Tourism Culture: Nexus, Characteristics, Context and Sustainability

This article makes the case for tourism culture; the new cultural expressions, practises and identities, influenced by hosts, guests and industry context, which may develop in destinations, as a useful perspective with which to draw together various conceptual narratives within the tourism studies literature. Research in three small islands finds evidence of a distinctive cultural landscape which emerges from the interaction of host and guest cultures, and the exchange, change and creativity that results. Tourism industry dynamics are found to facilitate or undermine this process, as in turn they may be influenced by. This tourism culture has implications for the continuation and evolution of indigenous culture, as it does for the absorption of elements of tourist cultures. The emergent fusion may be symptomatic of a richer cultural landscape and might be considered as an indicator of more sustainable communities and forms of tourism development

The Ecology of Trade

Trading behavior occurs in many species but has a particularly elaborate form in humans. Trade is defined as the mutually beneficial, adaptive transfer of goods and services between organisms. Trade has a competitive element and responds to changes in relative scarcity. Trade is demonstrated to be a biological phenomenon rather than an artefact of human civilisation. Species’ characteristics that increase the likelihood of trade occurring are outlined. The evolution of trading strategies is most likely in humans and social arthropods. A formal model is presented to show that trade can simultaneously increase consumption among populations and reduce pressure on locally scarce resources. This allows a species to increase its density and escape the constraints imposed by local resource limitations. This represents a major ecological benefit to the trading species. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2000mutualism, resources, scarcity, social arthropods, sustainability,

Book reviews

Globalisation and International Trade Liberalisation, Continuity and Change edited by Martin Richardson, (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, 2000), v-xvi + 204pp, ISBN 1-84064-350-1 Equity as a Social Goal, by Cathy Buchanan and Peter Hartley, (NZ Business Roundtable), March 2000. 246pp. ISBN 1-877148-61-X.

Economic development options for island states: the case of whale-watching

This paper explores the consequences of whale-watching tourism with reference to the Kingdom of Tonga. Whale-watching tourism has been proposed as a viable development option for small island states. This proposal is frequently linked to permanent cessation of what is, in many cases, traditional whale hunting. This article critiques some earlier work on the economic impact of whale-watching and explores the consequences of whale-watching using biometric models in an attempt to inform policy and debate concerning the economic benefits of switching from whale hunting to watching. Ecotourism generally, and whale-watching specifically, have some development risks and these risks are elaborated. For small island states on the periphery of the whale-watching industry, the profitability of an exclusive whale-watching strategy is threatened by increased competition elsewhere. We contend that economic returns from whale resources can be maximised by retaining a whale hunting option for cases where resource populations rise above that necessary for ecological sustainability and tourism activities. By eliminating the prospects of a diversified use of whale stocks for the somewhat more uncertain gains from whale watching, small island states expose themselves to potential shocks. Such states have a lesser ability to absorb such shocks; hence the elimination of hunting options is an illadvised development route for humans