Sustaining responsible tourism – The case of Kerala.

Responsible tourism is a concept that overlaps significantly with concepts of sustainable tourism, ethical tourism, pro-poor tourism and integrated tourism (Chettiparamb and Kokkranikal, 2012). Responsible tourism emphasises the role of businesses in achieving sustainability and can be seen as yet another concept within the sustainable tourism genre, which comprises many forms of tourism such as ecotourism, ethical tourism, alternative tourism, green tourism, soft tourism, etc. Responsible tourism as a motto has now been officially adopted by many important tourism destinations. Though perhaps not yet a ‘movement’, the concept is increasingly being pushed by states and city governments on normative grounds. The international appeal of the concept could also be partly explained by the centrality given to the involvement and engagement of the private sector in managing impacts of tourism. Thus, besides offering a normative appeal, ‘responsible tourism’ also offers a pragmatic appeal in managing tourism in an increasingly (post) neo-liberal world. After all, the private sector is the major provider of tourism experiences and services in most destinations worldwide and is a fast growing presence in this sector. Kerala is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India, both domestically and overseas. With the range of tourism resources and a relatively well-developed society, tourism was identified as a major industry (Kokkranikal and Morrison, 2002). Even though Kerala has seen an impressive growth in tourism during noughties, the state has not been free from some of the environmental and socio-cultural problems associated with tourism (Jacob, 1998, White, 2007). Recently, Kerala has adopted responsible tourism as its principal tourism development strategy and pioneered it in four tourist destination, viz. Kumarakom, Thekkady, Kovalam and Wayanad. The aims of this paper is to discuss the processes involved in operationalising the concept of ‘responsible tourism’ within the state of Kerala, India, and analyse factors that led to mixed results in the four tourist destinations. We highlight and emphasise the central role of what we terms as ‘hands off’ planning realised through empowerment, engagement and proactive facilitation in sustaining responsible tourism

From history to reality - engaging with visitors in the Imperial War Museum (North)

This paper is about visitor engagement in a museum, with reference to the Imperial War Museum (IWM) (North). Modern museums can be considered part of the leisure industry, and are increasingly subject to financial and marketing considerations which, rightly, put the visitor at the centre of their thinking and planning. Facilitating visitor engagement is an important factor in ensuring the smooth delivery of a museum’s core aims. It is also key to enabling accessibility, both physical and intellectual, to all as part of the museum’s widening participation agenda. The idea of what constitutes the roles and functions of museums is at an interesting point: museums have changed over the last few decades from places that were primarily about collections to places of educative and serious leisure. Findings of a case study of visitor engagement in the IWM (North) indicate that proactive visitor engagement strategies and programmes will improve the visitor experience

Tourism policy planning in Bangladesh: background and some steps forward

Tourism policies and plans seek to resolve tourism development issues, safeguard the built and natural heritage, and achieve sustainable socioeconomic development in relation to the aspirations of current and future generations (Edgell & Swanson, 2013). However, performance of the tourism sector depend on various factors such as the policy formulation capacities of a country with the active involvements of key stakeholders. This conceptual research critically outlines dynamics of national tourism policy formulation with special reference to Bangladesh. Bangladesh has unique tourism resources and has the potential to develop tourism as an important means for its social and economic development. Sound and evidence-led tourism policies and political support along with participation of the private and voluntary sector are essential for Bangladesh become a successful and sustainable tourism destination. However, there is a felt need for further research on tourism policy, planning and management of Bangladesh tourism to develop a knowledge base and identify constraints and opportunities for its successful and sustainable development

Microsporidian (Glugea sp.) infection in the greasy grouper Epinephelus tauvina (Forsskal, 1775)

A case of microsporidian (Glugea sp.) infection in the greasy grouper, Epinephelus tauvina (Forsskal) was studied by light microscopy as well as histological examination. The parasite was located in the subcutaneous tissue and visceral organs, forming spherical blackish xenomas of about 1-2.5 mm in diameter surrounded by a layer of connective tissue. The observed characteristics of the parasite are in line with those of the other Glugea species; showing merogony in the outer zone of the cytoplasm of the host cell, sporogony in sporophorous vesicles, and mature ovoid spores 4-6.5 μm x 2-2.2 μm located in the central part of the blackish xenoma. These characteristics suggested that the microsporidian which was found to infect E. tauvina during the present investigation was Glugea sp

Women’s Experiences in Religious Tourism: An Investigation into Women’s Involvement in Sabarimala Pilgrimage, Kerala

Preparations for the Sabarimala pilgrimage involves devotees observing a 41 day period of austerity (vrata) during which they practice an ascetic life. Women between the age of 10 and 50 do not visit the shrine at Sabarimala due to long-established customs. However, women do play an important role during the 41-day austerity observed by family members preparing for the pilgrimage, which could be described as a non-participant involvement in the pilgrimage. While there have been many studies on the spiritual and secular experiences of pilgrims, research on this unique form of non-participant involvement in pilgrimages is not found especially in the Indian context. This study explores the religious experience of female family members, who do not join the pilgrimage but participate by assisting family members going on the Sabarimala pilgrimage. The study aims to identify their unique experience from multiple perspectives such as personal, interpersonal, and societal through a constructivist approach. Adopting qualitative research methods, interviews were carried out among female members of Sabarimala pilgrims’ families in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to get insight into their experiences and their involvement in the pilgrimage process. The findings of the study propose Sabarimala pilgrimage as a very important social process which cements and strengthens family relationships and togetherness

Hospitality Education and Industry Linkages: A Systematic Literature Network Analysis

The purpose of the study was to identify key themes, research gaps, and influential authors, as well as to examine the evolution of research and the quality and rigor of existing literature on hospitality education and its industry linkage. For this, a systematic literature network analysis, comprising a systematic literature review using the PRISMA framework, bibliometric analysis using R programming, network analysis, and thematic analysis was performed. The findings revealed that the most important clusters of research in this area are related to curriculum development, work-integrated learning, and industry partnerships. The review explored the importance of industry-academic collaboration, challenges, curriculum development, and employability as four main themes in the area of industrial linkage in hospitality education. As indicated by researchers, the review suggests the effectiveness of different approaches to industry-academia collaboration in hospitality education, the impact of industrial linkage on the quality of hospitality education in several regions, the role of technologies in enhancing the collaboration between academia and industry in hospitality education, and the development of a sustainable curriculum that incorporates environmental, social, and economic sustainability in hospitality education as future research areas

Gastronomy tourism experiences: the cooking classes of Cinque Terre

Gastronomy tourism is a niche area of heritage tourism and attending cooking classes to learn about and engage in food preparation is a popular form of gastronomy tourism; Many cooking schools have come up in tourist destinations all over the world in many forms such as part of homestay accommodation, home-based cooking classes, professional culinary schools, and small restaurants offering cooking lessons along with dining. This study aims to explore tourists’ experiences related to cooking classes in Cinque Terre using the experiential framework proposed by Kim, Ritchie and McCormick (2012). A content analysis of the online reviews of the Cinque Terre Cooking Schools on TripAdvisor was carried out using the aforementioned experiential framework. Findings indicate that four of the dimensions of the tourist experience framework were considered significant by the participants of the cooking classes, namely involvement, hedonism, local culture, and knowledge and that often these dimensions overlap creating inextricable and complex bonds between them. The study contributes to the literature on third-generation gastronomy tourism experiences, focusing on tourists’ participation in interactive foodscapes in cooking classes in Cinque Terre

Do consumers go through imagery processing processes differently? The interplay between imagery-evoking level and multidimensional mental imagery in airline ads processing

Research on airline ads mainly investigated the effectiveness of verbal messages but not pictorial information. Previous research on mental imagery focused on each mental imagery dimension level the ad could generate instead of investigating the underlying path differences with different imagery-evoking level ads. Our study investigates the role each mental imagery dimension plays in people’s imagery processing process when exposed to varying levels of imagery-evoking airline visual ads. This research adopts a scenario-based experiment approach. A total of 246 scenario experiment surveys were collected in the UK. Participants were randomly allocated to one of the two real-world ads (imagery-evoking vs. less imagery-evoking). The findings are consistent with the elaboration likelihood model. When ad viewers process an imagery-evoking ad, the information processing is more elaborated. The vividness dimension plays a dominant role in the ad processing than the quantity dimension of mental imagery. The valence dimension of mental imagery mediates the relationship between vividness and purchase intention. When ad viewers process a less imagery-evoking airline ad, they rely on the quantity dimension for heuristics and the vividness dimension for relevant consumption information. The relationships between quantity and vividness dimensions of mental imagery on purchase intention are mediated by valence

Career advancement for women in the British hospitality industry: The enabling factors

Women are historically under-represented in senior management positions in almost all industries. Despite being a major employer of women, there is a clear lack of females in management positions in the hospitality industry in the United Kingdom (UK). This research aims to gain insight into the factors enabling women to access senior positions in the UK hospitality industry. Using the gendered organisations perspective (Acker, 1990, 1992), the study analyses female managers’ perceptions about their career advancement within this sector. It identifies key enablers and strategies to facilitate women’s career advancement. The findings reveal that despite improvements in career opportunities for women within the UK hospitality organisations, there is still a long way to go in terms of employment policies and practices that enable women’s career progression, which includes family-friendly practices; proactive and transparent gender equality measures; support networks and mentors; and personal development plan

Histopathology of Y-organ in Indian white shrimp Fenneropenaeus indicus, experimentally infected with white spot syndrome virus

Histopathology of Y-organ (moulting gland) in Indian white shrimp Fenneropenaeus indicus was studied after challenging the shrimp with virulent white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). Histopathological investigation on the Y-organ collected from moribund shrimps revealed the presence of intranuclear basophilic inclusions, characteristic of WSSV. More than 70% of the Y-organ cells were infected, suggesting the degenerated state of the organ. The cellular integrity of the Y-organ was completely destroyed by the WSSV. Further, Y-organ tissue samples collected from all the 16 experimental shrimp were positive by one-step polymerase chain reaction (PCR), confirming severe WSSV infection. The infected Y-organ in F. indicus with majority of the organ cells observed in the lysed condition suggests a physiological dysfunction of the organ. In uninfected and healthy controls, the lobulated Y-organ showed closely packed normal cells with prominent nuclei and sparse cytoplasm. Physiological implication of a degenerated Y-organ in the moulting and reproduction of the penaeid shrimp is discussed