners and evaluators, who become publicly active on the web.
Web 2.0 - a Look behind the Scenes If the term Web 2.0 reached the "peak of inflated expectations" of the Gartner Hype Cycle in 2006, a year later it is already in the middle of the disillusionment stage. This is less due to the fact that the expectations placed on Web 2.0 were not fulfilled, and has much more to do with the fact that today the term represents a new self image and increased selfassurance on the part of the makers and users of the Internet (Beck, 2007). Web 2.0 is often used in conjunction with the term "Social Software" (SSW); in some cases authors even use the phrases synonymously. However, for the purpose of this discussion Social Software is considered to be a subdivision of Web 2.0. Hippner (2006) defines Social Software as "webbased applications that facilitate the exchange of information, the establishment of relationships and communication for human beings in a social context and are guided by specific principles." SSW is based on the fundamental concept of self-organization, whereby the individual or the group is the focal point and a social reaction (social feedback) is facilitated by means of social ratings (comments on weblogs, assigning points, etc.). Here the focus lies less on the actual information and more on the structure that grows from linking the information together. In order to further illustrate the phenomena of the new web generation in theoretical terms, it appears necessary to offer a rough overview of the most important basic principles of the participatory web in order to simultaneously create a vague distinction between it and its predecessor (Web 1.0). Thus characterized, the social network also exhibits numerous implications that are relevant for tourism companies in Web 2.0.
Even though the terms Web 2.0 and Social Media are now more frequently encountered in scientific literature on tourism, most contributions describe the individual and typical phenomena only in a very descriptive manner and do not question their basis. Chung and Buhalis (2008) find that "a comprehensive understanding of multidimensional social structures and complicated relations within modern society has gradually become a demanding task for researchers". It is therefore surprising that hardly any socio-theoretical approach is to be found in the framework of theoretical foundations and literature reviews, given the fact that is precisely these approaches that could provide a well-founded basis. According to Schmidt (2006), "new media represent a socio-technical ensemble of artefacts, actions and forms of the social organisation." To that effect, it seems appropriate to use approaches from the currently developing research field of "New Media Studies" that examine ICT in the interplay between technological and sociological phenomena. Theoretical Approaches and Attempts at Explanations Vester (1999) finds the action theory to be an effective starting point for sociologically oriented issues because on the one hand it attempts to determine the social nature of human beings while at the same time taking into consideration "that society does not loom over mankind, rather it is mankind that makes society" (Vester, 1999). Social action, i.e. action directed towards other people, is of interest when contemplating the social web. Both travel and computer-mediated interaction can be interpreted as (social) action in terms of Max Weber. Weber differentiates between four types of social action, although affectual-emotional action and, to an even greater extent, purposive-rational action are of particular interest for representational discourse on the subject. In economics, decisions are based on rational decision making processes (rational choices). Here preference orders are the only cognitive apparatus that can be used to select the best perceived option (Priddat, 2005). Although tourism is a powerfully emotionally charged topic, rational decisions play a vital role. This is a result of the fact that tourism is an "immaterial, bilateral and personal" product (Schertler, 1994) and, due to their immaterial nature, services are merely promises of the possible performance capability of the provider. For potential buyers this leads to a certain amount of ambiguity, which must be overcome. ICT can make a significant contribution here through its ability to address the prevalent demand for information as quickly and effectively as possible (Egger, 2005). Depending on the completeness of the electronically assisted customer buying cycle, ideally from the interest to the information phase (e.g. the use of a ranking portal to assist in the information phase) to the follow-up phase (e.g. writing a travel blog or providing holiday videos), the involved parties situation-dependent decision and usage options blend together with respect to their role as internet users and as actors in a tourism context. Purposive-rational action is thus demonstrated in the decision to acquire more information on the hotel to be booked (with the aim of reducing ambiguity), but also in the rationally founded choice of media (with the aim of obtaining reliable information). It is important to note here that rationality in economic theory always refers to the means of achieving a goal and never to the actual goal of the actors themselves. An individual's rational decisions are also based on intersubjective experiences. So, for a hotel ranking portal user, an intersubjective construction of meaning results whereby one refers to the aspects of the experiences one
shares with others and that are considered to be typical. The (computer-mediated) communication creates the framework here, for example deciding which alternative options are available for a final "rational choice" (Etzrodt, 2000). Without taking away from the details provided below on networks and communities, it is important to note here the present significance of social networks on the web, because these serve as "redundancy arenas in which old definitions are confirmed and new ones are absorbed and accepted (or rejected)" (Priddat, 2005). If we examine the objective in Meads Theory of symbolic interactionism, namely analyzing the influence of social groups on the experiences and behaviours of the individual, even this approach appears practicable in the context of this disquisition (Etzrodt, 2000). While Weber uses individuals and their actions as a starting point, the individual in the group is at the forefront of Mead's considerations (Schneider, 2008). Communication and interaction are then only possible through the corresponding attribution of the meaning of "significant symbols" (Mead, 1934) of the actors. According to Blumer (1973), the following three premises apply: Peoples actions towards "things" are based on the meaning the things have for them. The meaning of these things can be derived from social interactions; correspondingly, meanings are social products and are treated and modified in an interpretive process that people use when confronting the things they encounter. To establish a relationship to Web 2.0 solutions in the tourism industry, we refer to hotel ranking platforms such as HolidayCheck and TripAdvisor. Here comments such as "the bathroom walls are mouldy and the tiles are loose" result in similar attitudes towards the hotel among the members of a community. If, for example, members attempt to create a spatial description of a property, phrases such as "secluded" are more problematic due to the subjective construction of meaning of the individual. Imprecise, semantic formulations thus require additional experience reports and opinions in order to obtain a true sense of reality. Web 2.0 solutions attempt to avoid this problem by using generally accepted ranking symbols, such as awarding stars. The number of stars awarded illustrates the perceived value of a service and the cumulation of further assessments leads to the intersubjective and seemingly more credible evaluation mentioned above. If symbolic interactionism is interpreted subjectively, a view is formed in which the individual plays an exceptionally active role in the social process (Etzrodt, 2000). This leads over to Goffmans Theory of Dramaturgical Action, in which he uses a theatre analogy to describe how individuals play various roles in everyday situations. Here the term "role" is seen as a set of behavioural norms bundled together. The development of a persons identity, according to Mead and Goffmans assumptions, is only possible through the interaction with other persons (Miebach, 2006). "It is not about what a participant actually is. It is highly unlikely his partner will be able to find this out, assuming that it can even be recognized in the first place. What is important is the feeling conveyed by his behaviour on what type of person is behind the role currently being played" (Goffman, 1977). Goffman wrote this in reference to the traditional offline world, but in the context of the social web the full import of this statement becomes much clearer. With the Internet, a new, autonomous "area of orientation and action of social reality" (Thiedeke, 2004) has developed in which actors can slip into new roles anonymously. Since all of the contents of this world disintegrate into
digital code and social reality only turns into virtual reality upon reconstruction of this code, reality conditions, ergo the roles and actors must be formed in a manipulative fashion. In the course of self-virtualization, the question is: Who or what do I want to be, how do I present myself in public, should I offer insight into my true reality what is my virtual identity? Following Eriksons "genetic continuum", here we can refer to a "virtualization continuum" as a process of virtual identity development. Online worlds like SecondLife satisfy the desire for a virtual self image almost perfectly. For example, Jas Capalini is the virtual alter ego of Gratistours Managing Director Jasmin Taylor, who assists online users in making travel plans and virtually whisks them away to their future travel destinations (Gratistours.com, 2008). The SecondLife concept from Starwood proves that virtual avatars possess real customer desires and that companies take advantage of their collective intelligence. The new Aloft brand in SecondLife was developed with the help of a prototypical hotel designed in line with customer desires (Gagolou, 2008). Here the participating actors play different roles on a variety of reality levels and take part in a set of scenarios that are constantly alternating between reality and fiction. They act as physical internet users and potential tourists whose needs and desires they attempt to execute virtually in their role as cyber architects. A parallel world negotiated on this level ultimately offers a path back to reality. In the case of the Starwood project, the brand Aloft has now been completed; eight real hotels have already opened and 76 additional hotels are being planned worldwide (Starwood Hotels, 2008).
Though all is quiet on the SecondLife front these days, even those who prophesized its downfall some time ago will acknowledge that this might be the first 3D world, but it certainly will not be the last. According to a study by Gardner, by the year 2011 around 80 percent of all Internet users will own one or more avatars1 (Pettey, 2007). However, users do not necessarily need an avatar in order to present themselves in
1
An avatar is the virtual representation of a real person
cyberspace. "Almost everything we do can be used by others to gain an impression of ourselves and we can use almost everything we do to control this impression" (Schtz et al., 2005). Self-presentation can thus be understood as target-group-dependent teamwork. Jones and Pittman (1982) discuss five strategies for self-presentation. In this discussion, ingratiation, self-promotion and exemplification are of particular interest. The strategies of self-presentation are sometimes incompatible with one another, which for example may lead the actor to contemplate whether he would rather be seen as friendly or competent2. As shown in Table 1, social web applications assume a variety of functions and selfpresentation takes place within the scope of identity management (Dring, 2003.). Table 1: Functions, services and prototypical applications of the social web Function Identity management Service Selective presentation of oneself (interests, opinions, knowledge, contact information...) Maintaining and creating new relationships Finding, receiving and managing relevant information Prototypical application Personal weblog Podcast Videocast Contact platforms Blogosphere, wikis, tagging
Identity management Information management Source: Schmidt, 2008
Moreover, the table illustrates that blogs in particular take over the function of identity management. The blogosphere is growing by 120,000 new blogs every day where formerly passive recipients are now becoming active users who document their experiences and knowledge as "user-generated content" (UGC) and make it accessible to the global public. Tourism also has a special status here, a fact confirmed by a Blogjungle study. According to this study, the topics "travel and tourism" are the most important blog topics among German Internet users (Blogjungle.de, 2007). Both of the remaining functions, relationship and information management, also fulfil a central function for social web solutions and therefore have the most significant impact within virtual networks. To move from the micro level of individual action to the macro level of supraindividual structures and obtain a closer view of virtual networks, we refer to the Concept of Usage Practice (Schmidt, 2008). Social action is always determined by a set of rules and resources. Participants act according to more or less fixed rules, which are both the result of and the basis for social action. In this context, Giddens speaks of the "Duality of Structure" in his Theory of Structuration, which refers to the recursivity of structure and actions (Giddens, 1988). The actors intent to use is framed by three structural dimensions. The first of these
2
In our context, for example, it would need to be proven empirically how often this results in distortions on ranking platforms.
includes the behavioural rules, norms and conventions such as the usage and ranking conditions of virtual communities, for example. Relationships represent the second structural dimension. This refers to relationships formed or maintained with the help of applications. Social networks such as Facebook or the travel portal WAYN justify their very existence based on the creation and enhancement of social relationships. Basic elements of software technology, which enable certain types of actions to take place, represent the final dimension. In this sense, the social web is characterized by an extremely high level of technical flexibility and modularity. (Schmidt, 2008) Now mashups3 are embedded in nearly all travel portals, allowing for complex presentation and interlacing of content. Social networks consist of knots and edges (the connecting lines) and thus depict relationship structures. (Schwarz, 2007; Krll, 2003) They are products of the system and therefore have a derivative benefit. This means that their value is dependent on their use. The decision of an actor to participate in the system or not is dependent on the functional use of the system and the number of participants within it. The basis for existence for these types of networks is thus dependent on achieving a critical mass. For instance, if we take TripAdvisor as an example of a virtual travel community, its value is the result of the articles created by its approximately 22.5 million community members. The system is only attractive when it attains this high number of users and user contributions. As described above, the members intent to use is framed by the structural dimensions, which only then enable individual identity, relationship and information management. Although the postmodern era is characterized by signs of fragmentation and individualization, in computer-mediated networks the group4 achieves an unexpectedly high level of regard (Schimank, 2000). Provided the structural framework exists, virtual communities are largely self-regulating and self-referential. When users write a comment in a travel blog, tag a holiday video or write a travel report on a ranking portal such as Igougo, they are not simply engaging in personal identity, relationship and information management. They are also unconsciously creating new structures on a collective level and aiding in the advancement of the network. They can also be described as autopoietic systems in terms of Luhmanns sociological system theory. This term originates from the field of neurobiology and describes self-creating and self-maintaining systems that establish their structures through their own operations. These operations have two effects: "On the one hand, they serve to establish the conditions for connecting operations, i.e. they propel the system into new historical scenarios from one moment to the next; on the other hand, they also offer the interorganizational structures required to achieve these connections" (Luhmann, 2008). The emergence of new things from in some cases highly complex systems has been observed in nature since the beginning of
3
A mashup is the recombination of already existing content. Various media such as sound, images, text, video and maps can be accessed from other web applications using open application programming interfaces (APIs) and integrated into one's own site. Schelske (2007) indicates with the statement "...are these computer-mediated partners thus already a group, a community or a society, because they communicate with each other?" the problems surrounding the term group in the context of computer-mediated communication.
time. A new generation of social software solutions is also based on the success principle that the whole is worth more than the sum of its parts. The bottom-up organization also known as "Emergence" (Breuer, 2004) is self-regulating. Similar to the Theory of Flocking Behaviour, these types of systems do not possess a central coordinating point; instead they adhere to a few simple rules. The initiation between the individual actors does not take place via a direct address or request to act, but subliminally by leaving traces behind. Comparable to termite colonies or bee swarms, collective intelligence results from an interplay between individuals guided by a set of laws. In addition to leaving traces, the lifespan of the "messenger substances" web content in our context are of vital consequence. Since the Internet continuously secures traces of its users and even provides aids for tracking down specific content, it is ideally suited as a breeding ground for social behaviour, and consequently, group behaviour. This is how groups emerge spontaneously on the web to work on a new subject, solve problems and introduce new content and structures5 (Breuer, 2004). In this connection, let us finally mention a project that in the future will certainly attract a great deal of attention and is highly relevant in the tourism industry, "Photosynth", which is currently being jointly developed by Microsoft and the University of Washington. Photosynth technology recognizes outlines and distinctive points within a large collection of photographs of a location or an object, positions them in relation to one another and uses the collectively gathered photographic material to generate a corresponding three-dimensional web-based space in which people can move about freely.
The 3D model of Marcus Square in Venice emerged from the sum of a variety of different photographs from users who made their image material available on Flickr. In the future, this technology could be used to create a photorealistic image of tourist attractions from the sum of available holiday photos that users can visit virtually before actually embarking on their journey.
5
In this context we can reference the strong links to memetics and the new research field of webbased memes.
Summary The opportunity of focusing increasingly on sociological theories and approaches should be seized, especially when researching new phenomena that revolve so closely around social aspect as the field of the Social Web. The reason for the lack of profound statements on the topic in the current literature on tourism science may be the rapid emergence of Web 2.0. The fact that the discussion is dominated mainly by descriptions consisting of empty clichs and phrases may also be due to this swift development. A search for attempts of defining Web 2.0 or Social Web is rarely fruitful (Xiang & Gretzel 2009). In most cases, OReilys definition (2005) is used. However, this is also rather to be seen as an attempted explanation describing the seven principles (The Web as Platform, Harnessing Collective Intelligence, Data is the Next Intel Inside, End of the Software Release Cycle, Lightweight Programming Models, Software above the level of a single device, Rich User Experience) that are the pillars of the concept of definition. Web 2.0 and Social Web are, however, terms that are too multi-faceted anyway for any effective working with them to achieve the desired objectives. Specific research interest hence rightly refers to a few partial aspects. The topic of "Virtual Communities in Tourism" was, for example, the target of numerous investigations in the past (see, for example, contributions in the conference proceedings of ENTER 2007, 2008, 2009, Information Technology & Tourism 10/4 - Special Issue on Virtual Communities in Travel and Tourism; Wang et al., 2002; Kim et al., 2004; Illum et al., 2009). The sociological approach, however, is scarce. Wellman and Guila (1998) on the other hand have a point when the stress that "the focus on social interaction that sociologists bring to this new field is a welcome counter-balance to the intense technological hype often associated with the Internet. Unfortunately, many researchers studying online communities seem not to know about the long history of studying community by sociologists." The following table is to be seen as a guide. It provides an overview of selected sociological approaches and theories that appear to be promising starting points for theoretical explanations in individual cases.
Theory Originator/Use in tourism The Action Theory is based on the assumption that players communicate with each other and that they act because of the (subjective) meaning behind this (with instrumental rationality, value-oriented, affectual and traditional). An action can be considered social if its meaning mutually refers to the action of others and orients itself on that during its course. The Action Theory is a suitable theoretical starting point for numerous other considerations, such as ethnomethodology, the theory of rational choices, symbolic interactionism, structural functionalism, etc. The term "social action" is of particular interest here. Both computer-imparted communication as well as travelling as such can be seen as a "social action". The Action Theory is often cited as the opposite of system theory. Planning journeys with the family, communication on site, buying souvenirs, telling others the things you have done and experienced there Instrumental-rational action is targeted and purpose-maximised. It is all about achieving the purpose in as efficient a manner as possible by choosing between the available alternatives using reason and by taking decisions on the basis of rationality. The human being as homo economicus or economic man, an individual acting in an economic manner. Especially applicable to economic decisions, above all in tourism often emotion-driven decision. Using customer ratings as the basis for decisions; using meta search engines to gain a better overview of the alternatives on offer; planning one's holidays using Google Maps Goal of reaching a holiday destination as efficiently as possible; efficient use of resources (time/money) on site; collecting travel information online and still contacting a travel agency too; motivation to make a journey during the off-season to be cost-effective Media use of catalogues, guide books, etc. Interaction in a virtual community, visiting online rating platforms, writing travel blogs, uploading holiday photos to Flickr or Facebook
Core message of the theory
Examples: Reference to Web 2.0
Examples: Reference to tourism
Action Theory among others Max Weber, mile Durkheim
Rational Choices among others Adam Smith, Max Weber Application in tourism Wahab et al. (1976) Schmoll (1977) Moutinho (1987) Um & Crompton (1990) Woodside & MacDonald (1994) Sociological Action Theory that can be attributed to the Rational Choices approach. Starting point and main field of application in media use research, with a focus on the recipient. The recipient/user decides as to if and how what media will be used based on his/her interests and requirements/needs. Comes from micro-sociology and has its roots also in the Action Theory. Symbolic Interactionism deals with the interaction
Uses and Gratifications Approach Elihu Katz
Media use of rating portals, blogs, location based services
Symbolic Interactionism Georg Mead, Herbert Blumer
At the semantic level it would be tagging, for example (key-wording
Elements of inter-cultural communication in particular -
as ascription of meaning) and selection/navigation by means of tags/tag clouds Analysis of the habitus (Pierre Bourdieu) of tourists, uniform signs/symbols (i) for labelling information points
between people - especially the influence of social groups. Starting point is the basic assumption that people act on the basis of the importance that objects, situations and relationships have for them. Individual and society are in a reciprocal relationship to each other, which means that they are mutually dependent. By means of communication, symbols are negotiated and are accordingly interpreted by all members of society alike. The processes of ascribing meaning and interpretation are examined.
customs & rituals (welcoming, thanking, complaining, etc.)
Application in tourism Colton (1987) Dann & Cohen (1991) Subjectivistic interpretation of Symbolic Interactionism. Individuals are assigned roles (codes of conduct); they are involved in a dynamic, modifiable process of interaction where the individual roles have to arrange themselves. Self-manifestation that finds its meaning in interaction and follows a dramaturgical concept. The self is put on a stage in public space (front stage); retreat and privacy are the backstage. Self-virtualisation through avatars, self-presentation in blogs, social networks, etc.
Theory of Dramaturgical Action Erving Goffman
Application in tourism Fawcett & Cormack (2001) Holloway (1981) Edensor (2000) Ethomethodology is a method of understanding what practical, every-day action is used to create social reality. Researchers orient themselves along precise descriptions of methods with which a society or group acts. Ethnomethodology hence tries to show how action works in every-day life. Special form: netography - identifies and observes on-line communities and saves, stores, analyses and interprets dialogues between community members.
On his/her search for authenticity, the tourist tries to gain insight into the back stage and thus into the every-day life of the people living in the country s/he visits. Tour parties as "social gathering", "face work": interaction between tourists and service providers Analysis of processes used to take a decision on travelling within the family. In addition to the analysis of every-day action, the documentary method of interpretation and the method of conversation analysis are mainly used.
Ethnomethodology / Netography Harold Garfinkel, Hough Mehan, Housten Wood
Application in tourism Dann & Cohen (1991) Echtner & Jamal (1997) McCabe & Stokoe (2004) Tries to explain the relationship between the individual and society and/or the transition between action and structure. Social action is determined by a set of rules of resources. Action creates structures that in turn form the framework for further
Analysis of on-line communication in travel blogs, forums and social networks. Identification of opinion leaders, lead users and early adopters provides clearly defined user insights and user understanding
Theory of Structuration Anthony Giddens, Lucas Sanders
In social networks, new rules of behaviour, standards and codes can emerge when users use the system/ application to keep up relationships.
Concepts of sustainability in tourism. Ecologically sustainable action, for example, creates the framework and structure for new
Application in tourism Yuan et al. (2006) Bramwell (2006) Hall (2005) Social Capital describes the collectivity of all current and potential resources through mutual knowledge and/or recognition. Social capital provides access to the resources of social life, such as support, recognition, knowledge, etc. Social capital is created through the readiness to cooperate and presupposes trust as well as mutual support. Use of social networks to obtain recommendations for travel planning. Locals recommending a restaurant; front desk officers at the hotel giving directions, etc.
action. "In and through their action, the actors reproduce the conditions that make their action possible" (Schwarz, 2008). This theory has recently become popular beyond the fields of sociology and social theory not least in organisational and management theories and at the business management level. ways of acting.
Social Capital among others Norbert Elias, Pierre Bourdieu, Theodor W. Adorno
Application in tourism Jones (2005) Patterson et al. (2004) Jeong ( 2008) Analysis and description of structures of social networks and the function they adopt.
The System Theory is rooted in numerous disciplines (sociology, System Theory among others Talcott Parsons, biology, psychology, political sciences, etc.). The sociological system theory is a macro-social approach interested in the Niklas Luhmann structures and modes of function (structural functionalism) of complex social systems. The functions of social systems can be Application in tourism described with Parson's AGIL scheme (adaptation, goalKaspar (1978) attainment, integration, latency). Leiper (1979) Mill/Morrison (1985) Sessa (1985) Woodside & Caldwell (2006) Theory from the natural sciences that analyses the behaviour in herds/social systems (social behaviour of ants, flocks of birds, swarms of bees). Provides starting points for self-regulation and self-preservation of social systems and for collective intelligence.
Applying the AGIL scheme to a hotel operation. (A)-adjustment of a hotel to its environment, (G)corporate goals and concepts, (I)-social integration in the system (staff), (L)-corporate philosophy
Theory of Flocking Behaviour Craig Rainolds
Analysis and simulation of networks, their structures and functions, e.g. collective intelligence in rating services (inter-subjective opinion)
Explanation of phenomena of mass tourism
Empirically verifiable findings are needed, however, in order to be able to provide the tourism industry in future with the recommendations and instructions it demands. And yet, how should valid data be obtained and how could serious statements be made about a phenomenon when the very foundation of this phenomenon has only insufficiently been explored? The present contribution attempts to look behind the scenes of Web 2.0. The rough presentation of individual, selected sociological theories and approaches has the intention of serving as an incentive for further, theoretically founded work. Web 2.0 is nothing new in general terms, which leads the author believe that it is vital that secured (and wherever possible interdisciplinary) findings be examined and verified as to their usefulness and fitness for explanation and that they are adapted accordingly. Bibliography: AGOF (2008). Internet Facts. Retrieved 5 May, 2008, from http://www.agof.de/ Alby, T. (2007). Web 2.0. Munich: Carl Hanser Verlag. Beck, A. (2007). Web 2.0: Konzepte, Technologien, Anwendungen. Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik; HMD 255. Blogjungle.de. (2007). Press release: Tourismus, Politik und Autos sind die Topthemen beim Bloggen. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://www.blogjungle.de/common/templates/ blogjungle/presse/downloads/ BLOGJungle-PM02-07_final_versionB.pdf Blumer, H. (1973). Der methodologische Standort des symbolischen Interaktionismus. In Arbeitsgruppe Bielefelder Soziologen (Ed.), Alltagswissen, Interaktion und gesellschaftliche Wirklichkeit, Bd. 1. Reinbek/Hamburg: Rowohlt. Bramwell, B. (2006). Actors, power, and discourses of growth limits. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 33(4), 957-978. Breuer, M. (2004). Was Social Software mit Ameisen (und Innovation) zu tun. Retrieved April 27, 2008, from http://notizen.typepad.com/aus_der_provinz/2004/09/ was_social_soft.html Buhalis, D. & Chung, J.Y. (2008) Information needs in online social networks. Information Technology & Tourism, Vol. 10, 267-281. Cohen, E. (1988). Traditions in the qualitative sociology of tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 15(1), 29-46. Colton, C.W. (1987). Leisure, Recreation, Tourism: A symbolic interactionism view. Annals for Tourism Research, Vol. 14(3), 345-360. Dann, G., & Cohen, E. (1991). Sociology and Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 18(1), 155-169. Dring, N. (2003). Sozialpsychologie des Internet. Die Bedeutung des Internet fr Kommunikationsprozesse, Identitten, soziale Beziehungen und Gruppen. Gttingen: Hogrefe Verlag. Echtner, C. & Jamal, T. (1997). The Disciplinary Dilemma of Tourism Studies. Annals of
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Transdiciplinary approach between researchers, practitioners and local communities as peace prospective of tourism
An Example of Machhapuchhre Model Trek in Western Nepal Pranil Kumar Upadhayay*
Abstract There are both assumption and evidence about the peace potential as well as conflict sensitiveness of tourism, a composite product with overlapping roles of multi-stakeholders in its own. Tourism with such a dual face can be both a source of peace and a cause for conflict. The establishment of local institutions (e.g. Machhapuchhre Tourism Development Committee), development of human resources on home stay operation (e.g. training on culinary and hospitality skills to local women and disadvantageous ethnic communities), organization of various workshops (e.g. local, regional and national levels) on nature conservation and peace-promoting tourism, and formulation of commonly accepted tourism code of conducts are some of the key features and outputs of MMT. Transdisciplinary approach, materialized through the collaboration among scientific researchers, tourism practitioners and local communities, is a key lesson learnt as evident in this paper. This approach helps in generating mutual understanding, appreciating differences, fostering knowledge, enhancing societal learning, boosting concerted actions, mitigating syndromes of unsustainable development, lessening conflict, and thereby supporting to build peace. This paper emphasizes the need of an integrated effort on transdisciplinary approach for developing sustainable tourism and thereby supporting peace through tourism in Nepal. Keywords: integrated effort, trans-disciplinary approach, peace promoting tourism, Machhapuchhre Model Trek. Introduction There are many assumptions and envisions about the peace potential along with conflict sensitiveness of tourism, a composite product formed by the amalgam of various actors and services. Tourism sector with these dual faces can be both a source of peace and/or a cause of conflict (Higgins-Desbiolles, 2006; Moufakkir & Kelly, 2010). These hypothesis and envisions
*
Mr. Pranil Kumar Upadhayaya is PhD research scholar of Kathmandu University.
Upadhayay: Transdiciplinary approach between researchers... 41
can appear roadmap for tourism stakeholders who are entrusted to act responsibly on conflict sensitive and peace promoting approach. Realizing the multidimensional facets of tourism with the overlapping roles of various actors in developing and managing this complex sector, the integrated actions on a transdisciplinary approach in a tourism development project where scientific actors, tourism practitioners, and local communities are mutually involved in concerted actions and societal learning, can really be contributory to accelerate peace, prosperity and harmony and avoid and decelerate likely conflict and hatred. Based on the characteristics of transdisciplinary research as the conceptual framework (brief elaboration under the sub title of transdisciplinary research...), this paper presents a case study of a Partnership Actions for Mitigating Syndromes (PAMS) project titled Developing a community based tourism model in Kaski district in Western Nepal. It was initiated and executed by the partnership actions between researchers, tourism practitioners and local communities on Machhapuchhre Model Trek route in Kaski district in Western Nepal in the year 2009/10. While addressing challenges of diversifying tourism in new areas to give access of grassroots communities by applying research findings to real situations, a PAMS (see note 1) project1 was conceptualized, its proposal formed, applied and got approved to work in collaborative approach between the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South (see note 2), Kathmandu University (KU), Trekking Agencies of Nepal Western Regional Chapter (TAAN WRC), and Empowering Women of Nepal (EWN), and Pokhara (NCCR North-South, 2011; Nepal Research Group, 2011). Methodological note A set of methods resembling review of literatures and focus group discussion are utilized for the creation of this paper. Therefore, this study is an outcome of empirical research. Information and views on Nepals conflict, tourism and peace building related issues are accessed from national and international literature. Various infrastructure developments and capacity building activities at Machhapuchhre Model Trek route were held that aimed to trigger societal learning through mutual interactions and concerted actions among scientific researchers (researchers of NCCR North-South and Kathmandu University), tourism practitioners (members of TAAN Western Regional Chapter), and local communities Machhapuchhre Tourism Development Committee (MTDC) those who are beneficiaries and other institutions (e.g. Nepal Tourism Board, Empowering Women of Nepal in Pokhara) on transdisciplinary approach. The major collaborative engagements among those actors included three workshops one each at local level2 at Machhapuchhre Village Development Committee
1
See Heim, Michel, Salmi, & Breu (2011) for more information about the nature of transdisciplinary structure of PAMS project and evaluation on its effectiveness for fostering knowledge through its exchange between researchers (as science) and society (as communities) and mitigating syndromes of unsustainable development.
2
A workshop titled 'Community Based Tourism -Preliminary Infrastructure Development, Capacity Buildings and Formulation of Conflict Sensitive Tourism Code of Conducts' was organized jointly by TAAN Western Regional Chapter and NCCR North-South Joint Areas of Case Studies South Asia (JACS SAS) at Machhapuchhre VDC on 15 January (Thursday) 2009.
(VDC) on 15 January 2008, regional level3 at Pokhara on 02 July 2008 (figure 1) and national level4 in Kathmandu on 14 December 2009 which offered range of debates, discussions and mutual understanding.
Figure 1: A joint workshop organized by NCCR, KU, TAAN and MTDC: a transdisciplinary methodological approach through collaboration between researchers, tourism practitioners and local communities
Photo: TAAN WRC, Pokhara, 2009
Furthermore, the framework of tourism Code of Conducts (CoC) (figure 4) and a draft paper on the various aspects of its rationale were intensively discussed in an interaction organized among the members of MTDC, TAAN Western Regional Chapter, the representatives of EWN and the representative of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Pokhara in Lwang Ghalel Village Development Committee (VDC) in May 2009. Peace and conflict as dual characteristics of tourism Nepal has competitive and comparative potential of tourism for socio-economic transformation and increased environmental preservation. Her remote landscapes in far flunked rural areas in mountain, hill and terrain settled by the majority of socio-economically disadvantaged people poses high prospective for the development of tourism due to the availabilities of immense endemic resources and attractions. The unique and unmatched cultural diversity of varied ethnic settlements and their age old hospitable nature have added advantage for tourism sector in Nepal.
3
A presentation was made on Conflict Sensitive Tourism Code of Conducts for Machhapuchhre Model Trek, a community based tourism by Mr. Ash Kumar Gurung, secretary of Machhapuchhre Tourism Development Committee at a regional workshop organized jointly by TAAN and NCCR North-South in association with NTB and Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) on 02 July 2009 in Pokhara. This national workshop included three sessions namely inaugural, presentation, and summary and discussions. A presentation on 'Conflict sensitive Code of Conducts at Machhapuchhre Model Trek - Obligation and Challenges' was made that followed by a talk and discussion programme as how tourism can promote peace and prosperity in Nepal. See www.nccrnepal.org/Information_Letter/JACS_SAs_InfoLetter_15.pdf and www.hotelgurkhahaven.com/ content.php?id=22 for more information on news coverage about this national workshop.
Nepal deserves its identity primarily for mountain tourism in general which includes trekking, mountaineering, community based tourism, rural/village tourism, eco tourism, and adventure sports tourism. Amidst various locations of Nepal, Western Nepal is also offered and operational with various adventurous mountain tourism activities like trekking (from mild to extraneous), mountaineering, para-gliding, ultra-light aircraft flying, rafting, kayaking, wall climbing, mountain biking, mountain flights, hot spring ponds, etc. which are handled by a regionally based 75 trekking agencies, 535 hotels, 11 paragliding companies, 100 travel agencies and 75 trekking agencies (PTC, 2008). Pokhara in Western Nepal constitutes its position as a regional hub for majoring of incoming and outgoing tourists in western Nepal as there were a total of 157, 019 international tourists visited Pokhara that constitutes 30% of total tourists arrivals of 509,956 in the year 2009 in Nepal (MoTCA, 2010). Community based pro-poor village tourism, eco-tourism and adventurous tourism with proper local supply linkages and absorptive capacities on sustainable and responsible approach can be instrumental in tackling widespread poverty, hunger, disease and deprivation. These high issues, if not tackled carefully on time, may translate into greater dissatisfaction leading to social tension and conflicts (Aditya, 2002; Tuladhar, 2009). Community based pro-poor village tourism is also viable not only to mitigate conflict but also enhance prosperity that fosters peace building. Pandey (2008), relating the attachment of the poor segment of the community in all forms of community based tourism including community based mountain tourism, mentions community based tourism both in mountain or Terai as a form of tourism that takes environmental, social, and cultural sustainability into account. It is managed by community and targeted to enable visitors to increase their awareness and learn about the community so that the visitors' participations ensure to provide benefit to the community. Community based tourism run and guided in and by the jurisdiction of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) in Annapurna region of Western Nepal offers one of good examples. This kind of tourism in Annapurna area has followed the principle of maximum people's participation on sustainable approach. This project viewing indigenous people as one of the most important factors for successful management of conservation efforts, has tried to reach out to the poorest of the poor people as much as possible (Bajracharya, Gurung, & Basnet, 2007). However, the inherited multi-faceted characteristics of tourism reveal that its development is a complex experiences which needs multidisciplinary treatment (Dann, 2000; in Kunwar, 2006). There are not only the overlaps of various disciplines but also various diverse actors with distinctive roles. The supplies of different products and services by different operator's usually small or medium sized businesses in local ownership makes tourism a distinctive, highly fragmented and diverse industry. The coordinated industry-wide action is also challenging. In such context, the development of sustainable tourism in Nepal, like other tourism potential countries elsewhere, is naturally challenging. Tourism sector itself is like a two-edged sword. Its one edge has great prospect to bring prosperity and peace through creation of jobs, attracting foreign investments and earning foreign currencies. At the same time, the other side of the edge may create irresponsible outcomes damaging natural environment, stressing societies, eroding traditional culture and values, and thus creating conflict if it is not manage properly with the principles of accountability, harmony and sustainability (McKercher, 1993).
Tourism sector in Nepal was severely affected from the decade long (1996- 2006) armed conflict (Upadhayaya, 2011). This sector has also faced various political and socio-economic disorders and series of instabilities and consequently not able to reach the stage of maturity in a context of the independency of the various parts of tourist system. This sector is still instable and sensitive to various political, socio-cultural and economic and environmental, and operational factors being manifested locally in the interrelationship between hosts and between hosts and guests. Various studies (Shackley, 1998; Sharma, 2010; Sofield, 1998) reveal about such sensitiveness of tourism among the complex relationships of various stakeholders in the host society. A study by Shackley (1999) in Khumbu reveals about the creation and increment of class differences between the newly wealthy who live in higherpriced system and the other class as self-employed who live in a more traditional lifestyle and cannot earn enough income to live the desired lifestyle. Furthermore, there are complex behavioral relationships and cross cultural interactions between hosts and guests resulting with both negative and positive implications on host society (Kunwar, 2006). Some of the negative (bad) ramifications include acculturation5 and trivialization6 where as the positive implications include revitalization7 of host society and culture. Managing such dual nature (both good and bad) of tourism is felt critical and challenging that must be proactively managed for promoting a healthy tourism sector in Nepal (Upadhaya, 2008a and 2008b). The post-conflict Nepal, after a decade long (1996 2006) armed conflict, is passing through a complicated period of transition. In this context, tourism like other sectors of economy in the aftermath of a decade long conflict is highly sensitiveness to newly manifesting conflicts. The post conflict stage of tourism seeks careful and indigenous planning and implementations framed with appropriate guidelines (Upadhayaya, 2009).
Acculturation refers to socio-cultural change which results through the continuous first hand contacts between guests and hosts or cultural assimilation (the replacement of one set of cultural traits by another). From the anthropological perspective of tourism, tourists are considered as stronger guests who are more developed western people where as native people are considered as weaker hosts. There are some form of dominant-subordinate relationship between guests and hosts which form the basis of acculturation (Nunez, 1963; in Kunwar, 2006). Trivialization is related with harmful effects on the host culture when aspects of the host culture become a degraded and commercialized form of entertainment for tourists. Its examples include effects on the religious and symbolic values of the Bedouin culture of the desert tribes of Tunisia (Davidson, 1989; in Kunwar, 2006: 145). Messerli (1987) presents other example of trivialization on the host culture in Swiss Alps in post-war period. Revitalization refers to the revival of culture that is reconstructed through tourism ( Kunwar, 2006: 147; see in detail Pandey et al., 1993).
Transdisciplinary approach of research as the peace prospective of tourism Transdisciplinarity (Td) is an emerging approach of research on global change8 and sustainable development. It is a conceptual framework that constitutes researchers, practicners, local communities9, etc. as collective actors with common goal. Td highlights the collaboration between scientific and societal actors for a common purpose (Heim et al., 2011). Td acknowledges the co-existence of different levels or types of reality (various academic and non-academic views of "reality") and accepts that that scientific statement in complex contexts are not just either right or wrong and that there can be several solutions in-between (principle of the "included middle").There is clear orientation of Td research towards concrete societal issues or problems. A pragmatic Td is often used in development studies and sustainability research.
Figure 2: A conceptual framework for operationalising transdisciplinary approach in a research process Source: Adapted from Herweg (2011)
Global change (GC) involves complex human-environment relationships and interactions (e.g. climate change, globalisation, global trade and economic interlinkage, growing economic and social disparities, etc.), which requires an interdisciplinary approach - close cooperation of natural and social sciences. GC involves phases of rapid transformation, uncertain contexts, and increasing demand for more rapid solutions to adapt to GC, which requires a new way of thinking in sciences, flexible research approaches, methodologies, and combinations of qualitative and quantitative methods. Td research approach considers local communities as the source of non-academic knowledge systems which are of often indigenous nature.
Attributed with the capacity of triggering social learning process, this research process allows to position the disciplinary research experience within an inter- and transiciplinary team, working with site specific mix of social, economic and ecological issues. The deep empirical observation of researchers as the integral part of science in close association with society as local people (also referred as non academic/scientific actors) facilitate them to compile their findings focusing on the development potentials of their case study area, and elaborating how research could possibly help strengthen these potentials. On the interrelationships of interdisciplinary researchers with society from where the knowledge generates in real sense, Herweg (2011) mentions that the transdisciplinary research involves close cooperation and communication among scientific disciplines and between science and society. It also builds up understanding and appreciation of other scientific epistemologies and methodologies, as well as of non-academic knowledge. The research involved in transdisciplinary approach of research whenever possible try to integrate their methodological experience into an inter- and trasndisciplinary team interacting with local actors on the case study based learning. This process also implies encounters with representatives of other scientific disciplines as well as non-academic local actors. The availability of working in an interdisciplinary team on specific cases and interacting with the local actors allows all transdisciplinary researchers to reflect their own role and the role of their own disciplines even touching upon thematic, methodological and ethical issues. The value of transdisciplinary research stands on its contribution for sustainable development (SD) which in fact requires a normative concept to address a societal concern. SD involves judgment of, assessment by, and negotiations between, multitudes of societal actors. It needs permanent adjustment through processes of learning involving different actors in a society including researchers - in a process of societal learning. Machhapuchhre model trek; an example of transdisciplinary approach Out of a total 26,46,163 tourists arrivals in seven years from 2001 to 2007 in Nepal, Annapurna region in Western Nepal received 3,21,332 tourists which constitutes around 12.14 % in total tourists arrivals (MoTCA, 2010). However, this trend of tourists travels to Annapurna regional mainly was started to be affected with the construction of motor-able roads along the main trail of round Annapurna circuit route. The construction of motor-able road from two sides (Besisahar Chame and Beni Muktinath) covering more than half portion of round Annapurna Circuit trekking has started to affect on the overall structure and dynamics of trekking tourism in this region. The construction of motor-able road on RA trekking route appeared highly debatable with two thoughts in development paradigm: one demanding the needs of roads along with this world famous trekking routes to address the needs of all other developments largely based on road accessibility and the other with reverse thought. The latter thought opposes the construction of motor-able road which is overriding to destroy its real natural setup, beauty, environment and uniqueness that was otherwise far earlier from the effects of this syndrome. These physical structural changes have ultimately brought much change in the overall structure of mountain tourism of this whole regional in general and Annapurna region in specific. The constructions of roads along with the round Annapurna circuit trek from the year
2006/7 not only caused to fluctuate on the number of trekking tourists arrivals but also their average night stays and its associated various related tourism activities. This syndrome of change created a need to diversify trekking tourism routes in new areas in a balanced approach in Annapurna region and also beyond. Such a scenario created by the demand and syndromes of modern development needs in Annapurna formed the basis of visualizing Machhapuchhre Model Trek route. Machhapuchhre (popular synonym of Mt. Fishtail (6993 m) Model Trek route10 was first explored by TAAN-WRC in association with Nepal Tourism Board and five VDCs in Annapurna region during Visit Pokhara Year 2007. A team of 27 people under the leadership of TAAN WRC during April 2 - 4, 2007 had conducted baseline study on this route to observe and decide on the potentiality for village tourism (Khatiwada, 2007). This exploration visit was immediately followed by an interaction programme organized on Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action (APPA) model at Ghachowk VDC on 2 June 2007. It was attended by 79 participants including local people of five VDCs, social workers, representatives of five VDCs, TAAN WRC board members, representatives of Annpurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), leaders of various political parties, members of local civil society, school teachers, representative of local clubs, members of mothers groups, NTB board member representing western Nepal, representative of NTB Pokhara office, various representatives of regional tourism associations of Pokhara like Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN), Pokhara Hotel Association (PHA), and Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), and various print media representatives. The discussions and recommendations were positive and remarkable for deciding to take further instigation for the development of this trekking route as a potential segment of mountain tourism (Khatiwada, 2007). Its exploration was coincided with a context where there had already been felt a high need to develop rural tourism on the participatory approach by including the disadvantageous and marginal groups to bring them on the mainstream of rural tourism and provide all-round benefits. This exotic, but less explored Model Trek route is a unique blending of natural, cultural and biodiversities where trekkers may join for 2 to 14 days trekking. The mixture of unique nature and culture deserve the greater potentials to develop this route as viable alternative rural tourism11 trekking route.
Machhapuchhre Model Trek route is situated towards the north from Pokhara on a distance of 12 km in Kaski district in Western Nepal. This village trekking route covers an area of approximately 25 sq. km in the periphery of seven Village Development Committee namely Lahachowk, Ghachowk, Machhapuchhre, Rivan, Lwang-ghalel, Sardikhola and Dhital which is inhabited by approximately 16,000 population with divers ethnic segments like Gurungs, Tamangs, Damais, Kamis, Sarkis, Bahuns, Chettris,etc. 11 The rural tourism in this route appears in two forms. One is as an organized trekking route with the constructions of trekking tourists' campsites and porter's shelters in five wilderness places (Meshrom Kharka, Hile, Lalka, Khumai, and Pilicho) and at the same time the other is the home stay provision for tourists in the local houses in seven villages. SDC supported and NCCR executed PAMS project was instrumental for the basic infrastructure (e.g. trail markings, campsites building, and porters' shelters constructions and trekking route maps publication) and capacity (e.g. trainings to local women on home stay tourism with culinary and hospitality trainings) building activities including and the commonly agreed responsible tourism code of conducts formulations and their applications to ascertain sustainability and peace through local rural tourism.
10
Box 1: Machhapuchhre Model Trek Characteristics : A twofold village tourism product with all inclusive organized trekking package as well as home stays provisions in seven villages resulted from the joint efforts of researchers and non scientific local actors : A trekking tourism product consisting with 5 trekking camp sites, 5 shelters for supporters, and 25 trail marking boards, and trekking route map : Easy accessible from and to Pokhara (only 12 km drive to the trek start point) : 1000 meter to 3700 meter : Korchan (3682 meter) : Approx. 16,000 : 1 day hike to 2 weeks of trekking : In seven villages : Various Mountain ranges, Pipar Pheasant Reserve, Hot springs, waterfall, etc. : Tea Garden at Lwangghalel : Gurung, Tamang, Damai, Kami, Sarki, Chettri, Brahmin, etc. as multiethnic groups even in a single village Local institutional : Machhapuchhre Tourism Development Committee (MTDC)12 as a core local body representing seven villages
Specific features
Location Altitude variation Best sunrise view point Population Available trekking days Home stay provisions Natural attractions Manmade attractions Cultural attractions
representation
Adapted by the author (2011)
12
MTDC, as formulated covering seven villages immediately after the starting of PAMS project was engaged in coordinating activities like selection of trainees for capacity building trainings, organization of trainings, smooth execution of annual work plan on infrastructure buildings, organizations of local and regional levels workshops, and formulation and finalization of conflict sensitive tourism code of conducts. See Bechtel (2010) on the focus of its sustainability aspects.
A number of directly and indirectly concerned stakeholders like tourism related academicians, rural communities, tourism practitioners, and local government bodies have joined hands in hands in collaborative approach through the development of Machhapuchhre Model Trek in Kaski (figures 3 and 4). It is a collaborative attempt to meet the new opportunities of rural tourism for its peace potential in Annapurna region in Western Nepal.
Figure 3: Brochure on MMT demonstrating a shared effort between scientific and non academic actors
Figure 4: Significant actors and code of conducts related issues in the interlinked composition at Machhapuchre Model Trek route
Source: Upadhayaya (2011)
It also realized the application of the conflict sensitive code of conducts (CoC) on this alternative route. The CoC is felt as crucially important to promote tourism sustainability, minimize potential conflict and promote peace. Various publications have mentioned about the need and importance of CoC as the proper guidelines for not only the responsible use of environmental resources but also to mobilize local stakeholders in the endeavor of their fair participations, sincere responsibility, and equitable benefits sharing (ACAP, 2009a; ACAP, 2009b; MoCTCA, 2006; NTNC, 2011; Shrestha, 2009). This is sincerely linked with this fact that the long lasting peace build by these responsible acts, is the precondition for sustainable tourism sector (Upadhayaya, 2008b).
Box 2: Code of Conducts on Machhapuchhre Model Trek route CoC as peace-promoting approach to tourism with responsible and sustainable tourism acts A Code of Conduct (CoC) is disciplinary, voluntary and self-regulatory rules and commitments. These are the core values of tourism, the honest application of which are the preconditions for the sustainability of rural tourism. This code of conduct on Machhapuchhre Model Trek covers five main aspects of tourism namely managerial, socio-cultural, economic, environmental, and those related to safety and security of tourists. Tourists, tourism entrepreneurs, tourism workers, local people and other concerned are strongly advised to follow these conducts to make tourism sustainable and enable a positive environment to prevent and mitigate unwarranted consequences and conflicts that may result from the non attendance of responsible tourism conducts. Source: Upadhayaya & Upreti (2009)
There are following core objectives of CoC formulations. To create commonly accepted operational modalities as a kind of commitment on MMTR for its sustainability which will various issues of planning, managerial, economic, environmental, socio-cultural and safety & security related areas of MMTR To support to develop community based village tourism on MMTR on environmentally friendly (responsible), socio-culturally acceptable and economically viable approaches. To contribute for the development of community based village tourism model that can be a model to contribute for poverty reduction and enhancement of peace and prosperity through tourism at local level. This CoC, as collectively shared and accepted Dos' and Donts on MMTR, are directly and indirectly concerned for all kind of stakeholders of rural tourism activities like TAAN WRC, trek operators, trekkers, MTDC, and all potentials local village tourism entrepreneurs in Machhapuchhre Model Trek route. This tourism operational Code of Conducts is primarily based on the minimum impact code for the preservation of environment applied by the jurisdiction of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) in Annapurna area. The ACAP
project in Annapurna has followed the principal of maximum peoples participation of indigenous people for successful management of conservation efforts. (Bajracharya et al., 2007). The CoC on Machhapuchre Model Trek in its complete form compliments to environment specific CoC of ACAP and also cover other areas like planning and managerial, socio-cultural, safety & security and economic in a broader form. Conclusion Transdisciplinary approach of research includes disciplinary science into non-academic knowledge systems and acknowledges the co-existence of different levels or types of reality (various academic and non-academic views of "reality"). As there is clear orientation of transdisciplinary research towards concrete societal issues or problems, this approach has the potential for peace promoting in the field of tourism. The tourism related Partnership Actions for Mitigating Syndromes project titled Developing a community based tourism model in Kaski district in Western Nepal was formulated, designed and operated to address the peace potential of tourism as addressed by the PhD research finding in the field of Tourism, Conflict, and Peace during the years 2009/ 10. This Partnership Actions for Mitigating Syndromes provided an empirical basis for evaluating the potential of transdisciplinary research in triggering social learning process. The core thrust of this partnership action project is to acquire a practical experience by exploring an alternative trekking route (Machhapuchhre Model Trek) for peace and prosperity through rural tourism. The project was executed with the strategies of formulating and adapting conflict sensitive tourism Code of Conducts at the local level at Machapuchre Model Trek route in Annapurna region in Western Nepal. It is one of the pioneer works of this type by the partnership between scientific researchers, tourism practitioners and local communities through their common local organization (Machhapuchhre Tourism Development Committee). This model rural tourism project has resulted in two forms. The first is as an organized trek route with the constructions of trekking tourists' campsites and porters shelters in five wilderness places (Meshrom Kharka, Hile, Lalka, Khumai, and Pilicho) and at the same time the second is the development of a product for home stay of tourists in the local houses in seven villages (Lahachowk, Ghachowk, Machhapurchhre, Rivan, Lwangghale, Sardikhola, and Dhital) inhabited by 16,000 people varied ethnic groups in this route. The adaptation of its model is supported by the building of small scale basic infrastructure developments (construction of five camp sites, five porter shelters and twenty five trail markings), and capacity building (home-stay operation and management) of local people. The series of interactions with local stakeholders (local communities, members of Machhapuchhre Tourism Development Committee, members of TAAN WRC) and regional and national level participations at subsequent workshops to plan, develop, and execute the PAMS tourism project activities as well as to formulate Conflict Sensitive Tourism Code of Conducts in context of developing community based village tourism in Kaski district ascertains the application of trandisciplinary approach and the enhancement of societal learning. Local communities, Machhapurchhre Tourism Development Committee, researchers, and tourism practitioners (trekking Agencies and their associations at regional and central levels), tourists
and various human resources involved in trekking tourism like porters, trekking guides (trek groups leaders), and kitchen crews including cooks are the primary beneficiaries of this transdisciplinary approach on Machhapuchhre Model trek (TAAN WRC, 2010). Nonetheless, the lessons learned from the collaborative involvement of this small scale integration and partnership approach are not sufficient to set in full motion to this route in whole size and to provide the trickle down benefits on the livelihoods of the marginal people of all corners of this area in sustainable approach. The strengthening and overwhelming expansion of the partnerships between researchers (as science) and society (as the real local communities) in community based rural tourism are future necessities for which the continuity of such programs in different modes at local and regional levels in the future can be momentous. The learning experience and the lesson acquired from the positive outcomes of this model tourism can be replicated at several new alternative routes to enhance the potential role of tourism for conflict mitigation and sustainable peace building. Notes 1. PAMS PAMS are small participatory projects of limited time and financial scope under the framework of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South). These projects are designed to bring PhD researchers together with societal partners in applying research results in real-world settings. To ensure that research results are not confined to university bookshelves, NCCR North-South introduced "PAMS" right from the start of the programme. To ensure that research results are not confined to university bookshelves, the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South) introduced "PAMS" as a joint endeavor between researchers and their partners right from the start of the programme to test new ideas to solve concrete problems of societies in developing countries. PAMS provide a platform for researchers and societal partners to exchange knowledge and views, giving them the opportunity to play a greater role in finding innovative solutions for more sustainable development. In PAMS, researchers work in close collaboration with a partner organization from outside academia, to test and validate new approaches aimed at contributing to societal change. Transdisciplinarity, social learning and syndromes mitigation (of unsustainable development) are three prime programme goals of PAMS. Transdisciplinarity is fostered under PAMS by the exchange of knowledge, views, skills and social learning between science and society. 2. NCCR North-South The Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South) is one of 27 National Centres of Competence in Research established for research partnerships for mitigating syndromes of global change by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). It is implemented by the SNSF and co-funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the participating institutions in Switzerland. The NCCR North-South carries out disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research on issues relating to sustainable development in developing and transition countries as well as in Switzerland.
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Tuladhar, G. R. (2009), Nepal Bhraman Bars 2011: Ek Jhalak (Nepal Tourism Year 2011: A glimpse). In P. Sharma (Eds.), Village Tourism for Poverty Alleviation (pp. 80-82). Village Tourism Promotion Forum Nepal: Kathmandu. Upadhayaya, P.K. (2008a). Developing a community based tourism model in Kaski district in Western Nepal a presentation made at the regional workshop organized jointly by TAAN WRC, NCCR North-South and NTB on 02 July 2009 in Pokhara. Upadhayaya, P. K. (2008b), Lasting Peace as the Precondition for Sustainable Tourism, Nepal Travel Trade Reporter, X (51), 24-25. Upadhayaya, P.K. (2009), Post Conflict Tourism in Nepal: Challenges and Opportunities for Preventing Latent Conflict, The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality, Vol.1, No. 1, pp.1(1), 28 42. Upadhayaya, P. K. (2011). Peace through Tourism. A Critical Look in Nepalese Tourism. Nepal Tourism & Development Review, 1(1), 15-40. Upadhayaya, P.K. & Upreti, B.R, (2009). Conflict sensitive Code of Conducts for sustainable tourism: Obligations and Challenges on Machhapuchhre Model Trek. A discussion paper presented at the National Conference on Exploring Alternative Trekking Rotes for Peace and Prosperity jointly organized by Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) and NCCR North-South on 14 December 2009 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Acknowledgements The research was conducted under the research grant support of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South: Research Partnerships for Mitigating Syndromes of Global Change in the years 2009-2010. The NCCR North-South is co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the participating institutions.
Sport Event Tourism : A Study of Social and Ecological

Effects of Winter Universiade Erzurum 2011
Naci Polata*
Abstract Turkey is becoming to play a very important role in the world tourism. There have been large tourism investments since 1980s, especially on coastal areas. Locations with reputable names like Uludag or Kartalkaya which are found in the western part of the country, showed concrete developments in winter sports and tourism. On the other hand, there is an increasing number of young people with less economic and social status who are trying to join winter sports in the Eastern Anatolian region, despite of their socio economic problems. World Universities Winter Olympics (Erzurum 2011 Winter Universiade) will be organised in Erzurum which is the main city of Eastern Anatolia, between January 27th and February 6th 2011. With the help of this organization, it is supposed that knowledge of tourism and sport among local people could be extremely arisen. The realization of this change must be planned before the organization starts. Besides, this region will not only be known as a sport centre but it has also positive effect on the locals who live in the neighbour cities. Keywords: University Winter Olympics, Social Effects, Ecological Effects Introduction Erzurum is the biggest and the most modern city of the Eastern Anatolian Region. Nevertheless, while Turkish economy was growing at the rate of 47.06 % between 1987 and 2001, the economy of Erzurum grew at the rate of only 15.20 %. This situation shows that the city has important socio-economic problems inside. Its geographical location, industrial infrastructure, tourism and livestock potential and its commercial opportunities shows that Erzurum has the potential to realise fast economic growth (TUIK, 2007). There is a need for a development vision and strategically priorities for the city. There are important initiatives which can be taken by local and central administrations, NGOs and the public. Method At this stage, purpose of this study is to discuss the social and ecological effects of the visitors who are going to come to the region due to Universiade 2011. The effects of these games to the tourism sector on the region and the long term effect of the new infrastructure
* Mr. Naci Polata is associated with Vocational School, Department of Tourism and Travel, University of Dumlupnar, Ktahya, Turkey, polatn2002@yahoo.de
Polata: Sport Tourism 57
which will be come out through the games to the economic development of the city will be mentioned. With the help of pre-studies, the assesment of the social and ecological effects and recommendations will be made in order to provide positive effects of the games to the region in sustainable way. FISU The International University Sports Federation (FISU) is umbrella organization for over 100 national sport federations. FISU organizes the Winter and the Summer Universiades in uneven years and World University Championships in even years. This organization was officially founded in 1949 and it is based in Brussels. Universiade The word Universiade derives from the words university and Olympiad. It means Olympic Games for students. The Universiade is an international sport and cultural festival, which is staged every two years in a different city. The 25th Winter Universiade will be organized between 27th January and 6th February in Erzurum which is the biggest city of the eastern region of Turkey. Alpine skiing, biathlon, ice hockey, curling, ski jumping, cross country, nordic combined, snowboard, freestyle skiing, figure skating, short track will be competition classes/types of the games. Classification of Universiade under the scope of special interest tourism The organization of university games is generally accepted under the title of sport event tourism which is a type of special interest tourism (Hudson, 2003). From the destination point of view, sport event tourism brings along the development and marketing of the sport events in order to create advantage in economic and social terms. When the visitors are considered, this visit includes participation in the activities or just watching them. Universiade covers also these features. At this stage, the organisation of the current activities of Universiade as a product will be more effective for destination marketing. The organization of the activities taking only the preference of the local society and competitors into account may not create the same results as tourism products. From this point of view, the general characteristics of sport event tourism will be introduced as follow. The comparison of these features and the situation in Erzurum Universiade will be made under every header. Special sport events can attract more tourists to the destination than regular games do. There should be enough accommodation capacity in order to meet increasing number of tourists. The number of local and international tourists, number of hotels, rooms and their vacancy rates regarding previous years in Erzurum is given as below. When the new statistics is announced after the games, it will be possible to determine and evaluate the differences between before and after Universiade.
Table 1: The number of accommodation facilities, rooms and beds (2007) Number of Hotels Erzurum 65 Source: TUIK (2007) According to above statistics, number of accommodation facilities in Erzurum will be able to meet demands of guests at Universiade with the help of state owned accommodation facilities which are not included in this statistics. On the other hand, possible number of tourists which will be created after the games may not be got sufficient room and bed capacity. Because of this, the planning of facility and bed must be made by local and central government, investors in common. In this way, it will be possible to prevent idle capacity which may come of in the future. And special attention has to be given to increase the numbers of trained staff. Table 2: The numbers of visitors staying in accommodation facilities, average overnight stays and vacancy rates (2007) Arrivals Local Erzurum 239927 Source: TUIK (2007) It is not surprising that most of the visitors staying in accommodation facilities are local tourists. Erzurum was mostly shy about international tourism. The number of international tourist will be probably increased after the Universiade. In spite of high number of local tourists, vacancy rates are still low. Distance between Eastern Anatolia and western cities makes air transport as an alternativeness travel mode. The number of low-cost air carriers makes it possible for people to visit this region more often since last decade. With the realisation of the construction of planned high speed train railways, the decrease in the transportation time between Erzurum, the other eastern cities like Kars, Artvin and the western part of Turkey will be possible; on the other hand these cities will get close to the neighbour states on the eastern border of the country. As a result of all these, current tourism potentials of not only Erzurum but also the neighbour cities will be used effectively. It is necessity the realisation of some of the activities related to Universiade, in Kars and Artvin which precede Erzurum in terms of culture but drop behind regarding economic development, just to make these cities benefit from the social, economic and cultural assets of University games. Corporate sponsors want to support this type of events. Current organization in Erzurum is being realised only with the state sources and abilities at the moment. It is expected that certain number of sponsors will be ready in the last 6 months before the games. At this stage, there are some meetings regarding sponsorship in Int. 16778 Total Average Overnight Stays Vacancy Rates (%) Local Int. 1.4 Total 1.2 Local 26.31 Int. 2.10 Total 28.41 256705 1.2 Number of Rooms 1482 Number of Beds 3048
Istanbul, which is the economical and financial capital city of Turkey, in order to get support of main players of private sector to Universiade. It is clear that there is need for more initiative in this issue. New facilities are made by the help of this kind of large sport events. And this makes it possible for the destination to use these facilities in the future. Such investments in Erzurum will carry the city to a different and attractive level in the near future. With the help of right and effective planning it will be possible to use these facilities in the different times of the year. If this is not possible it means that such kinds of investments are made for unsustainable usage. Successfully organized events will make the local people take pride in their hosting during the organization. People of Erzurum are mostly familiarized with the Universiade and identified themselves with it. This will empower self confidence of local people for the international events which will be organized in the future. Sport events can help to uncover regional culture and local traditions and promote them as well. While festivals, which are organized in neighbour cities, promote current organization, Universiade organization committee brings also such kind of events to its web page, and share them with the public. The spending regarding the promotion of sport event preparations in media and image development of sport destination has more importance than the spending of current visitors. Universiade organization committee reached an agreement with the promotion agency which carried the promotion of Summer Universiade of Izmir in 2005, for the introduction and execution of media relations for Universiade Erzurum. Such kind of events can be an important tool to help the increase in tourism incomes in less developed regions and small cities. There are eighteen small towns which are administratively part of Erzurum (DPT, 2004). Social and economical development level of these small towns is under the average of Turkey. Different economical and cultural roles can be taken over by these small towns during the Universiade. Unfortunately, there is no concrete work on these issues and most attention is paid on inner city activities. Potential Costs and Effects Bramwell (1997) reviewed the 18th World Summer University (1991) games which were held in Sheffield, England under the scope of sustainability. It was difficult to evaluate costs and effects of games on this region. It was impossible to have long term observation in similar events. Whitson and Macintosh (1996), implied that such kind of events have more positive effects on elite parts of society rather than on less advantageous levels of society. In order to prevent to have same situation in Erzurum, this study must be widened with the help of new data in the future and results must be shared.
Long-term positive influence of investments on the society has to be secured. This is not always possible. Specific sport facilities are used seldom after such large events. Infrastructure which is made for ski jumping in Erzurum will be used also very limited. The environmental and social effects must be evaluated. Especially, there will be increase in the level of traffic, noise and other problems during the events. The application of "green games" concept, which is created by International Olympics Committee, to the Universiade might be possible. The researches made until this moment shows that organization committee is concentrated on the buildings of facilities instead of sustainability of the games at Erzurum Universiade. Actually, the possible leadership of Erzurum regarding green games might be sample case for evaluation and realisation of future sport events in terms of environmental and social perspective. On the other hand the reason of the numerous unsuccessful candidate applications of Turkey for the Olympic Games may be Turkeys unawareness of the sustainability seen in proposals. Actually, it should be stated that in Turkey neglecting sustainability not only in sport events but also in all other industrial area is an important problem. At this point, environmental and social recommendations regarding the organization can be made. Environmental and Social Suggestions In order to provide green organization in World Winter Olympics held in 2006 in Turin, city of Italy, in 2010 in Vancouver, city of Canada, International Olympics Committee determined some social and ecological rules and criteria. Important steps were taken for the adaptation of these important criteria to the games. Below suggestions regarding environmental and social solutions for Universiade Erzurum will be exposed according to the data obtained from Torino Winter Olympics (Cappato and Pemazio, 2006). Application of International Regulations Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) was firstly used in Torino. It is a tool which evaluates in advance the capability of long term plans and programmes. It helps to reduce the negative effects at their source. Erzurum can easily use this assessment not only for the games but also for infrastructural investments of the city. The Environmental Management System was developed for the Olympics. This system is actually based on two voluntary schemes: ISO 14001:1996 certification and EMAS (Ecological Management and Audit Scheme) registration. This system has four different levels. These can be illustrated as follow: Planning: Environmental aspects are taken into consideration during the construction temporary and permanent structures, realisation and consignment of goods and services by suppliers and sponsors. This can help identification of significant environmental impact. Tools of Environmental Impact for the Management: Eco-compability assessment manual for temporary structures, environmental sponsor and sustainability programme and audit of construction sites for permanent structures can be tolls for the management committee of Universiade.
Monitoring Activities through Performance Indicators: These certain indicators must be developed for Erzurum which has special circumstances on its own. Execution of planned actions: All actions must be executed with systematic solutions. Monitoring of Environmental Activities Eight main indicators can be used in order to monitor environmental activities. These headlines are water cycle, air quality, soil use, energy consumption, waste production, ecosystems, landscape and urban environment. Information about these data can be analysed by the help of GIS (Geographical Information System). In Erzurum, this can be made under the supervision of University of Ataturk which is the oldest and the biggest university of Eastern Anatolia. Environmental Programme and Initiatives Green Procurement: Suppliers of good and services can be selected according to ecological criteria. Waste Management: Waste can be disposed by waste recycling facilities which are not found in Erzurum. This facility can be built not only for the games but also for the city inhabitants. Social Impacts Facilities can be used as residential zones, entertainment areas, hospitals and university seats after the games. Games will have very positive effect on the region especially in environment, tourism and transportation systems. On the other hand, this city will gain experience and knowledge for the future sport event activities. Human Resources Management Employees must be trained in order to respect the values and sustainability of Universiade with the help of communication, training and skill development. Some useful hints can be taken from the organization committee of Summer Universiade Izmir. Universiade Education Programme This programme must be implemented for students and pupils in order to give the sense of Universiade. This will help them to meet new sports during the preparations. After the games, they can easily begin to exercise with new sport types which they did not meet before. Volunteerism This is the most important organizational power of such games. Without volunteers, it is difficult to realise important tasks of organization. Especially, young local people can gain
international experience with helping competitors and guests. Results and Conclusion Erzurum has certain strengths and opportunities in organizing this international event. By the help of right planning and the right vision, it might be possible to mention in Erzurum about self regeneration, newly built and effective sport facilities, more interest in sport and social pride. In order to get more comprehension about this organization there is need for more research. The structure of sport events will be understood better through questionnaires directed not only to the organization but also to the attendants of this organization. So that new publications containing important suggestions in this issue will be possible. It is observed that sometimes attendants seek for sport experience and socialization rather than place of the event. The suggestion for this type of visitors is very important. Except these headings, for Universiade games, concrete suggestions depending on the strong and weak points of Erzurum city as well as opportunities and threats, will be mentioned as below. The people of the region have great interest in winter sports. It can be seen that young people trained with their own resources work as trainer in the sport centres of western part of the country or represent Turkey in some international competitions. By the help of Universiade, education opportunities for the young people which are eager to train themselves in winter sports can be provided. The effects of media and sponsorships in this type of events are increasing day by day. This impact should not be limited to the promotion of the games. On the contrary, it should be attached great importance to the introduction of one of the least developed parts of Turkey to the world by emphasizing its strong points. For this reason, Ministry of Culture and Tourism should be involved in the process as soon as possible. So that the implementation of the studies regarding the region to be sport and culture brand can be possible. There should be paid great attention and effort to provide the local people benefit from the new facilities generated with the new investments rather than accessing only the rich level of society after the event. In this way the equal usage of these facilities which has been built by the taxes might be possible. Erzurum Ataturk University is one of the rooted universities of Turkey. University must produce socio-economic based projects for the local people during and after the games. It is expected that economic aspects of the games will not be long term as there is no planned tourism strategy for Erzurum city. In fact, introduction of the games as a part of tourism strategy may affect the long-termed sustainable introduction of the city positively. Although the inadequate industrialization of the city seems as a disadvantage, if the games can be evaluated in terms of tourism, service sector can be more active in the city and it can be cure partially for unemployment of young people. Inhabitants of the city lived with economical weakness and conservative life style for a long time. This brought some limitations in relations with the outer world. With the help of the games, it will be possible for the local people to break through their walls and promote their traditional hospitality to the world. After the games, in the long term, it will be possible
for Erzurum people to meet new cultures. This will create new consience of a better quality life among the people and natural demands from central and local government will be increased for it. Erzurum attracted more state investments than its neighbour cities because of different reasons since many years (city inhabitants voted mostly for governing parties or some sociocultural reasons). In spite of these certain advantages, city could not show its performance in socio-economical terms but it is still most developed city in the Eastern Anatolian Region. With the help of Universiade, it will be possible to share positive effects of the games with surrounding cities. This can have minimizing effect on migration level to Erzurum from these cities. On the other hand, it is possible to mitigate the results of negative discrimination in investments planning of central governments. This can have positive effect on sustainable development of the region. Last but not least, Turin city organized the 23 Winter Universiade (2007) after the Winter Olympic Games which was held in 2006. This was a real success of the city. Why can not be Winter Olympic Games organized after the Universiade by Erzurum with a sustainable way of thinking? References: Bramwell, B. (1997). A sport mega-event a sustainable tourism development strategy. Tourism Recreation Research, Vol. 22(2), pp. 13-19. Cappato, A. and Pemazio V. (2006). Corporate Social Responsibility in Sport. Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. (www.crrconference.org/downloads/2006 cappatopennaziopaperfinal.pdf). DPT (2004). lelerin Sosyo-Ekonomik Gelimilik Sralamas Aratrmas. (www.dpt.gov.tr/ DocObjects/Download/3159/ilce.pdf). Hudson, S. (2003). Sport and adventure tourism. New York: The Hawhorth Hospitality Press. TUIK (2007). Turkish Tourism Statistics. (www.tuik.gov.tr) Whitson, D. and Macintosh, D. (1996). The global circus: International sport, tourism and marketing of cities. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, Vol. 20 (3), 278-295.
Peace-Tourism as A Component of Peacebuilding Process

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness" (Mark Twain)
Rajib Timalsina*
Abstract This paper examines the importance of tourism for sustainable peace as sustainable peace and development are essential element for peacebuilding process. The paper aims to examine how tourism facilitates to meet basic concerns of peacebuilding. This is emphasized to promote the importance of tourism to become peace-tourism. It elaborates the emergence of the concept of peace-tourism in global scenario. Further, it explores information about the peacebuilding process, its components, aims and roles of conflict transformation process, emergence of multi-track diplomacy and how peacetourism enhances peacebuilding process in conflict affected society. Tourism plays vital role to foster peace. The tourism literature is not absolutely onesided when it comes to the question of tourism promoting peace. This paper aims establishing relationship between peace-tourism and peacebuilding process to transform conflict, balancing both the positive and negative sides of tourism. Keywords: peace-tourism, peacebuilding, conflict transformation, ecotourism, multi-track diplomacy Peace To start with, two compatible definitions of peace: peace is the absence/reduction of violence of all kinds and peace is nonviolent and creative conflict transformation. The first definition is violence-oriented; peace being its negation. To know about peace we have to know about violence. The second definition is conflict-oriented; peace is the context for conflicts to unfold nonviolently and creatively. To know about the peace we have to know about conflict and how conflict can be transformed, both nonviolently and creatively (Galtung, 1996). Galtung (1996) mentioned about negative peace and positive peace. Negative peace is
* Rajib Timalsina is the ex-student of Master in Conflict, Peace and Development Studies, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. He studied peace-tourism for a year within the course of the two-year Masters Program. This paper was presented at the conference of Peace Environment and Tourism organized by Global Peace Alliance and HIMCA, 2011. E-mail: rajib.timalsina@gmail.com
Timalsina: Peace-Tourism as A Component of Peacebuilding Process 65
the absence of violence of all kinds. Positive peace is about absence of structural violence, species in cooperation without struggle and absence of root causes prior to violence in future. Structural positive peace would substitute freedom for repression and equity for exploitation, solidarity instead of fragmentation and participation instead of marginalization (ibid., 1996). The researcher has adopted eclectic approach to study. The sampling design is, therefore, purposive selection from secondary sources. The key questions of content analysis: "Who says what, to whom, why, to what extent and with what effect?" (Lasswell, 2008) is significantly used in this study. From the texts collected, the key points are marked and which are extracted from the text and grouped into similar concepts. So far as the concept of peace in oriental world is concerned, some Vedic verses indicate that the oriental people are not unfamiliar with the concept of peace. The Vedic verses are as follows: Om dyauh santir-antariks a-m santih Prithivi santir apah santir osadhayah santih Vanaspatayah santir visvedevah santih Brahma santi savam santih santireva santih sama santiredhi// The first Sanskrit verse of a Vedic text, shanti path, of Hindu scripts demands peace in the universe including the heaven or sky very nook of the cosmic space, the earth and vegetative world, herbal world and everywhere (Kunwar, 2010: 299). Even in Asia, there are four major prevailing ideologies (of peace). In Central Asia, Muslim gives priority to Holy Book, Creed and Brotherhood for peace. In East Asia, the values and families are more important according to Confucian ideology. Hinduism and Buddhism are rooted in South Asian and South-East Asia (Pye, 1985). Peace Tourism Tourism is recognized as an instrument of social and cultural understanding by the opportunity offered to bring different people in contact and to provide facilities of acquisition and exchange of information about the way of life, cultures, language and other social and economic endowments of the people as well as a change for making friendships and achieving goodwill and peace. The basic assumption of those who see tourism as a peace generator is that tourism allows people to know each other, to work with each other, and to learn to appreciate each others cultures and by so doing come to appreciate each other. Tourism then is a giant "communication generator" that allows mutual understanding and, therefore, appreciation of the other (Tarlow, 2011). Tourism is widely said to be the worlds largest business sector, accounting for one in twelve people globally. In 4 out of 5 countries (over 150) tourism is one of five top export earners. In 60 countries it is the number one export. International tourist arrivals have grown enormously over the last half century, from 25 million in 1950 to 898 million arrivals in 2007. This trend is likely to continue even with the current global economic crisis. By 2020, tourist arrivals are projected to reach 1.6 billion. In addition, tourism is especially important to poor countries around the world. It is a principle "export" (foreign exchange earner) for 83% of
developing countries, and the leading export for 1/3 of poorest countries. For the worlds 40 poorest countries, tourism is the second most important source of foreign exchange, after oil (Honey, 2008). There is no one standard definition of tourism. Many people mean different things when they say tourism, and there are multiple forms of tourism ranging from family vacations to business trips, from sun and surf vacations to visits to poverty and disaster sites. In a like manner, there is no one definition of "peace." When we use the word peace, do we define it: as the absence of war, or the absence of violence, or do we define peace as mutual understanding and a sense of appreciation of the other? Is peace through tourism defined as a lack of hostilities between nations, or do we define tourism peace as the ability to live or visit a place without undue probabilities that the resident or visitor will be physically harmed (Tarlow, 2011)? Among the positive benefits attributed to the social and cultural impacts of tourism are the promotion of goodwill, understanding and peace between people of different nations. In 1980, the World Tourism Conference in Manila declared that 'world tourism can be a vital force for world peace'. Recognition of the role and importance of the development of world peace through tourism was also declared through the 'Columbia Charter', which was prepared at the First Global Conference: Tourism- A Vital Force for Peace, held at Vancouver in 1988. In the same year, Louis D'Amore called tourism "the world's peace industry" (ibid., 2011). Tourism has been hailed as "the global peace industry," and, it is frequently implied, there is a natural link between tourism and peace. In 1929, for instance, the British Travel and Holidays Association declared "Travel for Peace" as the theme of its inaugural meeting. In 1967, the UNs International Tourism Year adopted as its slogan, "Tourism: Passport to Peace." In 1986, the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) was founded, and two years later organized its first global conference, entitled "Tourism: A Vital Force for Peace." And, at the 2008 Travelers Philanthropy Conference in Tanzania, Nobel Laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, Wangari Maathai, declared in her keynote address, "Tourism can be a great vehicle for peace promotion" (Honey, 2008). 1986 was UNdesignated International Year of Peace, with a vision of travel and tourism becoming the world's first "global peace industry," an industry that promotes and supports the belief that every traveler is potentially an "ambassador for peace." The conferences and summits throughout the world have promoted higher purpose of tourism. UN Rio Summit 1992 on Environment and Development supports the concept of sustainable tourism development introduced by Vancouver Conference of Tourism in 1988. "The world is a book", observed Saint Augustine, "and those who do not travel read only one page." Some sixteen centuries later, the "book" is becoming a page-turning bestseller. Travel and tourism has established itself as the world's largest industry, revolutionizing our understanding of ourselves, others and the world (Kunwar, 2010:1; Kunwar, 2011:3; D Amore, 2007: 65). The exponential growth of international tourism arrivals and tourism revenues has shown impressive growth. The United Kingdom's Department of Foreign Investment Development was the first donor agency to recognize the key role tourism can play in poverty reduction and began to introduce poverty reduction initiatives in 2000. The UNDP, the World Bank, and other donor agencies have followed suit in giving increasing emphasis to tourism
development and microfinance programs aimed at tourism (D'Amore, 2007). D'Amore (2007) further explains about five key approaches for promoting peace through tourism which are: a) Citizen diplomacy President Dwight D. Eisenhower knew from his experience as a military commander that ordinary citizens of different nations could bridge political and social divides where government could not. "I have long believed, as have many before me," he said, "that peaceful relations between nations requires understanding and mutual respect between individuals." Eisenhower thought that ordinary citizens, if able to communicate directly, would solve their differences and find a way to live in peace, for while we are all different, our values, goals, and day-today issues are very much the same. His belief in the potential of citizen peacemakers led to meeting in 1956 with hundreds of leaders from industry, academia, and the arts, launched People to People International as a new tourism paradigm, fostering international understanding and friendship through the direct exchange of ideas and experiences among people of diverse cultures. The program continues to flourish through initiatives such as Project Hope and Sister Cities. "Travel has become one of the great forces for peace and understanding of our time," said President John F. Kennedy. "As people move throughout the world and learn to know each other, to understand each other's customs, and to appreciate the qualities of the individuals of each nation, we are building a level of international understanding which can sharply improve the attitude for world peace." Kennedy's recognition of the importance of travel and intercultural exchange led to the formation of the Peace Corps by executive order on March 1, 1961. Other presidents and world leaders have affirmed the important role of tourism in promoting international understanding and peace (Kunwar, 2010; D Amore, 2007). b) A healing mission There has been no greater affront to the ideals of tourism for peace than the infamous transatlantic slave trade. In the early sixteen century, slave ships relocated by force more than ten million Africans and cost the lives of perhaps ten million more who died during the Middle Passage transit. Two bold and visionary government initiatives seek to heal the lingering effects of this immeasurable human tragedy. Then Bermuda Minister of Tourism David H. Allen was inspired to conceive an Africa Diaspora Heritage Trail to "identify, conserve, and promote historic sites linked with the development and progress of people of African descent. The African Diaspora left an indelible mark behind that links nations together with a common historical and cultural bond," Allen said. "It is time that we explore these bonds and create a trail that examines our shared history." In 1998, Chung Ju-yung, the founder of Hyundai Business Group, became the first civilian South Korean to enter North Korea without a military escort- leading a cow across the border at a village. His sons followed with another 500 herds of cattle donated to feed the people of a village of North Korea. His gesture of caring and friendship led to an innovative proposal to introduce tourism as a means of economic development in the depressed North (DAmore,2007).
c) The path of Abraham The Abraham Path Initiative, sponsored by the Global Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School and soon to be launched, will invite Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders, as well as other world leaders and spiritual pilgrims, to walk in the footsteps of Abraham, the founding patriarch of all three faiths. The route will begin in Harran, Turkey, where Abraham heard the call of God and left his home and livelihood, and will proceed through Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine, passing through Jerusalem and ending at the Tomb of Abraham. As the father of monotheism and the biological and spiritual father of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Abraham is the unifying patriarch of some three billion people. The Abraham Path , which has long been a dream of many, will articulate and broadcast Abraham's universal message of peace, oneness, faith, courage, justice, and hospitality toward all. The televised images of rabbis, priests, and the imams walking together will introduce billions around the planet to new possibilities for interreligious and intercultural engagement based on mutual respect, common values, and shared faith traditions (ibid.). d) Volunteer tourism A Travelocity Survey found that about 6 percent of travelers served as volunteers for all or part their vacation. A further 24 percent of respondents indicated that they would serve as volunteers on at least part of their vacation in 2007. Volunteer vacations are one of the fastest-growing segments of the travel industry, as Marshall McLuhan's concept of a "Global Village" is increasingly understood and as more travelers are committed to "giving back" to communities they visit in developing countries. This might be by helping to save leatherback sea turtles in Costa Rica, caring for children in an orphanage in Zambia, repairing schools in Tanzania, or delivering medical supplies to a refugee camp (ibid.). e) Philanthropic tourism A desire to "give back" has become a common theme throughout the travel and tourism industry. One noteworthy example is Rural Education and Development (READ), established in 1991 to improve literacy in Nepal by building a network of self-sustaining community libraries, has built many libraries and supplies books. Private donations and local contributions fund those types of activities. Peace Trees Vietnam is a grass root humanitarian project which seeks to reverse the legacy of war by working alongside Vietnamese people to transform and heal. These types of activities from project sponsors offer awareness, education, citizen diplomacy program and friendship building. Do we need to ask why did tourism not prevent war? Just as there is no one definition of peace, so the tourism literature is not absolutely one-sided when it comes to the question of tourism promoting peace. Some literatures have shown negative sides too. For example in a March 2006 paper entitled "Tourism and Peace: The Traveller" by Sashana Askjellerud, the author notes that: an increase in such (tourism) contacts may intensify and perpetuate misconceptions about foreigners; the presentation of tourism as a "peace industry" is a ploy to disguise its true impact; the proposition that travel improves understanding is a Western, rather than universal perception; and attitude change at the individual level has little impact
on policy development at the national level. Not all tourism is "good tourism." Thus, many of the Caribbean islands and some Southeastern Asian nations have had to deal with the issue of sex tourism or even worse child sex tourism. In those cases, we may expect that the "cultural interchange" was anything but positive. We can find many examples where tourists and locals have shared very positive experiences, but we can also find counter examples where exposure to another culture, especially when it goes against the tourists cultural or moral principles, produces negative intercultural feelings rather than positive ones. An example of the latter is bullfighting. A visit to a bullfight may produce a better understanding of Spanish culture, or it may simply reinforce negative feelings toward Spanish culture (Tarlow, 2011). Peacebuilding After war, a new trailer starts in politics and society whether it was the world war or cold war, whether it was the Rwandan genocide or extreme ethnic violence of Kosovo. Giving birth to war also gives birth to peace process. Peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace-building are hot topics of world politics today; which are coined due to war. Peacemaking refers to interventions designed to end hostilities (war) and bring about an agreement using diplomatic, political and military means as necessary (Galtung, 1996). Peacemaking is the process of transition from hostility to amity with or without explicit agreement. Peacemaking process involves negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration. Whereas, peacekeeping is about monitoring and enforcing an agreement, using force as necessary. The process includes verifying whether agreements are being kept and supervising agreed confidence-building activities (ibid., 1996). Peace agreements are fragile. The presence of groups of neutral soldiers, military observers, civilian police, electoral observers and human rights monitors can encourage hostile groups not to return to the use of arms. Peace keepers tasks can include establishing and policing buffer zones, demobilization and disarmament of military forces, establishing communication between parties, and protecting the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Since the time, the Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali coined new terms peacekeeping, peace-making and early warning in his Agenda for Peace in 1992 in the General Assembly of United Nations, the means and methods to achieve peace are in hot discussion of world politics today. The pioneers of the peace studies would like to use the term peacebuilding as umbrella concept for peace process and necessary means for post conflict period to stabilize the society. It is process designed to address the causes of conflict and the grievances of the past and to promote long term stability and justice. Peacebuilding aims to create social harmony, cohesion and equal participation in development mainstreaming creating the foundation for lasting peace (ibid., 1996). Rebuilding society after conflict is more than the rebuilding of the infrastructure. Peace building is a complex and lengthy process that requires the establishment of a climate of tolerance and respect for the truth. It encompasses a wide range of political, developmental, humanitarian and human rights programs and mechanisms. They include the reintegration of soldiers and refugees, demining and removal of other war debris, emergency relief, the repair of roads and infrastructure and economic and social rehabilitation. This is a lengthy process and the legacy of conflict can remain in communities for generations. The UN Department of Political Affairs offers this description: effective peacebuilding also requires concurrent and integrated action on many different fronts: military, diplomatic,
political, economic, social, humanitarian, and the many imponderables that go to make up a coherent and stable social fabric. These efforts range from demilitarization to building up national institutions, including police and judicial systems; promoting human rights; monitoring elections; encouraging formal and informal processes of political participation; providing sustainable sources of livelihood to demobilized combatants and returning refugees and displaced persons, through training programmes, the reactivation of economy and the provision of social services; and stimulating the normal process of economic and social development which will benefit the population as a whole and provide the most secure basis for lasting peace. The term "peacebuilding" came into widespread use after 1992. The UNs definition was limited to when a violent conflict subsides or stops altogether, occurring after peacemaking and peacekeeping. Activities were associated with capacity building, reconciliation, and societal transformation. Since then, peacebuilding has come to be understood and used as an umbrella concept reflecting a more comprehensive and long-term approach to peace and security including: early warning, conflict prevention, civilian and military peacekeeping, military intervention, humanitarian assistance, ceasefire agreements, the establishment of peace zones, reconciliation, reconstruction, institution building, and political as well as socio-economic transformation. Conflict Transformation Conflict transformation is to envision and respond to the ebb and flow of social conflict as life-giving opportunities for creating constructive change processes that reduce violence, increase justice in direct interaction and social structures, and respond to real-life problems in human relationships (Lederach, 2003). Since the time, the Secretary General Ghali coined new terms peace-keeping, peacemaking and early warning in his Agenda for Peace in 1992, the means and methods to achieve peace are in hot discussion of world politics today. Then the pioneers of the peace studies have brought into considered the new concept of conflict transformation instead of conflict management and conflict resolution. Protracted violent conflicts are often the result of unequal and suppressive social and political structures and power relations. Effective transformation of conflict therefore needs empowerment and recognition of marginalized groups of society to ensure social justice. Dealing with immediate needs and concerns of marginalized people at local level and exerting pressure on conflict actors is one of the important conflict transformation strategies that contribute to end the war. It is political and social transformation process since it focus on structural changes in governance, security, development, improved human rights policies and regaining eroded trust. Lenses of transformation focuses not on an immediate solution to the conflict or problem but rather seeks to create a framework to address the content, the context and the structure of the relationships. It refers to improvement in the nature of conflict, especially a de-escalation of conflict or reconciliation between people in conflict (ibid., 1997). Ten major dilemmas of peace evolved over the last 25 years are: the definition of peace; peace as absence of violence (including structural violence); violence as obstacles to basic needs satisfaction; extension to peace in nature, human and social spaces; the dialectic between
research education and action; the social role of the peace researcher; the basic strategies of peace action; the methods of peace research; the choice of intellectual style; the conception of peace in various civilizations. The central conclusion is that the basic concern of peace research is the reduction of violence of all kinds; this is done by progressively removing barriers in space (transnational, global studies), critical studies of the present and constructive studies for the future (Galtung, 1985). Multi-track Diplomacy Diplomacy is the practice of verbal and non-verbal discussion with the intent to influence, transmit a position or negotiate on a given issue or context for mutually acceptable outcome. The traditional form of diplomacy is Track One diplomacy which involves the interaction of state and/or official actors acting in an official capacity with the authority and on behalf of the state or International Governmental Organizations. There has been recognition that highlevel official engagement is not always effective. So, back-channel discussions are incorporated with Track Two diplomacy. In this track, participants are not disputants but try to resolve the conflict or transform it (Diamond, 1994). Louis Diamond (1994) expanded tracks of diplomacy to nine tracks and coined the term, "multi-track diplomacy". Initially track one (official, governmental action) and track two (unofficial, nongovernmental actions) are considered as basic approaches to conflict resolution and transformation. New tracks included government, conflict resolution professionals, business, private citizens, academia, activists, religious leader, funding and media. All tracks in equal setting have their own resources, values and approaches. With the increased internationalism and globalization, the sphere of participants is expanding and participants include not only state actors but also opposition parties, adversaries and members from other stakeholders. In particular circumstances, informal channels of communication can be effective. Using various forms of multi-track diplomacy, travelers are considered as diplomats for peace. As mentioned before Eisenhower knew ordinary citizens of different nations could bridge political and social divides where government could not; peaceful relations between nations require understanding and mutual respect between individuals. Eisenhower thought that ordinary citizens, if able to communicate directly, would solve their differences and find a way to live in peace. Peace-tourism as component of peacebuilding Travel has become one of the great forces for peace and understanding in our time. As people move throughout the world and learn to know each other, to understand each other's customs and to appreciate the qualities of the individuals of each nation, we are building a level of international understanding which can sharply improve the atmosphere for world peace (Tarlow, 2011). While tourism has been growing more rapidly in developing countries, the question is whether it can contribute to the building blocs for peace: social justice, economic equity, sustainable development, and broad based democracy (Honey, 2008). The role of tourism and peace can be viewed from two perspectives, namely, sociocultural and political (Kunwar, 2010). A typical socio-cultural perspective is embodied in comments such as: "tourism has been recognized to be an instrument of social and cultural
understanding by the opportunity offered to bring different people in contact and to provide facilities of acquisition and exchange of information about the way of life, cultures, language and other social and economic endowments of the people as well as a change for making friendships and achieving goodwill" (Kaul, 1985; in Kunwar, 2010: 302). The political perspective on tourism and world peace focuses upon tourism as a promoter of national integration and international understanding, goodwill and peace. This perspective acknowledges the importance of tourism as a means of establishing and improving political relations with other countries. An example that illustrates this point well was evidenced by the manner in which China opened its door to the Western world in the 1970s. Tourism has been an important avenue by which China has established links with other countries. Furthermore, it has been pointed out the: 'Political stability, improved relations between nations and international peace accelerate travel and tourism. World travel is a fundamental expression of international co-operation' (ibid.). Peace psychologists see contacts are especially beneficial when people work together to overcome a common threat or to achieve a super-ordinate goal. Conflicts are readily kindled and fueled by social dilemmas, competition, and misperceptions, some equally powerful forces, such as contact, cooperation, communication, and conciliation, can transform hostility into harmony. Those understanding can help us establish and enjoy peaceful and rewarding relationship (MacNair, 2003). Siddhartha Gautam Buddha (563-471 BC) proposed that dukkha (suffering) was caused by desires, and peace would be found through discipline of detachment. He offered several principles, including compassion and nonviolence, as essential to the individual's spiritual well-being. D'Amore has mentioned about Abraham's Path following the footsteps of Abraham, why we couldn't initiate Buddha's path as Peace Path in South Asia to foster peace in this region? It is necessary to make stable society for development and to institutionalize the achievements of conflicts. Peace-building is necessary means for post conflict period to stabilize the society. Peacebuilding aims to create social harmony, cohesion and equal participation in development mainstreaming. Strategies should address the local roots of hostility, the local capacities for change, and the specific degree of international commitment available to assist sustainable peace (Doyle and Sambanis, 2000). Development policies should be considered an integral part of a broader peace process. Owing to a lack of human capital and the destruction of physical infrastructure, it is challenging task to reinitiate economic development halted by violent conflict. It takes time to rebuild systems of transport, communication, banking, health care, education, and agriculture that have been damaged or destroyed by fighting. To rebuild all these fields, field actors should work together harmonizing each other (Pokharel, 2008). Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty of 1979 called for an immediate opening of the border for tourists in both directions to increase interaction and knowledge of each other and help cement the peace. The Oslo Peace Accord, 1993, between Israel and Palestine called for a regional tourism, transportation and telecommunication development plan. In the early 1980s, as Costa Rica and other countries in Central America were wracked by civil conflicts and Cold War contests, international tourism was miniscule. However, in 1988, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias successfully negotiated the Central American Peace
Plan which ended the regions wars and won him the Nobel Peace Prize. Virtually tourism in the form of ecotourism took off in Costa Rica and by 1992, Costa Rica was hailed as the worlds leading ecotourism destination. Peace was the prerequisite, but Costa Rica also had other important ingredients that made high quality, nature-based ecotourism possible. These included a large system of national parks; well functioning democratic institutions; no military (Costa Rica abolished its army in 1948); strong social institutions including universal education and health care; good infrastructure; and proximity to the U.S. tourism market. Peace is a primary prerequisite for tourism while, in turn, socially and environmentally responsible tourism helps to foster stability, economic equity, and, ultimately, a more peaceful society (Honey, 2008). These elements are required components of peacebuilding process. End of hostility creates situation of negative peace. The aim of peacebuilding process is positive peace. Thus, peace-tourism as a responsible tourism can foster required elements of peacebuilding process. By the early 1990s, ecotourism was the fastest growing sector of the tourism industry. In 2002, the United Nations declared the International Year of Ecotourism, signifying that it had achieved importance in many countries. Today, ecotourism is said to be growing three times faster than the tourism industry as a whole (Honey, 2008). Honey (2008) quoted definition of ecotourism: "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." Ecotourism now offers a clear alternative model to mass or conventional tourism. A number of countries, including Costa Rica, Belize, Ecuador, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, and Nepal, to name a few, have proclaimed they are building their tourism industry based on the principles of ecotourism; some have also created certification programs to measure the social and environmental impacts of tourism businesses. Most lending by the World Bank and other aid agencies is done under the umbrella of eco- or sustainable tourism. And weve seen the introduction of a number of new terms. geo-tourism, pro-poor tourism, sustainable tourism, responsible tourism, and so forth all of which are simply variants on the basic definition of ecotourism. "While the Indian government touts tourism as a tool for poverty alleviation, sustainable development, and social stability, in reality tourism rarely alleviates socio-economic inequalities and injustices (ibid., 2008)." Honey (2008) concludes, "Certainly, tourism can contribute to peace, but for this to be possible, one must engage withthe aspirations of those in the places that are being visited." how ecotourism together with community conservancies, wildlife associations, and travelers philanthropy, is helping to protect biodiversity, provide skills and good jobs to local communities, enhance local cultures, build good governance, and repair Kenyas tarnished tourism image. These are, in essence, the building blocs for peace and stability. Conflict disrupted the majority of rural development activities. Nepals brutal conflict between Maoist insurgents and security forces has exacted a heavy toll on the civilian population, especially those in contested hill districts, many of whom already live near or on the global poverty threshold. According to aid official, Nepal lay on a line between sudden humanitarian crisis on the one hand, and reconciliation to the conflict on the other. Reconstruction and recovery encompasses relief package, essential services and physical infrastructures (Timalsina, 2011). For more than 40 years, tourism has been considered as an economic panacea for developing countries. While balance of payments and other potential economic benefits are
usually provided as the main motivators for developing countries to become involved in tourism (Keene, 1998). Not only for economic benefits, developing countries are involved in tourism in order promote culture of peace. Government of Nepal declared 2011 as a Nepal Tourism Year when it lay on line between humanitarian crisis and reconciliation to the conflict. Peace-tourism as a responsible tourism project is essential for Nepal to rebuild the trust among conflicting parties (Galtung, 1996), campaign to restore its image (Beirman, 2003), recover its market from the damage caused by conflicting events (ibid., 2003), and address its current needs of peace process. Each circumstance poses challenges to tourism industry to implement strategies and to restore the image of affected destinations (ibid., 2003). The tourism sector is highly sensitive to the effects of conflict. Be it labour disputes, conflicts in the community, socio-political tensions in society or the case of a road accident in a neighboring district even issues that seem to be completely unrelated can have devastating effects on tourism business (Froehlich, 2011). Froehlich (2011) suggested that as diverse conflicts can have unexpected impacts, it is of utmost importance to all tourism entrepreneurs to establish risk awareness and risk management capacities to address issues as soon and effectively as possible. It will help not only to address the issues but also help to establish tourism as part of peacebuilding process transforming the conflict to potential development project. Here are some ideas to help use tourism product as a peacemaker rather than as a hostility/ resentment producer (Tarlow, 2011): make sure that your community is as safe and secure as possible. While no one can guarantee 100% security, the safer your community, the higher the probability that the visitor will not have a negative experience. Be true to yourself and be the best that you can be. Know that you are different from your visitors. If you were the same, they would most likely not come, so promote who you are and be proud of your own culture. Never try to be what you are not. Stress customer service. Some things are universal, for example showing that people care, smiling, and a sense of compassion are universal concepts that can win lots of friends. Know your communitys own strengths and weaknesses. Not every tourism site will appeal to every visitor. Niche market; go after those people who will most benefit from what your locale has to offer. Focus on the individual. You are not responsible for national policy, for international terrorism, or economic disagreements. Instead, build relationships on a one-by-one basis. It is not clear if tourism actually generates peace or not, but what is clear is that providing a safe, clean, and caring locale makes life a whole lot nicer not only for visitors but also for the local residents. Tourism, according to Kunwar (2010: 235), should: be run with involvement and consent of local communities; give a fair share of profits back to local community; involve communities in tourism; be environmentally sustainable; respect traditional culture and social structures; have mechanisms to help communities cope with the impact of western tourism; and leave communities alone if they do not want tourism.
Conclusion As mentioned above, conflict transformation refers to improvement in the nature of conflict, especially a de-escalation of conflict or reconciliation between people in conflict through peacebuilding process. Peacebuilding process aims to create social harmony, cohesion and equal participation in development mainstreaming creating the foundation for lasting peace. Peace psychologists have suggested contact, cooperation, communication, and conciliation, can transform hostility into harmony. Peace diplomats developed new tracks including government, conflict resolution professionals, business, private citizens, academia, activists, religious leader, funding and media to play vital role in relation building. World travel is a fundamental expression of international co-operation. Peace-tourism sees every traveler as an ambassador to peace. Socially and environmentally responsible tourism helps to foster stability, economic equity, and, ultimately, a more peaceful society. Tourism has been recognized to be an instrument of social and cultural understanding by the opportunity offered to bring different people in contact and to provide facilities of acquisition and exchange of information about the way of life, cultures, language and other social and economic endowments of the people as well as a change for making friendships and achieving goodwill and peace. It, in the context of transformation of every sectors of society, recommends a golden opportunity of transforming conflict incorporating the peace-tourism as a major component of peacebuilding process. D'Amore has mentioned about Abraham's Path following the footsteps of Abraham. Academically, it is not known why DAmore not touches about the Asian Context. In Asia, there is Lord Buddha as a peace founder. Why we couldn't approach Buddha's path as Peace Path in our Asian region to foster peace in this region. We can initiate the Peace Path following the path of Lord Buddha. The route will begin in Lumbini, Nepal, where Lord Buddha left his home and livelihood, and will proceed through India, Sri lanka, Bangaladesh, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Korea, China and Bhutan, passing through India again and ending in Nepal. But this model could be based on DAmore concept. We could initiate such model in our region highlighting Buddhas contribution as peace path. This could be good example of travel promoting peace. References Beirman, David. (2003). Restoring Tourism Destinations in Crisis. Wallingford: CABI Publishing. D'Amore, Louis. (2007). "Tourism: The Global Peace Industry." World and I: Innovative Approaches to Peace (pp. 64-75). Diamond, Louise. (1994). Beyond Win-Win: The Heroic Journey of Conflict Transformation. Washington D.C.: The Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy. Doyle, Michael W., and Nicholas Sambanis. (2000). "International Peacebuilding: A Theoritical and Quantitative Analysis." The American Political Science Review , Vol. 94, No. 4, pp. 779-801. Froehlich, Catrin. (2011 July 3). Risk and Conflict Management for Sustainable Tourism.
The Himalayan Times Perspectives. Page 5. Galtung, Johan. (1996). Peace by Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization. London: Sage Publications Ltd. . (1985). "Twenty-Five Years of Peace research: Ten Challenges and Some Responses." Journal of Peace Research , Vol. 22, No. 2 pp. 141-158. Honey, Martha. (2008). "Tourism: Preventing Conflict, Promoting Peace" [Online]. Retrieved June 30, 2011, from http://www.responsibletravel.org. Keene, Lynda. (1998). Strategic Plan: Developing Tourism in South Asia 1998-2010. Rotorua: An unpublished report submitted to SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Kunwar, Ramesh Raj. (2010). Tourists & Tourism: Science and Industry Interface. Kathmandu: Ganga Sen Kunwar. ................. (2011). Tourism, Tourist Guide and Interpretation, Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Education, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1-26. Lasswell, H. (2008). "Content Analysis" [Online]. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from http:// www.artandpopularculture.com/Textual_analysis Lederach, John Paul (2003). The Little Book of Conflict Transformation. Intercourse, PA : Good Books. . (1997). Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies. Washington D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press. MacNair, Rachel M. (2003). The Psychology of Peace: An Introduction. Westport: Praeger. Maiese, Michelle (2003). What it Means to Build Lasting Peace? [Online]. Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/peacebuilding/ . Pokharel, Bharat. (2008). "Peacebuilding in Post Conflict Societies: Reconstruction and Rehabilitation in Nepal." in Aanand P. Shrestha, and Hari Uprety (eds.) Peacebuilding Process in Nepal (pp. 29-52). Kathmandu: Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies (NEFAS). Pye, Lucian W. (1985). Asian Power and Politics: The Cultural Dimensions of Authority. Cambridge: The Belknap Press. Tarlow, Peter E. (2011, April 26). "Does Tourism Promote Peaceful Co-existence?" [Online]. Retrieved May 25, 2011, from http://www.tourismandmore.com Timalsina, Rajib. (2011). Interconnection of Peacebuilding Actors. Kathmandu: An unpublished report submitted to Department of Conflict, Peace & Development Studies, TU. UN Department of Political Affairs. (2005, May 23). Definining Peacebuilding [Online]. Retrieved April 22, 2011, from http://www.un.org/ Depts/dpa/prev_dip/fst_prv_dip.htm Acklowledgement
I would like to acknowledge Prof. Dr. Ramesh Raj Kunwar who without any hesitation corrected this paper and kindly provided some information.
Special Interest Tourism: A Study of Growing Significance of Food Tourism

Ramesh Raj Kunwar*
"to eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art (written by Francois de La Rochefoucauld-1613-1680; in Buiatti, 2011: 100). Abstract Though food is the basic need of human being, it is the best way to express the culture and the tradition of a community. Food as a tangible part of cultural and traditional representation attracts most of tourists around the world. Food is one of the important pulling factors while selecting the destination. Though after information revolutions most of the facilities are at a click distance, food is the only one that needs the distance to be covered in order to discover the majestic taste in the native structure. Food majorly describes the patterns that communities are residing. Most of the native cuisine that attracts most of the foreigners is based on the native resources and way of preparing and presenting foods. In some countries food is not only taken as a means to generate income but also a means to protect their tourism. Keywords: serious leisure, food terroir, place, sensory analysis, foodscapes, neophilia, cultural translation Introduction According to the definition of Business Dictionary, food is "edible or potable substance (usually of animal or plant origin), consisting of nourishing and nutritive components such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, essential mineral and vitamins, which (when ingested and assimilated through digestion) sustains life, generates energy, and provides growth, maintenance, and health of the body" (www.businessdictionary.com). Historically, people secured food through two methods: hunting and gathering, and agriculture. Today, most of the food energy consumed by the world population is supplied by the food industry, which is operated by multinational corporations that use intensive farming and industrial agriculture to maximize system output (www.wikipedia.com). For human societies, food is the sense of identity which is at the core of human autonomy. The biological need for food and the social act of eating combine to give a particular
* Professor Dr. Ramesh Raj Kunwar is anthropologist and tourism educationist by profession. He is the former Dean of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tribhuvan Univesity, Nepal, and former Dean of then (Royal) Nepalese Military Academy, Kharipati, Bhaktapur.
meaning, a kind of cultural power (Simpson, 1996: 6;in Rusher,2003:193). Food as a central element, of cultural values and regional identity is a popular theme and central focus of several tourist destination countries. Food is a common language and above all, a universal right. As any language, it is spoken to communicate, to share emotions, feelings and sensations. Food is also closely connected to the ritual and religious life of the people. Food has a high potential to become used in symbolic contexts as food is a primary ubiquitous need. The reason that food item constitute prominent symbols may be that they are "god to think with", to paraphrase Levi-Strauss argument on "totemism" (Levi-Strauss, 1963;in Lowdin,1998:178). The pleasure of food is not only based on the taste but on the sharing of it with others. Nobody can really enjoy their food considering that it is a universal right and that each kind of food, even the most common and "simple", presents many histories that could be told, history of region, history of an identity, history of a population, history of a village, history of a family, history of a religion, in a word, history of a culture (Buiatti, 2011: 93). Attitudes vary across cultures. For example, there are important differences in attitudes towards food. For British and Japanese tourists, food is the most important part of the good vacation. For Australians it is ranked third, for Germans it is fifth and for the French food is not at all important (Sheldon and fox, 1989;in Reisinger, 2009:329). Those from high-uncertaintyavoidance cultures have more negative attitude to pre-cooked food because they are more concerned with the purity and quality of food than those from uncertainty-low-avoidance cultures, who frequently purchase and consume fast food (Demooji, 2004). Cultures also influence eating habits. According to Robertson (1987; Reisinger, 2009:329), Americans eat oysters but not snails, French eat snails but not locusts. Zulus eat locusts but not fish; Jews eat fish but not pork; Hindus eat pork but no beef; Russian eat beef, but not snakes; Chinese eat snakes but not people; The Jelas of New Guinea find people delicious!(Reisinger,2009:329). Food has been recognized as an integral part of the tourist experience; therefore, it is an important element in the marketing of tourism and in determining visitor satisfaction as well as an important component of hospitality studies. Lashley et al. (2007: 174; in D O Gorman, 2010) judge that the different perspective presented challenge conventional wisdom by bringing to bear multiple eyes all focused on the same phenomenon that is hospitality, but arriving from diverse intellectual starting points and ways of seeing the world. The term hospitality has been defined by several scholars of several disciplines like anthropology, sociology, history, architecture, culture, cultural geography, gastronomy, human resource management, sociolinguistics and the classics. Lashley et al. (2007:174; in O Gorman, 2010) have collected eleven definitions about hospitality. These academic perspectives of hospitality and the different concepts of hospitality contained within Hospitality: A Social Lens are chosen five definitions out of 11 which are given below: Perspective Anthropology Concepts of hospitality Moral obligations defining social and cultural expectations about behaviour as host and guest intra-tribal hospitality and reciprocity Author
Cole
Kunwar: Food Tourism 79
Architecture
Hotel space designed to create an ambience of hospitality experiences symbolism and the rhetoric of hospitality adapts to address developments in consumer expectations
Wharton
Cultural geography Use of bars, restaurants, clubs and boutique hotels in the regeneration of city centre spaces role of hospitality experiences in establishing and reinforcing lifestyle experiences. Gastronomy Human resource Management Eating and drinking as focus of gastronomy reflection on the acts of hosting and the manners of being guests
Bell Santich
Commercial control through looking good and sounding right hospitality experiences require selection and development of service staff who sound and look the part as defined by the brand and the market it is supposedly servicing Nixon and Wahurst
Sharing food means talking about the pleasures of the table or any eatable places and this, in turn means talking about hospitality. In many languages which have their root in ancient Latin, the word "hospes" has a double meaning. The same word designates both the person who welcomes and the one who is welcomed, host and guest. The anthropological and sociological meaning of that might be that the guest has the same rights and the duties of the host and this goes beyond the old [think of the pilgrims during the middle ages] and "asymmetrical" idea of the relationship between an authoritative active role (the host) and a fatally and inevitably passive one(the guest). Only bearing in mind this concept it is possible to talk of high quality and modern tourism (ibid.). This reveals that food tourism can be considered as an integral part of tourism and hospitality studies. Recently Hall et al. (2003:168) talk for the first time about certain tourism of taste. They summarize the importance of studying food tourism as follows; 1. Food is an attraction in its own right to travel, for mistaking a specific event or a firm like a winery or a brewery, 2. A particular destination could have a best reputation for certain products, i.e., wine from Tuscany could example of special interest tourism(Hall and Mitchell,2001), 3. Being part of tourist experience, food has become an important element in the marketing of tourism and in determining visitor satisfaction. Food tourism studies have been undertaken from a variety of disciplinary perspectives including economics, marketing, regional development, nutrition, economics, tourism, anthropology, psychology and other social sciences. Therefore, it is hard to find out accepted definition of food tourism. The research carried out by various scholars of different disciplines have been variously examined the interrelationships between tourism and food or food and tourism. The economic,
social, cultural and physical impacts also are manifested in tourism food contexts. These impacts can be found in both supply and demand side domains and can be felt simultaneously in both. Some food and tourism initiatives, for example, seek to generate positive outcomes for both the tourism and food production sectors- through increased economics activity and tourists- by enhancing their visitor experiences (Boyne and Hall,2003:286). Food tourism research has been deeply rooted in European academia (see in detail Hall et al. 2003; Sidali et al., 2011) which is still untouched in Nepal although it has a lot of scope in Nepal. It is Dali Khanal and Suresh K.C. who are continiously working in Food and Wine magazine since last 2006. The objective of publishing this magazine is to spread the knowledge of food and beverage, wine culture in Nepal. Though the magazine is quite informative regarding food and beverages and wine but not very much academic in nature. But their efforts have been valuable contributions on the given areas. Likewise, few writers have made efforts to collect varieties of Nepalese food and the way of its preparations have certainly given remarkable contributions for introducing Nepal and Nepalese food. This has given birth to kitchen table tourism for replacing arm chair tourism. The present author consulted a lot of materials written by Majupuria (2008), Kansakar (1994), Association of Nepalese in America (1996), Vaidya (1999), Ratnapustak Bhandar (2007) and Pathak (2011). The authors have collected approximately 392 kitchen recipes. Their efforts have been valuable contributions on Nepalese cookery. The books are the best collection of tested gourmet recipes. Some anthropologists (Lowdin, 1998; Kunwar, 1999) have also studied on Nepalese food from anthropological perspective which will be useful to know about Nepalese food heritage. But, up till now no one has done research on food tourism in Nepal. Therefore, realizing the importance of food tourism as a different subject area of tourism, the present author made attempt to highlight the study of food tourism in global context. However, it will be very useful information for the students of tourism and hotel management, policy makers, food and wine researchers, planners, restaurant owners and tourism researchers on one side and those who are involved in farm tourism, agri-tourism and rural tourism on the other. Methodologically, the study is based on secondary sources. The scholars of food tourism have suggested to follow transdisciplinary perspective (Scarpato and Daniele,2003), multidisciplinary perspective (D O Gorman,2010) and interdisciplinary perspective (Visentin, 2011). Interdisciplinary is not the mere merging of different disciplines- is called into account to shed light from its specific perspective onto the subject of study . Rather interdisciplinary is a means to identify and study new themes that single disciplines would not be able to put in to focus, describe interpret by themselves (Visentin, 2011:xiii). However, the present author is in favor of using the term eclecticism as an approach in this study. The reviewing of past research efforts facilitates an improvement and understanding of research and reveals the philosophical, conceptual, substantive and technical problems of research in a field as broadly defined as ecotourism (Backman and Morais, 2001;). Obviously, this approach can be applied in the study of food tourism as studied by previous researchers. It is time for the tourism academy to move food tourism out of the grey zone of cultural and heritage and knowledge its conceptual opportunities (Scarpato, 2002;in Everett,2009:339).
Notably, it has been suggested that the wider body of research on relationship between food, society, and culture and the economy is tainted by a missing gastronomic perspective (Scarpato, 2002: 60; in Everett, 2009: 339). Scarpato argues that the contribution of gastronomy studies to tourism discourses remains surprisingly untapped as it offers an innovative conceptual framework that can contribute significant new dimensions to tourism research. "Consequently this article embraces food tourism as a multi-dimensional vehicle that can highlight the richness and diversity characterizing the way tourism studies is evolving into a more critical social science open to cultural interpretation. In particular, it can contribute to further understandings of the dimensions and complexity of postmodern forms of consumptive activity. After all, the notion that food and drink might serve as a central organizing for anyone studying the world of humankind seems to have eluded virtually all social scientists, but, after a bit of reflection, it does make abundant good sense (Zelinsky, 1985: 51; in Everett, 2009: 339). It has been said, all social practices can be assessed from a cultural paint of view (Johnson, 1986:282). In post- industrial societies food represents more than basic sustenance, and pleasured is placed above need (Finkelstein, 1989; in Everett, 2009: 399). Food has many roles to play for consumers; it is functional (sustaining life); it plays a key role in our celebrations; it is a conduit for socializing; it is entertaining; it is sensuous and sensual; it is a way of experiencing new cultures and countries. For many, food becomes highly experiential (i.e. much more than functional) when it is a part of a travel experience, it can become sensuous and sensual, symbolic, ritualistic, and can take on new significance and meaning. Even the most basic meal can be etched in memory forever when it is eaten when surrounded by awe inspiring scenery or at the end of a special day explaining a new city (Mitchell and Hall, 2003: 60). Food is being accepted as a long-established communication of meaning and can be used as an illuminating focus of theoretical exploration in order to pursue work that recognizes that landscapes are increasingly understood as subjectively experienced and culturally encoded. Like tourism, food consumption should be treated as an encounter that flirts with space and contributed to a postmodern landscape saturated with meaning and diversity (Crouch, 1999); demanding a place in the rapidly shifting nature of tourism studies (Everett, 2009: 399,340). Food has been increasingly regarded as multidimensional, everyday artifact which encompassed the very identity of a place or individual. Eating exotic and global foodstuffs has become part of a new postmodern culture characterized by pluralized and aestheticized experience that have fostered new patterns of tourism consumption and the development of new individualized identities. Food tourism characterizes the new tourism experiences ( Poon, 1993; in Everett, 2009: 340). Academic studies of tourism and food relationships have examined a range of issues including: caterers use of local food stuffs (Telfer and Wall, 1996); competition for land and labour between the tourism and food production sectors (Belisle, 1983); the role of food in destination image (Hughes, 1995); agricultures role in creating touristic landscapes (Buchgraber, 1996); and tourists food choices (Reynolds, 1993; in Boyne and Hall, 2003 :285). Food is one of the essential elements of the tourist experience. The social and cultural
significance of food is finally gaining the recognition it deserves (Cook and Crang, 1996), as in the role of food in tourism (Hall, 2002;in Hall and Sharples, 2003: 1-2). Food Tourism Food tourism provides a conceptual vehicle for pursuing a more culturally aware tourism agenda. It is suggested that food represents more than purely an economic commodity; it is a multi-dimensional cultural artifact capable of linking issues regarding the relationships between place and identity, and the material and symbolic (Everett, 2003: 337). Food tourism may be defined as visitation to primary and secondary food producers, food festivals, restaurants and specific locations for which food tasting and/ or experiencing the attributes of specialist food production region are the primary motivating factor for travel (Hall and Mitchell, 2001a: 308; in Buiatti, 2011:95) Such a definition does not mean that any trip to a restaurant is food tourism. Indeed such is the need for food to be a primary factor in influencing travel behavior and decision making that as a form of special interest travel, food tourism may possibly be regarded as an example of culinary, gastronomic, gourmet or cuisine tourism that reflects consumers for whom interest in food and wine is a form of serious leisure (Wagner, 2001). Though Everett (2009: 338) has also studied on food tourism, his work relates to tourists who make a conscious effort to visit specific food/ drink tourism sites, rather than an exploration of the more generic hospitality sector in tourism.gourmet or culinary tourists who are defined as those tourists whose primary intention to visit a place is connected to taking part in a culinary experience (Murray, 2008: in Stockebrand et al., 2011:29), In the definition of food tourism it is necessary to differentiate between the tourist who consumes food as a part of travel experience and the tourists whose interests, behaviors and even destination choices are influenced and determined by a specific interest in food. Food is obviously an integral part of any travel experience but its importance and significance has been ignored for different reasons: for some travelers it is just a kind of "fuel", for others, who are a growing minority, it is a significant at times the most important reason or motion to travel. Somewhere in between we can find all potential consumers/ tourists who might become the driving force of food tourism (Buiatti, 2011:94). Many tourists travel to a particular destination which has established a reputation as location to experience quality food products e.g. the Napa valley in California Province in France, Tuscany in Italy, Niagra in Ontario and Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia (Hall et al., 2003: 3; in Hall and Sharples, 2003: 7). Clearly food tourism should be regarded as an embodied form of tourism, a phenomenon whereby the process of experiencing, making sense, knowing thorough practice as a sensual human subject in the world is particularly pronounced (Crouch, 2000:68; in Everett, 2009:341). Several reasons can be put forward for the growth in attention to food as an area of interest for tourism studies. Since the early 1970s European rural regions are industrialized, societies have been very substantially affected by successive rounds of economic restructuring.
In response to loss of services and traditional markets and removal of tariffs and regional support mechanisms, rural areas have sought to diversify their economic base with new agricultural products and tourism being two such responses. Food tourism strategies are therefore a significant instrument of regional development particularly because of the potential leverage between products from the two sectors (Telfer, 2001a). While writing about wine tourists, Johnson (1998: 15) has classified two types of wine tourists: specialist versus general tourist. The general tourist is one who visits a vineyard, winery, wine festival or wine show for the purpose of recreation, and the specialist wine tourist is one who visits a vineyard, winery wine festival or wine, show for the purpose of recreation and whose primary motivation is a specific interest in grape wine or grape wine related phenomena. This typology can be directly applied to food tourists with Lang Researchs (2001) high cuisine and wine interest tourists the most likely to be the specialist food tourist (Mitchell and Hall, 2003: 69). Lang Research found that few American (19.6 percent) or Canadian (14.2 percent) tourists fell into this category The concept of food and wine can be linked to the land and when, for example, the viticulture is successful as it "changes" the local landscape into a mix of tourism, agriculture and industry. Consequently, food/wine production and tourism should rely on regional or local labels/branding for market promotion and in this way the regional/local brand can be an important source of differentiation and a sort of added value for rural region where that particular wine or food specialty is produced. The topic of food specialties is of great interest nowadays and can be considered from different points of view, in particular the relationship between products and territory and the connection between agriculture and tourism. Food is an important part of regional culture and identity and food production has strong impact on the landscape (Buiatti, 2011: 95). Wine, food and tourism are all products which are differentiated on the basis of regional identity. For example, wine is often identified by its geographical origin, e.g. Burgundy, Champagne, Rioja, which in many cases, have been formalized through a series of appellation controls, in turn founded on certain geographical characteristics of a place (Moran, 1993). Foods, for example, cheese, are also identified by their place of origin. Similarly tourism is also promoted by the attraction of regional or local destinations. Through food tourism it is important to generate economic development that can help preserve natural resources and improve the quality of life of the communities in a region. This ensures that indigenous food and production method are not lost in the globalization ( Buiatti, 2011 :92). Garrod, Wornell and Youell (2006; in Santini et al., 2011: 167) illustrate the role of country side capital (landscape, biodiversity, historical features, distinctive local customs and way of life, etc.) in the development of sustainable rural tourism. The authors emphasize how rural tourism businesses and destinations exploit countryside resources to attract tourists and after them fulfilling experiences during their journey. Aurier et al., (2005; in Santini et al., 2011: 167) identified three dimensions, cognitively describing terroir products in the customers mind: Trade skill, including the categories know how recipes and tradition Time and culture, including categories history and ritual
Origin, including the categories territory, region and land. Gourmet tourism addresses its offer to a small number of selected tourists, whose main interest for travelling is tasting specialty foods or wine in selected restaurants or wineries. On the contrary, the phenomenon of rural tourism involves a wider number of tourists whose interest in food could be secondary or subsidiary to other interests: this is the case with while visiting a certain rural area. The scheme summarizes many facts of food tourism and describes the relationships that rural tourism has with food and furthermore it provides a clear idea on differentiation in food tourism. Terror products can be conceived as a synthesis of production processes based on local resources which directly link, case by case, though in different ways, the product to the territory. In this way, the product is a harmonious bundle of territorial, climatic, historical and cultural characteristics which belongs to a certain region (Arfini, 2005; in Santini et al., 2011:168). This kind of product becomes the cultural marker of a territory and the identity and image of this product provide leverage for the development of the general welfare of the population living in the specific region. While food is an important part of regional identity and food production does have substantial impact on the landscape it is very difficult to separate foodscapes from broader concerns surrounding agricultural areas which by their very nature are landscapes of food production. Therefore, the geographical setting, climatic conditions, temperature, seasonal, environmental conditions and places are also important in food tourism. Indeed, one of the critical factors in food tourism is the spatial fixity of the product. Food Tourism and Touristic Terroir Relph (1996) has suggested that tourism is fundamentally about the difference of place. Clearly a regions physical element combine to define it as a place and contribute to the attractiveness of a destination. Similarly, Cook and Crang (1996 : 132) identify the importance of place as a means of differentiation: These geographical knowledge - based in the cultural meanings of places and spaces- are then deployes in order to "re-enchant" (food) commodities and to differentiate them from the derived functionality and homogeneity of standard products and places. Perhaps not surprisingly then, Hall (1996: 114; in Hall et al., 2003:34) suggests that there is a significant overlap between the elements of terroir and those features that are important to regional tourism branding (e.g. landscape and climate). Hall and Mitchell (2002b: 69), for example, discuss the idea of touristic terroir, arguing that In the same way that the terroir of a region gives wine its distinctive regional characteristics, the unique combination of the physical, cultural and natural environment gives each region its distinctive touristic appeal- its touristic terroir (Hall et al., 2003: 34). Important as this notion of touristic terroir is in determining the flavour of the wine and food tourism experience, it is important to note that, like wine, terroir is not only influence on flavour. As the late Peter Sichel ( former president of the Grand Crus de Bordeaux) suggests terroir determines the character of wine. Continuing the wine and food analogy, then, touristic terroir may determine the character of the regional experience, but it is the influence of the tourism entrepreneur, the winery owner, restaurant manager, chef, service provider or regional tourism office that will determine the quality of the experience (as
attested the large number of visitors who cite service as the most enjoyable or important aspect of visits to wineries (Hall and Mitchell, 2002b; in Hall et al., 2003:34). Networks and cluster relationships are also a significant part of the development of intangible capital through their role as proving the social capital which underlies much economic development. A cluster is defined as a concentration of companies and industries in a geographic region that are interconnected by the markets they serve and the products they produce, as well as the suppliers, trade associations and educational institutions with which they interact (Porter, 1990; in Hall et al., 2003: 37). Such exporting chains of firms are the primary drivers of a regionals economy, on whose success other businesses, construction firms for example, depend in terms of their own financial viability. An industry cluster includes companies that sell as well as outside the region, and also supports firms that supply raw materials, components and business services to them. These clusters form value chains that are the fundamental units of competition in the modern, globalised world economy. Firms and organisations involved in clusters are able to achieve synergies and leverage economic advantage from shared access to information and knowledge networks, supplier and distribution chains, markets and marketing intelligence, competencies and resources in a specific locality (the cluster concept focuses on the linkages and interdependencies among actors in value chains (Enright and Roberts, 2001; in Hall et al., 2003: 37). Cluster formation is regarded as a significant component in the formation of positive external economies for farms, including those of the wine industry, with tourism being recognized as a significant component (Poter, 1990), While Telfer (2000a) has argued that cluster development has been a significant component of wine and food tourism network development in the Niagara region of Canada. Although one of the lessons cluster development programs around the world is that there is no precise, "right" (one size fits all ) formula for developing industry clusters (Blandy, 2000: 80), a number of factor has been recognized as significant in the development of clusters and the associated external economy which serves to reinforce the clustering process. These include (see in detail Hall et al., 2003: 38): It is necessary that the traditional tourism activities in particular those specialized in food tourism develop a sensitivity to protect and integrate with the natural cultural resources available in territory. Through food tourism it is important to generate economic development that can help preserve natural resources and improve the quality of life of the communities in region. This ensures that indigenous food and production methods are not lost in the face of globalization (Buiatti, 2011: 92). Food Tourism and Consumer Behaviour Of course a tourist is, first of all, a consumer, and from the consumer perspective the concern about the quality and safety of food he/she can find on shelves and in restaurants becomes stronger every day, especially after the BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) crises, the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 and the more recent avian or "bird" flu. Also very important is the recognition by "green" consumers of the impact that long distance food transport can have on the environment(this is so called "food miles"). This has led to a growing interest in organic and natural products, and the importance of food traceability and,
hence, an increasing demand for locally sourced food. The preservation of the countryside as a source of relaxation and rest is a fundamental issue both for the tourist/consumer and the tour operators that benefit from it. Also important is to regard the tourism and the maintenance of landscape as an important potential solution to sustain the social life of people that live there, creating productive activities and employment (Buiatti, 2011: 94). The local people could play the role of guardians of landscape or environmental architects"(Roberts and Hall,2001;in sidali;2011:7). However, studies of food tourism are largely limited to food safety and hygiene issues (MacLaurin, 2001), analyses food and wine festival attendance (Pratt, 1994), supply - side issues such as business networks (Hall and Johnson, 1998), food production and tourism (Telfer and Wall, 1996) and cross promotion between food and tourism (Mitchell et al., 2001) or the impacts of tourism on regional or national cuisine (Hall and Mitchell, 2001). Even more established disciplines studying the human element of food consumption such as anthropology, sociology or cultural studies have done little to explore the consumptive experiences of tourists. As far as consumer behavior is concerned , Mitchell et al. (2000: 118) suggested that: Consumer behavior research is important for stakeholders in wine tourism because it can help provide important insights into who the wine tourist is, what motivates them to visit a winery, take a guided tour, attend a wine festival or purchase wine and why, thus allowing marketers and managers to effectively target and develop market. Same can also be said of food tourism stakeholders such as restaurant and caf owners, cookery school providers, festival organizers, hotel and resort managers, bed and breakfast operators, and food producers. Consumer behavior is the study of why people, either individually or in groups, buy the product and they do, and how they make their decision (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2007:6). Such research therefore examines a range of internal (motivation, attitudes, and beliefs, learning, life styles and personality) and external (demographics, reference groups and culture) influences on decision making (purchase decision, choice, brand awareness and loyalty, evaluation and post-purchase decisions) (ibid., 53-80) and, more recently, the consumption experience (the occasion, consumption setting and benefits gained from the experience). Research on consumer behavior is interdisciplinary, drawing on concepts and theories and such fields as psychology, sociology, social psychology, marketing, cultural anthropology, economics, media studies, cultural studies and geography (Bell and Valentine, 1997; in Mitchell and Hall, 2003: 61 62). Further, some tourism authorities have undertaken research that includes eating out as an activity for various segments of the travel market. How can a territory, a region, a village and their food specialties, be linked to tourism? Most-potential visitors to Italy want to taste traditional dishes, regional specialties, and fresh local produce, possibly organically grown. Food is an important economic and cultural resource offering tangible benefits for tourism. Nepal is one of the most popular tourist destinations of South Asia where more than two hundred thousand tourists taste Nepalese food i.e. Dal and Bhat while doing trekking in the mountain, during wild life Safari in Chitwan National Park and staying in Kahtmandu. However, if it is essential that people involved in this activity are effective in delivering an authentic food experience to an increasingly aware and health conscious group of visitors.
The linkages that exist between food, the landscape or place that the food has strong associations with, and tourism have started to form the basis of an interesting academic debate in recent years. For examples, Reynolds (1993; in Sharples, 2003: 206) discusses the importance of preserving traditional food as an essential part of sustainable tourism, Telfer and Wall (1996) comment on the linkages that exist between tourism and food production, Hall and Mitchell (2000) debate the role of cuisine as a factor in globalization and localization and Hjalager and Corigliano (2000), examine the development of food standards for tourists. Part of this important debate is the concept that local food can form an essential and innovative part of a regional tourism marketing strategy and this argument is now gaining ground (Sharples, 2003:206-207). As Levi-Strauss (1978:471; in Scarpato and Daniele, 2003:297) pointed out Cookingis with language a truly universal form of human activity. But, Bell and Valentine (1997; in Hall and Mitchell, 2003: 75-76) have suggested that kitchen table tourism has replaced arm chair tourism as a form of vicarious exploration, where eating at ethnic restaurants, cooking from ethnic cook books and watching food and travel television shows (often sponsored by local and national tourism organizations) allows us to travel without leaving our home, town or city. Neophilia and New Cuisines In tourism, the notion of risk is related to one of the key motivating factors for pleasure travel-novelty seeking. High risk-takers (and therefore those with degrees of involvement)
see extremely novel environments and situations. Plog (Ross, 1994) has suggested allocentrics seek most novel/new environments and psychocentrics seek familiar and less threatening vacations settings. The work of Plog (ibid.), suggests that allocentrics are naturally neophilic (literally they love new/ novel phenomena), while psychocentrics are neophobic (fear of new/ novel). Neophilia is also widely discussed within food literature, where it is suggested that human omnivorous behavior is a paradox between neophilic and neophobic tendencies (Bell and Valentine, op.cit.; in Hall and Mitchell, 2003: 77). Tuorila et al. (1994) suggest that neophobia in food consumption results in those with neophobic tendencies disliking novel looking, smelling and tasting foods. In contrast, Bell and valentine (op.cit.) have suggested that the development of new cuisines and the globalization of national cuisines around the world has relied on neophilic tendencies and that travel has long involved food neophilia as an important motivator (e.g. grand tours). Neophilia and involvement are, therefore, important concepts in the discussion of the food tourism experience. They provide an insight into some of the experiential differences observed in food tourism consumer behavior (Hall and Mitchell, op.cit., 77). The phases of the food tourism experience conceptualize here are: Eating at home (pretravel);Eating out (pre-travel) advocated above as a form of vicarious exploration that is different to eating at home (pre-travel; eating out (pre-travel; food at the destination;vacation experiences at the destination advocated by Mitchell et al. (2000) as important influence on the on- site visit, in this case food tourism experiences and food (post travel experiences). The Tourist Gaze Since the publication of Urrys The Tourist Gaze (2002) it has become increasingly popular to critique its central theoretical concept of the visual and even Urry himself latterly accepted that the work has often been taken too literally, suggesting that by using the visual sense as a central organizing sense (Urry, 1992) he ultimately favored the dominance of visualism, over after sensory methods of engagement (Everett, 2009:340). Urrys (2002) gaze privileges the eye; locating other senses in a distinctive visual environment. In claiming the visual has long been understood as the most discerning and reliable sensual mediator between humans and their environment Urry (1992) suggested practices of tourism can be approached with an emphasis on vision. Although the gaze continues to provide a seminal concept for contemporary tourism discussion (Franklin, 2001), particularly those that pursue visual-centric approaches that focus on representations, tangible semiotics and the visual consumption of landscape, it has become apparent that ocular-centric approaches are limited in their ability to tackle the complex dimension of more embodied postmodern activity (Edensor, 2001;in Everett, 2009:341). It is being increasingly acknowledged that there is a need to embrace wider and more active bodily involve ( mental, physical, intellectual, cognitive and the gaze) (Franklin, 2001). The recently theorized concept of performance (as opposed to gaze) notably proposed by Edensor (2001) and Perkins and Thorns (2001; in Everett, 2009: 341), has become an attractive alternative approach that widens the concept to embrace the more multifaceted, multisensory experience that make up tourism such as adventure (Clock and Perkins, 1998: in
Everett, 2009:341) and sex tourism (Ryan and Kinder, 1996: in Everett, 2009: 341). Although Urry had never denied the existence of multiple gazes in his earlier work, he was kin to state a decade later that I think there is a multiplicity and the way to approach the analysis of these multiplicities of tourist gaze is, among other things, to think about the taste-scapes, smell-scapes,sound scapes, touch-scapes (Franklin, 2001: 123). I suggest that food- and drinkfocused tourism studies offer a more fascinating lens through which to examine these more
heterogeneous sensory landscapes and theorize whether they offer different kinds of nonrepresentable knowledge (Crouch et al., 2001). There is a need to address the ontological blind spot where little so far has been understood about how the metabolic material and fleshy connections consumers make with foodstuff inform their embodied knowledge (Roe, 2006:107;in Everett, 2009:341). Rural business experience economy Paraphrasing the seminal article by Pine and Gilmore (1998; Santini et al., 2011:170) on "experience economy", a firm (or a group of firms, consortia, etc.) working in the rural tourism sector, before charging admission, should design an experience that customers judge to be worth the price. As shown in figure, two dimensions (graphically represented as two
axes) are necessary to develop great experiences: customer participation and environmental relationship. The first axis has on one side the concept of "passive participation" where customers do not affect the reality at all, whilst on the other side lies "active participation" in which the tourist has a prominent role in designing the event. The second axis depicts ''external relationship" and has at its two extremes "absorption" and "immersion". These two concepts have opposite meanings regarding the level of involvement of the tourist with the context. The spectra of the two dimensions define four categories of experiences: entertainment (in which tourists participate more passively than actively and the connection with the reality in front of them is more of absorption than of immersion), education (when customers are more actively participating but not immersed in the action), escapist (where people are more involved than in educational or entertainment experience) and finally, in the case of less personal participation of tourists, esthetic. The recipe provided by the authors to design memorable experiences entails five steps: (a) Theme the experience, (b) Harmonize impressions with positive cues, (c) Eliminate negative cues, (d) Mix in memorabilia, (e) Engage all five senses. In summary they can be explained as follows: the theme chosen should conduct the whole experience toward a unified story able to catch the customer attention, involvement and participation through positive and consistent (with the theme) cues that create impressions. Impressions are defined by the authors as the "takeaways of the experience". Thus, each cue or detail needs to be coherent with the general theme given to the experience. In order to do this, it is necessary to avoid every negative cue that might diminish, contradict or distract from the theme. Then, the availability of memorabilia such postcards, t - shirts or other physical reminders of the experience can be important to evoke the impressions. Probably, the most important step to emphasize the magnitude of the experience is the engagement of the five senses. The authors stated that "the more senses an experience engages the more effective and memorable it can be. Not all sensations are good ones and some combinations don't work". Smells, flavors, noises need to be deeply studied to verify any coherence among them and any leaning towards the theme chosen by the local operators. This leads to sensory analysis. Nowadays, many promotional and communicational activities in both the fields of 'food and wine business' and 'tourism sector' are explained using the expression 'sensory analysis'( Santini etal, 2011:171). Sensory analysis What is sensory analysis? According to Drake (2007), sensory science can be traced back to the 1800s, with the development of psychological theories to measures and predict human responses to external stimuli (Lawless and Heymann, 1999; in Santini et al., 2011:171). In a recent book edited by Moskowitz, Beckley and Resurrection (2006; in Santini et al., 2011:171), two definitions of sensory evaluation are offered: a) the first is proposed by the
institute of Food Technologists and enunciates that "Sensory evaluation is the scientific discipline used to evoke, measures, analyze and interpret reactions to the characteristics of food and materials as they are perceived by the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing" (retrived November 10, 2009 from http://www.ift.org/divisions/sensory) b) the second has been elaborated by Herbert Meiselman in 1993: "Sensory evaluation is a science of measurement. Like other analytical test procedures, sensory evaluation is concerned with precision, accuracy, sensitivity and avoiding false positive results" (Moskowitz et al., 2006; in Santini et al., 2011:171). From both definitions it is clear that we (Santini et al., 2011:17) are dealing with a science in which statistics cover a prominent role: as a demonstration of this, a new scientific society called the sensometric society has been founded by many researchers belonging to this field of study. It (food tourism) provides a useful avenue in which to undergo a significant shift from tourism as a visual practice towards something which engages all the sense in a kind of sensuous geography (Roadway, 1994), involving the literal and physical internalizing of a culture, as opposed to non-immersive gaze. These sites provide avenues of total sensual and bodily immersion, where cultural objects are physically internalized and tourists are submerged in waves of smells, sounds, taste and touch ( Everett, 2009:342). It is undeniable that the sense of place has a fundamental relevance for the gastronomic tourist experience. The gastronomic tourists described , here are clearly those identified as modern tourists, for whom reality and authenticity are thought to be else where; in other historical periods and cultures , in purer , simple life styles ( Mac Cannell, 1989:3). However as suggested by Parasecoli (2002;in Scarpato and Deniele , 2003:301) in the postmodern turn the eatimology of place as a foundation for identities- individual and cultural , local and national has lost the energy of the past. The eatimologies refer to the analysis of the origin and the development of specific products , their spreading through commerce , cultural expansion , colonization, tourism, and their hybridization (Scarpato and Deniele , 2003:299). Globalization has increased the speed of kitchen modernization. Food tourism can be and in many cases already is, driving force for farmers to rethink their production activity taking into account the diversification into new markets and the opportunities to obtain an added value to their products. Hjalager and Richards (2002:228,229) suggest that a case study can identity relevant issues and the various driving forces that are important for the development of tourism or gastronomy in a particular area as well as provide a vital basis for a link between theory and practice. Consequently a case study strategy was perused in order to examine how place and postmodern touristic activity are shaped by food tourism consumption and production in the West of Scotland. Moreover by participating in food festivals and events, by visiting and buying from specialist food factories by buying from farm shops and farmers "market and by eating at restaurants, pubs and inns which feature local foods /dishes on their menu, the tourist connects closely
with the local food culture, starts to understand the local food culture, starts to understand the landscape that provided it and directly supports the rural economy" (Hall, 2003). All these opportunities require human resources and intelligence people informed and able to intelligence, people informed and able to acquire new awareness able to have a new model and a new ethic from which to see food tourism development and the natural resources as complementary for their respective sustainability. According to Gobe (2001), emotions have a particular influence on the brand management. The consumer buying decision is not only a result of rational decisions. Furthermore feelings become more important because in many cases consumers are burdened by too much product information. By emotions, Bagozzi et al. (1999) mean "mental states of readiness that arise from cognitive appraisals of events or thoughts" and in commercial terms" are central to the actions of consumers." Concerning food, Alvensleben (2000) underlines in his study that especially for regional food, the emotional aspect is very important. In many cases the product quality of regional food cannot be identified by the consumer, so that the buying decision is often a result of emotional attributes of the product or the region in which it is produced. Most studies which focus on communication in tourism underline the importance of emotionsbased communication. The power of oral communication has been examined by Salazar (2005) who traced the linguistic skills that tourist guides develop in order to (re)present and actively (re) construct local culture for a diversified global audience. Chronis (2005) demonstrated how symbols inserted into a text can help to negotiate, define, and strengthen social values between service providers and tourists whereas Shin et al. (2008) showed that the use of metaphors significantly influences the purchasing behavior of individuals (Stockebrand et al., 2011:30). Overall, it appears that the more expressive a communication (i.e., connotative aspects of the message), the more memorable the conveyed information (i.e. the denotative aspects of the message). Against the background, emotional communication seems particularly effective because the connotative aspects such as symbols, metaphors, stories etc. "reduce the complexity of the reality" ( Bosaugit et al.,2009; in Stockebrand et al.,2011:30), by providing a more immediate understanding both of the actors involved in the communication process and of the events portrayed. Although it is plausible that emotional communication can be particularly effective for representing most components of the tourist product, there is less evidence in the tourist literature whether it is appropriate also for conveying information about the food component whether the latter is set in the foreground of the tourist experience. In fact, whereas tourism is a dynamic, extra ordinary and un- contextualized (at least until it is experienced) concept, food is "concrete, contextualized and lived" (Kniazeva and Venkatesh, 2007: in Stockebrand et al.,2011:30), This means that it is important to find the right communication for food in tourism since, as underlined by Cohen ad Avieli (2004), the culinary aspects of a tourist product can work in its favor or to its detriment: "Since tourists will be generally reluctant to taste or eat () foods, whose ingredients are unknown or unfamiliar to them, (the) communication gap between tourist provider and tourists should be reduced in order to avoid any kind of anxiety."
The authors affirm that the communication of food in tourism should "filter out" the elements which are unfamiliar to tourists by means of a "cultural translation". They refer to the process which presence the food component anchored to a familiar context. Thus, the communication of culinary aspects in tourism should create an "environmental bubble" (Cohen and Aveli,2004;in Stockebrand,2011:30) around the tourist. This has a reassuring function which is achieved by using creative techniques such as employing both discursive verbal practices (e.g., labeling dishes with fancy names) or nonverbal ones (e.g., providing pictures of unknown or little known food). Lessons to be Learnt Slow Food association in Italy has recently launched a project in 1999 that uses two tools to protect and promote typical foods for promoting food tourism in Italy. Those two tools are : Presidia Projects and Ark of Taste. The presidia began in Italy in 1999 as the supporting arm of Ark of Taste. The Ark had catalogued hundreds of products at risk of disappearing, but with the presidia, Slow Food decided to make a concrete contribution to the world of production. Presidia is a local projects that focus on a group of producers of a single product, developing production and marketing techniques to allow their work to be economically vaible. The presidia programme is the tool that Slow Food uses to assist producers directly in the commercialization, protection and promotion of their products. The general objectives of the presidia cover the following four areas: economic objectives (increasing producer incomes, developing local driven activities, increasing employment); environmental objectives (defending biodiversity, improving the sustainability of products); social objectives (improve the social position of producers, strengthen their organizational capacity); and cultural objectives (strengthening producers cultural identity and promoting production areas) (Buiatti, 2011:96). Main goals of Slow Food Association (ibid., 97) To protect the heritage of food, local traditional and different cultures To defend food biodiversity To safeguards the environment and the land To promote taste education in order to help to make daily choices about food with awareness and responsibilities. To endorse sustainable agriculture To protect small producers and their communities To promote gastronomic traditions of the world. ( Source: Retrieved January 7, 2010, from www.slow food.com ) One of the key components of the relationship between food and tourism and regional development is that of the promotion of local foods (Hall, 2002). As well as direct purchase by consumers, the use of local food production, while branding menus in terms of their local food content may also be significant in marketing the menu and the restaurant as well as potentially leading to ongoing purchase of regional food - stuffs by consumers. Additionally,
the use of local foods may add to the perceived authenticity of the restaurant experience as well as the wider experience of the destination (Symons, 1999). Food tourism is strictly related to the development of a sustainable tourism which has its main objective to minimize environmental and cultural change, maximize tourist satisfaction, and optimize long-term economic growth for the region. It is a way of obtaining a balance between the growth potential of tourism and the conservation need of the environment(Buiatti,2011:100). In the postmodern era, festivals and, events have provided communities with an effective means of affirming their cultural and regional values and identities. Moreover, by participating in food festivals and events, by visiting and buying from specialist food factories, by buying from farm shops and farmers market and by eating at restaurants, pubs and inns which feature local foods/dishes on their menu, the tourist connects closely with the local food culture, starts to understand the landscape that provided it and directly supports local economy (Hall,2003:10). This is high time that Nepal tourism industry should learn, understand and come up with its indigenous strategies to identify, protect and promote the aspects of food tourism in Nepal. References Association of Nepalese in America, 1996, The Nepal Cook Books, Delhi: New Age Books. Backman, K.F. and D.B. Morais 2001, "Methodological Approaches Used in the Literature" in David B.Weaver (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Ecotourism,CABI Publishing, pp.597-609. Belisle, F.J., 1983, "Tourism and food production in the Caribbean", Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 10(4), pp. 497-513. Bell, D. and G. Valentine, 1997, Consuming Geographies. We Are Where We Eat, Routledge. Boyne, Steven and Derek Hall, 2003, "Managing food and tourism developments: issues for planning and opportunities to add value," in C. Michael Hall , Liz Sharples, Richard Mitchell, Niki Macionis and Brock Cambourne (eds.) Food Tourism: around the world development, management and markets, Butterworth/Heinemann, pp.285-295. Buiatti,Stefano,2011, "Food and tourism: The role of the "slow food" association" in Katia Laura Sidali, Achim Spiller, Birgit-Schulze (eds.) Food, Agri-Culture and Tourism, linking Local Gastronomy and Rural Tourism : Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, pp .92 101. Canavari, M., C. Huffaker, R. Mari, D. Reggazi and R. Spadoni, 2011, "Educational firms in the Emilia- Romagna region: the role in food habit education", in Katia Laura Sidali, Achim Spiller and Brigit Schulze ( eds.) Food, Agri-Culture and Tourism linking Local Gastronomy and Rural Tourism: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Spring, pp.73-91. Cook, I. and P. Crang, 1996, "The world on a plate: culinary cultures, displacement and geographical knowledge", Journal of Material Culture, Vol. 1 (2), pp. 131-153. D O Gorman, Kevin, 2010, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers.
Edensor, T., 2001, Performing Tourism, Staging Tourism: (Re) producing Tourist Spare and Practice, Tourist Studies, Vol. 1 (1), pp.59-82. Eastham, Jane F., 2003, Valorizing through tourism in rural areas: moving forwards regional partnerships," in C. Michael Hall , Liz Sharples, Richard Mitchell, Niki Macionis and Brock Cambourne (eds.) Food Tourism: around the world: development, management and markets, Butterworth/Heinemann, pp.229-248. Everett, Sally, 2009, "Beyond the visual gaze? The pursuit of an embodied experience through food tourism", Tourist Studies, pp. 337-358. Franklin, A., 2001, The Tourist Gaze and Beyond. An Interview with John Urry, Tourist Studies, Vol. 1 (2), pp. 25-22. Hall, C. Michael and Liz Sharples, 2003, The "Consumption of experiences or the experience of consumption? An introduction to the tourism of taste," in C. Michael Hall, Liz Sharples, Richard Mitchell, Niki Macionis and Brock Cambourne (eds.) Food Tourism: around the world development, management and markets, Butterworth/Heinemann pp.1-25. Hall, C.Michael, Richard Mitchell and Liz Sharples, 2003 "Consuming Places: the role of food, wine and tourism in regional development" in C. Michael Hall, Liz Sharples, Richard Mitchell, Niki Macionis and Brock Cambourne (eds.) Food Tourism: around the world: development, management and markets, Butterworth/Heinemann, pp.25-59. Hall, Derek and Steven Boyne, 2003, "Managing food and tourism developments: issues for planning and opportunities to add value" in C. Michael Hall , Liz Sharples, Richard Mitchell, Niki Macionis and Brock Cambourne (eds.) Food Tourism: around the world development, management and markets, Butterworth/Heinemann, pp.285-295. Hannerz, U., 1990,"cosmopolitans and locals in a world culture", Theory, Culture and Society, 7 June, pp.237-251. Hasimoto, A. and D.J. Telfer, 1999, "Marketing icewine to Japanese Tourists in Niagara: The case of Inniskillin Winery", International Journal of Wine Marketing, Vol. 11(2), pp. 29-41. Hughes, G. 1995, "Authenticity in tourism", Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 22 (4), pp.781 803. Majupuria, Indra, 2008, Joys of Nepalese Cooking, Lashkar (Gwalior): S.Devi. Kansakar, Nini Hira, 1994, Nepali Kitchens, Kathmandu: Dorothy Miller. Kunwar, Ramesh Raj, 1999, Fire of Himal: An Anthropological Study of the Sherpas of Nepal Himalayan Region, Jayapur: Nirala. Lashley, C., P.A. Lynch and A. Morrison (eds.), 2007, Hospitality: A Social Lens, Oxford: Elsevier. Levi Strauss, C. ,1978, The Origin of Table Manners , Harper Collins. Lowdin,Per ,1998, Food, Ritual and Society : A Study of Social Structure and Food Symbolism among the Newars, Kathmandu: Mandala Book Point. MacLaurin, T.L., 2001, " Food safety in travel and tourism" . Journal of Travel Research,
Vol. 39 (3), pp. 332-333. Mitchell, R., C.M. Hall, and G.Johnson, 2001, "Food and drink in the New Zealand tourism experience", in J. Butcher (ed.) Innovations in Cultural Tourism, ATLAS, pp. 75-91. Mitchell, R.D., C.M Hall, and A.J. McIntosh, 2000, "Wine tourism and consumer behavior", in C.M. Hall , E. Sharples, , B. Combourne, N. Macionis (eds.) Wine Tourism Around the World: Development, Management and Markets, Butterworth Heinemann, pp. 115 135. Mitchell, Richard and C. Michael Hall, 2003, Consuming Tourists: Food tourism consumer behaviour in C.M. Hall , E. Sharples, , B. Combourne, N. Macionis (eds.) Wine Tourism Around the World: Development, Management and Markets, Butterworth Heinemann. MacCannell, Dean, 1976, The Tourist: A New Theory of Leisure Class, London: Macmillan. Pathak, Jyoti, 2011, Taste of Nepal, New Delhi: Adarsha Books. Porter, M., 1990, The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Macmillan. Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 2007, Cooking in Nepal, Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar. Reisinger, Yvette,2009, International Tourism Culture and Behavour, Elsevier. Relph E., 1996, "Place", in I. Douglas, R. Huggett, and M. Robinson, (eds.) Companion Encyclopedia of Geography: The Environment and Humankind, Routledge. Reynolds, P. 1993, "Food and tourism: towards an understanding of sustainable culture," Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 1 (1), pp. 48 54. Rusher, Kristy, 2003, " The Bulf Oyster Festival ad regional economic development festivals as culture commodified" in C. Michael, Hall, Liz Sharples, Richard Mitchell, Niki Macionis and Brock Cambourne (eds.) Food Tourism: around the world development, management and markets, Butterworth Heinemann, pp. 192-205. Rimmington, M. and A. Yuksel, 1998, "Tourist satisfaction and food service experience: result and implications of an empirical investigation", Anatolia. Vol. 9 (1), pp. 37 57. Scarpato, Rosario and Roberto Daniele,2003, "New Global Cuisine: tourism, authenticity and sense of place in postmodern gastronomy" in C. Michael Hall, Liz Sharples, Richard Mitchell, Niki Macionis and Brock Cambourne (eds.) Food Tourism: around the world development, management and markets, Butterworth Heinemann, pp. 296-313. Sharples, Liz, 2003, "Food tourism in the peak district national park, England", in C. Michael Hall , Liz Sharples, Richard Mitchell, Niki Macionis and Brock Cambourne (eds.) 2003, Food Tourism: around the world development, management and markets Butterworth/Heinemann, pp206-227. Simpson, T., 1999, Distant Feast: The Origins of New Zealands Cuisine, New Zealand: Random House. Santini, Christiana, Alessio Cavicchi and Maurizio Canavari, 2011, The RiskTM strategic game of rural tourism: how sensory analysis can help in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage", in Katia Laura Sidali, Achim Spiller and Brigit Schhulze (eds.) Food, AgriCulture and Tourism linking Local Gastronomy and Rural Tourism: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Spring, pp.161-179.
Smith, Angela and C. Michael Hall, 2003, "Restaurants and local food in New Zealand," in C. Michael Hall , Liz Sharples, Richard Mitchell, Niki Macionis and Brock Cambourne (eds.), Food Tourism: around the world: development, management and markets, Butterworth/ Heinemann, pp. 249-267. Stockebrand, N., K.L. Sidali and A. Spiller, 2011, " Pers[ectives of emotional food communication for farm operators", in Katia Laura Sidali, Achim Spiller and Brigit Schhulze ( eds.) Food, Agri-Culture and Tourism linking Local Gastronomy and Rural Tourism: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Spring, PP.25-40. Swarbrooke J. and S. Horner, 2007, Consumer Behavior in Tourism, Second Edition, Butterworth-Heinemann. Telfer, D. J. and G. Wall, 1996., "Linkages between tourism and food production", Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 23(3) pp. 635-653. Urry, John, 1992, The Tourist Gaze Revisited, American Behavioural Scientist, Vol. 36 (2), pp. 172-186. ............, 2002a, The Tourist Gaze, Second Edition, London: SAGE Publications. ............, 2002b, Mobility and Proximity, Sociology, Vol. 36 (2), pp. 255-274. Vaidya, Hind, 1999, Nepalese Cookery, Kathmandu: Sahayogi Press. Visentin, Claudio,2011," Food, Agri-Culture, and Tourism", in Katia Laura Sidali, Achim Spiller and Brigit Schhulze ( eds.) Food, Agri-Culture and Tourism linking Local Gastronomy and Rural Tourism: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Spring, xiii-xv. Waits, M. J. 2000,. "The added value of industry cluster approach to economic analysis strategy development, and service delivery", Economic Development Quarterly, Vol. 14, pp. 35-50 Zelinsky, W.,1997, " The Roving Palate: North Americas Ethnic Restaurant Cuisines", Geoforum Restaurant Cuisines", Geoforum, Vol. 16 (1) : 51-72.
Book Review
Sreyasa Mainali Manjaree Dahal*
Book Title: Tourist Cultures: Identity, Place and the Traveller Authors: Stephen Wearing, Deborah Stevenson and Tamara Young Publisher: London, UK: Sage Publications Year of Publication: 2010 ISBN No.: 978-0-7619-4997-8 Email: sreyasa.mainali@gmail.com, manjaree.dahal@gmail.com Travelling is an age-old tradition and tourism has been a topic of extensive study for the past half a century, at least. It is a field that has both positive and negative implications in the modern and traditional societies whether through tangible dimensions like climate change or intangible like the phenomenon of globalization. With areas that are so far reaching globally, we often forget the impact tourism can have on an individual whether as hosts or as guests. Tourist Cultures: Identity, Place and the Traveller is a book that pushes us to think about these impacts. Tourist Cultures: Identity, Place and the Traveller is a very well organized book that follows a sequential order in its eight chapters thus making it easy for the expert and the amateur to understand gain knowledge about the culture of tourism and tourist. Chapter 1 introduces the readers to the concepts of flneur and choraster (Wearing and Wearing, 1996), which are the visual and the experiential types of tourists, as two different types of tourists; the tourism experience, space and the structures of tourist cultures. It describes the beginnings of tourism as male-centric (Cohen and Taylor, 1976) where tourism industry targeted Western men. It also highlights the works of Urry (1990) and MacCannell (1976) and builds on these to introduce new concepts of tourism such as that of flneur and choraster. Tourists used to be visual and non-interactive or aimless wanderers known here as flneurs and now they are more distinct and interactive, and no longer one dimensional, known as chorasters. With two distinct sections, namely Tourist Selves and Tourist Spaces, this book gives an overview of the tourism experience and the sociology as well as the individual effect that tourism has on each person involved. The first section clearly defines the concepts of the tourist experience, the other and the identity of the tourist self. The second section then builds
* Sreyasa Mainali and Manjaree Dahal are the ex-students of Master in Conflict, Peace and Development Studies, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. They studied peace-tourism for a year within the course of the two-year Masters Program.
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on these to explain the landscapes of tourism, global tourism & local cultures and the tourist space and what it represents. The first section of the book, entitled Tourist Selves, is divided into three chapters. These chapters deal with the tourist experience, identity formation and the other. The tourism industry has switched from a consumer-based approach to a creation-based approach because now tourists can create their own multi-dimensional experience. Chapter 2 explains various tourist typologies conceived by different scholars but it points out that the typologies follow a stereotype and so not everyone can fit into one or the other. Authenticity is the next topic in the chapter where the authors say that while one tourist may look for what is authentic and real, another may not. The chapter ends with the topic of cultural tourism which is the umbrella concept of the entire book. Chapter 3 deals with identity formation of tourists after the tourism experience. Holidaying is a concept that started as an escape from the everyday life during the Industrialization Era and it used to be a time when identity of the community was followed and formed (Eriksen, 1963 & 1971). That idea changed in the 1990s, when an individual, rather than follow a communal approach, was more focused on creating a self-identity (Gidden 1991). The chapter also highlights leisure as an important part in promoting tourism as well as stories and narratives of previous travellers. Chapter 4 deals with the concept of encountering the other as the interaction between the hosts and the guests. In describing the interactions, the authors provide case studies of various communities where the local culture becomes diluted due to the Western influence such that eventually the local culture itself is lost. The second section, entitled Tourist Spaces, consists of four chapters including conclusion. In the first chapter of this section, which is Chapter 5, the authors shed light on the interaction of the self and the other (being, the place) and how this interaction expands our understanding of tourist cultures. The two significant landscapes that are central to tourism are the natural environment and the city. The natural environment helps the visitor understand the local community as well as appreciate their own homeland. The city, on the other hand, is anonymous and impersonal but through visit, it can seem knowable. Central to tourism is space. It is not necessarily a physical location; it is what builds the traveller self. The space, the authors describe, can be multidimensional and have different meaning to each traveller. The book gives importance to individual experience rather than to the global dimension of tourism. The individual experience is also dependent on the global factors to some extent but each tourist experiences the same travel differently and that is highlighted here. The interplay between the global and the local is then explored in Chapter 6. In this chapter, the authors introduce the concept of social value which is to say the locals give meaning and importance to their society thus commanding respect for their culture. Social valuing is done through local ownership and initiative. This process is influenced by the interconnection between the local and the spaces of tourism and eight examples are given of the types of social valuing that can exist. An example of the local and global interaction is the backpacker culture where the guests meet and engage with the local community and in so doing find or create their own identity. The local-global interaction has a positive impact on local community development and an "eventual hybridization of cultures" where "they" or the "other" becomes "you and I". So rather than what the authors call cultural cannibalism, it leads to exposure and understanding. This then leads us to the third chapter of this section, Chapter 7, entitled Tourism, Space and Representation.
Space, as described before, is no longer a physical location but a socio-cultural construct with various dimensions known as the thirdspace. The chapter addresses the interplay between tourism space and tourism experience. The dichotomous nature of space as either authentic or imaginary is discussed and what space represents to each person. The chapter also mentions virtual tourism which engages the senses without actually being at the destination. The section ends with a concluding chapter. Literature on tourism usually pinpoints the pollution, the climate change, the globalization and the economic ups and downs. The effect of tourism on the local and global community is evident in other scholarly work with examples like climate change, economic and globalization. This book concentrates on the micro-level perspectives of tourism where hosts and guests change as individuals. The book focuses on the micro-level perspective by emphasizing on the importance of local ownership and the types of tourism that optimizes social interaction by putting social value on the local area to head towards sustainable tourism. The book, however, doesn't illustrate potential challenges and opportunities of social value at the local level. In including the two perspectives, the authors take into consideration the global, social and individual structures that are impacted by tourism. The authors focus on flneur and choraster as the two types of tourists and emphasize that tourism constructs and defines the identity of the tourist not just during but after as well; also known as post-tourism. Tourists travel to experience, what the authors call, the other space and people. Experiencing the other gives the tourist an insight into themselves and to grow and change, not just as a tourist but as a person. While this is true for the tourist, the process of tourism also impacts the travel space and culture of the destination. The thirdspace, a concept by Soja (1996), describes the travel space as both the imaginary and the real (p. 127); the tangible and the intangible that interact with each other and are formed by those who live in the travel space as locals. It is a sensory place where the tourist can exist as flneur and choraster (the visual and the experiential) at the same time (p. 127). The concept of the thirdspace presents the tourism experience as a holistic and interconnected one rather than highlight the dichotomy. The book emphasizes the importance of being a choraster or the experiential tourist rather than the visual and non-interactive flneur. Examples describing the thirdspace include backpacking, female sex tourism and virtual tourism. The book describes the complicated sociological nature of tourism by explaining the impacts the hosts and the guests have on each other. The book is a well-endowed resource for amateur researchers as well as experts in the field of tourism and anthropology and sociology of tourism. It is not rigid in its stance and provides flexible alternatives to many concepts and theories. It illustrates, time and again, what is considered the dichotomous nature of the tourist selves and the tourist spaces by saying that they can be simultaneously imaginary & real; tangible & intangible; authentic & inauthentic; and material & metaphorical. The book highlights sociology, human geography, gender studies and tourism studies more than the global phenomenon of tourism that is heard more often. It explores the tourist selves, spaces, the engagement & interactions and the movements during the tourism experience. A set-back in the book is that older studies in the travel sector are not mentioned as much and the concepts are newer ones developed from the 1990s onwards. The authors do however mention unique case studies, like female sex tourism where women travel to have sexual relations with local
Sreyasa/Dahal: Book Review 101
men much the same way that men might, to describe the concepts that were introduced. In explaining the hosts-guests relations, the authors talk about the power relations that are involved. The dominant guests are usually said to influence the weak hosts especially if the hosts are a developing society. With power relations, the authors introduce the concept of social value. Social value is the "meanings people attach to places". Social value is achieved when the local people work towards making their immediate environment and spaces more attractive and appealing in order to receive respects from the so-called dominant guests. It is done through local ownership and involvement of local in promoting tourism and conserving the culture while tourism evolves. In doing so, the social interactions that come about during tourism, is based on mutual respect between the hosts and the guests and it endorses the value of the society and the local community. At the same time that the social value is established, the interaction with the guests also hybridizes the local culture (p. 109). Many scholars talk about the homogenizing of the global structures through tourism, the authors introduce the concept of hybridization that occurs when cultures inter-mingle. Tourist typologies are usually considered to widen and at the same time simplify the understanding of tourists. They are also, however, seen as being based on stereotypes. The authors of this book merge the two divergent viewpoints allowing for an open area of research for future scholars. Merging distinct and rigid viewpoints for other concepts such as authenticity and identity are also clearly seen in this book. This allows for flexible classification such that different characteristic of each typology can be merged into a new unique typology that is fitting for each tourist. The authors of the book, Tourist Cultures: Identity, Place and the Traveller, are affiliated with tourism in various capacities in their native Australia and are experts in tourist cultures. The title of the book is very apt and the contents of the book follow through on the title. The style of writing and unique examples make the concepts more communicable to the readers. The book is structured in such a way that the concepts are introduced in the first section making the reader acquainted to them and the second section builds on these concepts with examples allowing the reader to have a clear exposure and knowledge of the topics. The presence of case studies in the first three chapters would have made the concepts clearer like they do in later chapters. Reading the first chapter itself gives a brief overview of all the concepts described later in the book. This allows readers to make their own judgment regarding whether this book is befitting a library or for themselves. The book is useful and practical because many of the concepts are conceived through ideas based on real-life experiences and thus, scholars who have touristic experiences can easily understand and relate to these concepts. The book also mentions some previous theories thus the reviewers are able to make their own judgments regarding what school of thought in the tourism sector they want to be affiliated to. Macrolevel perspectives on tourism become clearer with the micro-level focus of the book. The dilution of cultures in certain communities due to tourism, as described in the book, can help us understand the process of globalization. As students with minimal knowledge in the area, this book has been an eye-opener. The book is definitely recommended to those interested in pursuing scholarly work in the field of
tourism and/or anthropology and sociology of tourism. It is a very useful book for understanding tourism in the micro-level as it provides detailed information covering minute aspects of tourist cultures and impacts of interaction between the hosts and the guests. For those with some experience with travel, it is easy to understand and relate with many of the concepts and ideas introduced and explained in the book. With extensive travel experience in the South Asia region with local interactions, the reviewers can now associate many experiences with the concepts made clear in the book. Future travel will now help optimize travel experiences and minimize the possibilities of becoming "cultural cannibals".
THE GAZE
JOURNAL OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY
Vol. 3 No. 1 Year 2011
International School of Tourism and Hotel Management

(Affiliated to Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria)
THE GAZE
Editorial Board Chief Editor:Prof. Dr. Ramesh Raj Kunwar Managing Editor: Tej Bahadur Dhakal Editor: Dr. Tika Nath Sharma Associate Editor: Shamjhana Basnyat Advisory Board Narendra Bajracharya Prof. (FH) Mag. Leonhard Wrndl Prof. Dr. Govinda Prasad Acharya Dr. Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha Dr. Shree Govinda Shah
International School of Tourism and Hotel Management Dillibazaar, P.O.Box: 5196, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: 977 1 4434350, 4434185 Email: thegaze@ist.org.np Website: www.ist.org.np
THE GAZE
CONTENTS
Him Lal Ghimire Rajendra Man Shrestha Roman Egger Pranil Kumar Upadhayay 1 Modelling the Uncertainty of International Tourist Arrivals in Nepal Theorizing Web 2.0 Phenomenons in Tourism: A Sociological Signpost Transdiciplinary approach between researchers, practitioners and local communities as peace prospective of tourism Sport Event Tourism: A Study of Social and Ecological Effects of Winter Universiade Erzurum 2011 Peace-Tourism as A Component of Peacebuilding Process Special Interest Tourism: A Study of Growing Significance of Food Tourism Book Review
21 40
Naci Polata
56
Rajib Timalsina Ramesh Raj Kunwar
64 77
Sreyasa Mainali Manjaree Dahal
98
Editorial Note We are very happy to offer The GAZE Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Vol. 3, No. 1 to our readers. This journal is published annually in English by International School of Tourism and Hotel Management, which is affiliated to Salzburg University of Applied Sciences of Austria. The purpose of this journal is to disseminate the knowledge and ideas of tourism to the students, researchers, journalists, policy makers, planners, entrepreneurs and other general readers. Articles and reviews in the journal represent neither the views of the concerned publishers nor those of editorial board. Responsibility for opinions expressed and for the accuracy of the facts published in the articles or reviews are solely with the individual authors. We have realized that it is high time that we made this effort for tourism innovation and development. We strongly believe that this knowledge based platform will make the industry and the institutions stronger. The Editorial Board THE GAZE International School of Tourism and Hotel Management Dillibazaar, P.O.Box: 5196, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: 977 1 4434350, 4434185 Email: thegaze@ist.org.np Website: www.ist.org.np
Editorial Policy The Gaze is an interdisciplinary Journal which welcomes research articles, research abstracts and book reviews for the dissemination of knowledge about tourism and hospitality. Articles should be original and unpublished, based on primary sources or field work or reflecting new interpretations, written in English, but not exceed twenty pages. The research work should be based on global research methodology in which the researcher will be required to use parenthesis or author date system. The references should be based either on APA method, MLA method or mixed uniformity. Manuscripts should be typed double-space on A4 sized paper with a 4 cm margin on all four sides. The text should be not less than 3000 words. The author should underline nothing except words which are to be italicized. Notes and references should be typed double-space on separate pages which should be included at the end of the article. The text should refer to notes numbered consecutively throughout the article using raised numbers. Bibliographical references should be cited in the text by the Authors last name, date of publication and page number e.g. (Dhakal, 1991:110), or if authors name is mentioned in the text by the date and page reference only (1991:110). Entries in the references should be in alphabetical and chronological order of authors. They should include the details in the following order: name of the author(s) - surname first, date, title, name of the periodical, volume number (Arabic numerals to be used throughout), pagination (for articles in periodicals and books with several authors), place of publication and name of the publisher for a book. Tables and maps should be submitted on separate pages, numbered with headings. Notations in the text should indicate where these are to appear. The research should include any area such as ecotourism; rural tourism; sustainable tourism; community tourism; village tourism; cultural heritage tourism; agro-tourism; pasture tourism; pilgrimage tourism; medical tourism; tourism management; tourism administration; sociology of tourism; anthropology of tourism; psychology of tourism; geography of tourism; economics of tourism; sports tourism; shopping tourism; tourism and corporate culture; tourism and environment; tourism marketing; tourism and nationalities; tourism and hospitality management; tourism and law; tourism disaster management; tourism and hospitality education; tourism and media; tourism and conflict; tourism, conflict and peace; and tourism and research methodology. The Editorial Board has right to accept or reject the article for publication. If the article is rejected, it will be returned to the author. Authors receive five offprints free, and a copy of the issue in which their article appears. The editors welcome enquiries from readers willing to review books
Salzburg University of Applied Sciences Salzburg University of Applied Sciences and Technologies (FH Salzburg), is an accredited institution of Austrian higher education, recognized by the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. It is one of the most modern universities for applied sciences in Europe. In its various levels of academic programs, it concentrates on current trends in tourism, product development and e-Business. FH Salzburg is situated in Salzburg, Austria, one of the most vibrant tourist regions in the world. The city at the Salzach River is the world famous for its summer and winter tourism. Not only does it boast 22 million overnight stays, but its wide variety of tourist attractions and offerings draws guests who come to attend conventions or music festivals as well as those seeking adventure, culture or relaxation. FH Salzburg aims to offer various programs tailored to the needs of current and future demand of the labor market combined with a sound theoretical underpinning. This is guaranteed by its qualified and highly committed staff from higher educational institutions as well as the industry. It has collaboration with more than 60 partner institutions in Europe, Americas, Asia, Australia and Nepal in international projects as well as faculty and student exchange. International School of Tourism and Hotel Management International School of Tourism and Hotel Management (IST) was established in the year 2003 with an objective to produce world class human resources to cater to the overwhelming need of the hospitality industry by offering various academic degrees and training packages as per the international standard. It is a center for excellence in hospitality education providing an enterprising and stimulating environment in which students can learn and develop their full potential. Hence, IST is also a suffix, which means a person with deep knowledge, practical exposure and appropriate attitude in the particular discipline. IST aims to add "ist" to its students and prepare professionals to become leading managers in the various tourism and hospitality outlets. Affiliated to Salzburg University of Applied Sciences (FHS), Austria, IST offers customized and fast track programs to provide students maximum flexibility and opportunity for progression. Various programs offered by IST is approved by Ministry of Education and Sports of Nepal Government. Since its inception it has established cooperation with numerous universities in Nepal, Singapore, Austria, Australia, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States of America. Likewise, FHS and Tribhuvan University of Nepal have already entered into the bilateral agreement to promote faculty and student exchange, joint research program and accreditation to each other's degree.
International School of Tourism and Hotel Management Dillibazaar, P.O.Box: 5196, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: 977 1 4434350, 4434185 Email: thegaze@ist.org.np Website: www.ist.org.np

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Modelling the Uncertainty of International Tourist Arrivals in Nepal

Him Lal Ghimire* Rajendra Man Shrestha**

2 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Ghimire/Shrestha : Modelling the Uncertainty... 3

t2 = 0 + i t2i + j t2 j , where 0 > 0, i 0 , j o (i = 1,2, p,

Here, t2 is the conditional variance at time t, 0 is a constant parameter, i are coefficients,

TAij = ij Dijt + it where D = 1 in month j = 1,..,12, and D = 0 elsewhere. ijt ijt

4 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

TAt = ARMA( p , q) + i Dit + i Dit t + t

Ghimire/Shrestha : Modelling the Uncertainty... 5

+ t . The coefficients were

6 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

t2 = 0 + i t2i , where (i = 1,2, p)

Ghimire/Shrestha : Modelling the Uncertainty... 7

8 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Ghimire/Shrestha : Modelling the Uncertainty... 9

10 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Ghimire/Shrestha : Modelling the Uncertainty... 11

133438 143229 140661

12 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

For Monthly Tourist Arrivals at levels (Series)

Ghimire/Shrestha : Modelling the Uncertainty... 13

14 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Ghimire/Shrestha : Modelling the Uncertainty... 15

16 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

0.324 7.975 .000

-0.180 -4.27 .000

Ghimire/Shrestha : Modelling the Uncertainty... 17

18 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

NA for < 0 Not significant of NA for < 0 NA for < 0

Ghimire/Shrestha : Modelling the Uncertainty... 19

20 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Theorizing Web 2.0 Phenomenons in Tourism: A Sociological Signpost

22 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Egger: Theorizing Web 2.0 Phenomenons in Tourism: A Sociological Signpost 23

24 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Egger: Theorizing Web 2.0 Phenomenons in Tourism: A Sociological Signpost 25

26 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Egger: Theorizing Web 2.0 Phenomenons in Tourism: A Sociological Signpost 27

An avatar is the virtual representation of a real person

28 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Identity management Information management Source: Schmidt, 2008

Egger: Theorizing Web 2.0 Phenomenons in Tourism: A Sociological Signpost 29

30 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Egger: Theorizing Web 2.0 Phenomenons in Tourism: A Sociological Signpost 31

Core message of the theory

Examples: Reference to Web 2.0

Examples: Reference to tourism

32 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Action Theory among others Max Weber, mile Durkheim

Uses and Gratifications Approach Elihu Katz

Media use of rating portals, blogs, location based services

Symbolic Interactionism Georg Mead, Herbert Blumer

At the semantic level it would be tagging, for example (key-wording

Elements of inter-cultural communication in particular -

customs & rituals (welcoming, thanking, complaining, etc.)

Theory of Dramaturgical Action Erving Goffman

Ethnomethodology / Netography Harold Garfinkel, Hough Mehan, Housten Wood

Egger: Theorizing Web 2.0 Phenomenons in Tourism: A Sociological Signpost 33

Theory of Structuration Anthony Giddens, Lucas Sanders

34 The Gaze Journal of Tourism and Hospitality (Vol. 3)

Theory of Flocking Behaviour Craig Rainolds

Explanation of phenomena of mass tourism

Egger: Theorizing Web 2.0 Phenomenons in Tourism: A Sociological Signpost 35