“I think … I feel …”: using projective techniques to explore socio-cultural aversions towards Indigenous tourism

Socio-cultural aversions encompass a multitude of avoidant behaviours expressed in different forms and intensities. While there has been an increase in research on aversions that are somewhat underpinned by racism and discrimination, little research to date explores the existence of these aversions within an Indigenous tourism context. This study utilises projective techniques to explore the extent to which socio-cultural aversions may exist and how they manifest towards Indigenous tourism in Australia. Three major themes identified suggest that implicit and explicit socio-cultural aversions exist: 1) racial and stereotypical projections, 2) implicit cultural distancing and avoidance, and 3) ambivalence and indifference. Although less prevalent, non-aversive sentiments were also identified. The study makes a theoretical contribution to Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), specifically to the “consumer identity”, “socio-historic patterning”, and “marketplace culture” streams of research. Practically, product repositioning and marketing strategies are provided for destination managers and tourism stakeholders responsible for Indigenous tourism experiences

Up close and personal: using high engagement techniques to study Chinese visitors' landscape perceptions

Given the well-documented increase in Chinese outbound tourists, it is no surprise that the Chinese market continues to attract considerable scholarly interest. Previous studies have been primarily quantitative, using methods and instruments administered prior to and/or immediately after visitation. While useful, such approaches may struggle to capture the complex cultural attributes of the Chinese market. Accordingly, this paper proposes the adoption of high-engagement (HE) methods, namely Accompanied Walk and Visitor Employed Photography (VEP), as additional in-situ techniques for studying Chinese visitors. Drawing on fieldwork conducted at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, this paper details the procedures of using HE approaches to collect data. An insider positionality and triangulation of data from multiple techniques are particularly useful for unravelling cultural nuances. The strengths of each method in obtaining quality data from Chinese tourists are discussed, together with strategies for overcoming challenges encountered in the field

The future of tourism in Africa: Optimism in a changing environment

Africa rising gives us cause to be optimistic about the future of tourism on the continent. With a more vibrant economy, enhanced digital capability, a growing middle class and overall growth, Africa is poised to attract more tourism flows and investments in the 21st century. However, while such a macroclimate is positive, on a localised scale, there are myriad issues to contend with: wildlife conversation crises (e.g. poaching, dwindling numbers of lions), climate change risks, the threat of terrorism and an unstable political climate in some parts. To deal with these daunting but not insurmountable challenges, integrated and synergistic interventions by African governments to ensure sustainable tourism growth and peak tourist experiences will be paramount

Positive tourism in Africa: resisting Afro-pessimism

At a time when Africa is emerging as the ‘hopeful continent’, and no longer the ‘hopeless continent’, a new kind of tourism analysis is needed – one that resists Afro-pessimism and showcases the progress made in the postcolonial era. The reductionist story which has tended to represent Africa as the Dark Continent must be challenged. For tourism studies, such a cause can be advanced by embracing, as sought in this book, the framework of ‘positive tourism’, a pluralistic quest to understand how tourism creates value for the spectrum of its participants: tourists, hosts, states and economies, at all levels. Value in this sense extends beyond economic or monetary benefits and includes all aspects of personal and collective enrichment (psychological, social, emotional, cultural and environmental). At the same time, it must be noted, ‘positive tourism’ does not claim that tourism, in the African scenario or elsewhere, is without its challenges and negative impacts. Rather, it is about creating plural tourism narratives that are balanced. In the context of this book, ‘positive tourism’ is also about the intentional drive to represent Africa’s tourism endeavours in a positive and optimistic light, without ignoring the many challenges that African countries continue to grapple with

Eco-anxiety and the flight shaming movement: implications for tourism

Purpose: This paper aims to briefly discuss the flight shaming (flygskam) movement and considers its implications for tourism. Design/methodology/approach: The paper synthesises the current thinking on the flight shaming movement and contextualises it for tourism futures. Findings: While flygskam is unlikely to become mainstream in the near future, it is imperative that the air travel industry respond more comprehensively to changing attitudes in the market. Originality/value: This trends paper addresses a topical debate in the current environmental public discourse, highlighting the negative emotional states (eco-anxiety) associated with concerns about climate change

Eco-hypocrisy and inauthenticity: criticisms and confessions of the eco-conscious tourist/traveller

Labels such as the ‘green tourist’, ‘ecotourist’, and the ‘ethical tourist’ are used to claim moral capital and distinguish this tourist from the alternative, viewed as a threat to the destination. However, these tourist groups open themselves up to feelings and criticisms of hypocrisy when they fail to live up to the moral standards they expressly espouse. This hypocrisy may be conceptualised as a form of inauthenticity—not being existentially true to one's own standards. The present netnographic study uses Graham, Meindl, Koleva, Iyer, and Johnson's (2015) typology of moral hypocrisy to illustrate the feelings of inauthenticity and dissonance, and the social condemnation the environmentally conscious tourist/traveller contends with. Findings point to the inescapability of moral weakness, and the inevitability of moral frustration

Neo-colonialism and greed: Africans’ views on trophy hunting in social media

Existing studies on the trophy hunting controversy in recent years have largely represented the anti-hunting views of the Western public, while overlooking the opinions of African people. This study taps into Africans’ social media narratives to illuminate the racially, politically, and historically charged context in which trophy hunting occurs in Africa. Data were collected from the Facebook pages of three major social media players with a predominantly African followership, namely, BBC News Africa, News24.com, and NewsDay-Zimbabwe. The dominant pattern was resentment towards what was viewed as the neo-colonial character of trophy hunting, in the way it privileges Western elites in accessing Africa’s wildlife resources. However, the West’s passionate criticism of violence against animals was viewed by participants as overblown, and as evidence of their (Westerners') higher regard for animals than for African people. Interestingly, trophy hunting was not objectionable from an animal rights perspective, but as a consequence of its complex historical and postcolonial associations. In addition, criticism was directed at African politicians who were perceived as allowing wildlife exploitation to satisfy their own greed. In this instance, far from tourism being a facilitator of intercultural understanding and peace, it appears to reproduce images and wounds of a colonial past

Eco-guilt and eco-shame in tourism consumption contexts: understanding the triggers and responses

The concepts of 'eco-guilt' and 'eco-shame' are now well established in the broad environmental discourse, both scholarly and public. It is surprising, however, that both phenomena are yet to be explicitly broached in tourism studies. Using data from digital forums, this article unpacks the phenomena as they arise in tourism consumption contexts. The findings illustrate that consumers participating in online environmental discussion forums feel varying degrees of guilt and personal responsibility in relation to the negative impacts of tourism, with most keen to make environmentally friendly travel decisions. Despite these good intentions, however, it seems a range of barriers hinder the adoption of environmentally-responsible behaviours. This supports a growing body of literature stating that positive intentions do not necessarily result in environmental action. Nonetheless, the analysis points to an emerging global eco-guilt/shame culture in tourism contexts, with important implications for how we frame messages to ensure sustainable futures for physical and socio-cultural environments

The future of animals in tourism recreation: Social media as spaces of collective moral reflexivity

Over the last few years, a number of high profile incidents involving animals in tourism recreation contexts have sparked heated animal welfare debate on a global scale, giving rise to ethical movements mediated by various online platforms. This study applies a Critical Animal Studies approach and draws on the cases of the killings of Cecil the lion, Marius the Giraffe, Harambe the Gorilla, and Xanda (Cecil's cub) to analyse the role of digital movements and moral reflexivity in shaping the future of animals in tourism recreation spaces. We conceive of social media as digital spaces of Collective Moral Reflexivity (CMR) which signal heightened public engagement in human-animal recreational ethics. Findings highlight animal ethics in this context as a discursively evolving social construction, but one on which the public increasingly expects a more robust and compassionate ethical model of operation from the animal recreation industry

Moral tensions for elephant visitors

The study presented in this chapter examines visitor experiences at elephant sanctuaries in an era where animal ethics has taken centre stage. The study unpacks the moral tensions surrounding such attractions through analysis of social media comments by visitors. Based on this study a framework is proposed that encompasses three moral tensions that relate to animal welfare and the operations of animal sanctuaries, from the viewpoint of the visitor experience: (i) freedom-captivity; (ii) distance-interaction; and (iii) natural-staged. The chapter draws on two case studies: the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) in Kenya, and the Elephant Nature Park (ENP) in Thailand