The Institutional Sustainability in Protected Area Tourism-Case Studies of Jiuzhaigou National Scenic Area, China and New Forest National Park, United Kingdom

This article considers sustainable tourism development in two protected areas, Jiuzhaigou National Scenic Area in China and the New Forest National Park in the United Kingdom. An inductive approach is used to explore the "fourth component" of sustainable tourism development that is institutional sustainability. Primary data from in-depth interviews, together with a range of secondary data sources, are analyzed to understand the governance and management of each area. These reveal that whilst each area is committed to sustainable development, their approaches differ because of the political, economic, and socio-cultural contexts. The implications for policy and practice are then discussed. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Trends in autoionization of Rydberg states converging to the 4s threshold in the Kr-Rb⁺-Sr²⁺ isoelectonic sequence: theory and experiment

We have measured the photoabsorption spectra of the Kr-like ions Rb+ and Sr2+ at photon energies corresponding to the excitation of 4s-np resonances using, the dual laser plasma photoabsorption technique. Dramatic changes in the line profiles, with increasing ionization and also proceeding along the Rydberg series of each ion, are observed and explained by the trends in 4s-transition amplitudes computed within a framework of configuration-interaction Pauli-Fock calculations. Total photoionization cross sections show very good agreement with relative absorption data extracted from the measured spectra

Functional, Hedonic or Social? Exploring Antecedents and Consequences of Virtual Reality Rollercoaster Usage

During the last years, various media technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have gained increased attention in consumer markets and tourism. For theme parks, especially those with rollercoasters, wearable VR devices are expected to be associated with various benefits for tourists’ experience. Therefore, adventure park managers with VR rollercoasters have a keen interest in understanding the drivers and psychological mechanisms of their visitors, especially those associated with economic benefits. Against this background, this study provides a conceptual model grounded in the VR and AR literature. The model is then tested in a Finnish amusement park with a VR switchback, and analysed using structural equation modelling. Result show that entertainment value and service quality drive satisfaction and subsequently word of mouth, but results do not confirm the importance on visitors’ willingness to pay an extra fee for a VR experience. However, this economically crucial variable is determined by social presence of other people, indicating that visitors are willing to pay for experiencing an immersive experience with other people. Theoretical and managerial implications are derived, and avenues for further research discussed

A journey towards shared governance: status and prospects for collaborative management in the protected areas of Bangladesh

Establishment of Protected Areas (PAs), in the face of rapid deforestation, forest degradation and climate change has been one of the key efforts in conservation of biodiversity worldwide in recent times. While Bangladesh has gained a degree of prominence in the world for its successful social forestry programs, the concept of collaborative protected area management is rather new in the country, initiated in 2004 by the Bangladesh Forest Department in five PAs with financial assistance from USAID. Based on empirical evidence from three of the pilot PAs, we examined the achievements and associated challenges and prospects for co-management. Our fieldwork revealed a number of challenges faced by co-management institutions: (1) institutions were dominated by the elite group, overshadowing the voice of the community people; (2) mutual trust and collective performance are key to good governance but had not taken root in the PAs; (3) encroachment onto forest land and subsequent conversion to agriculture remained a serious problem that discouraged forest-dependent people from participating actively in co-management initiatives; (4) legal provisions (including acts, rules and policies) were not clearly and adequately disseminated and understood at the community level; (5) there remained a degree of ambiguity regarding the roles and responsibilities of forest department (FD) and co-management committees (CMC) in field operations, and this was not enhancing transparency and accountability of the overall initiative; (6) the long-term sustainability of co-management institutions was another major concern, as the local intuitional structure was still in a nascent stage, and provisioning of resources (either internally or externally) remained somewhat uncertain. We offer recommendations for improvement