Regional Resilience: Opportunities, Challenges And Policy Messages From Western North Carolina

This paper explores resiliency theory by assessing the ability of communities to adapt and recover economically and socially after a natural disaster. Community resiliency describes the capacity of finding a new equilibrium that is strengthened from change. Resilience can be seen as a strategy to facilitate recovery after a trauma and can be used as a preventative measure to avoid undesired outcomes. Through a qualitative assessment of the HandMade in America programme in three rural communities in Western North Carolina, this paper draws attention to the facilitation of community capital, resulting in social and political networks that allowed these towns to rely on increases in tourism to rebound from the 2004 hurricanes season

The Roles Of Social Entrepreneurs In Rural Destination Development

This paper seeks to explore how social entrepreneurs are relevant to our consideration of rural destination development. While many peripheral rural areas face significant challenges in terms of sustaining communities and attracting tourists it is often social entrepreneurs, as much as traditional entrepreneurs, who are involved in developing new ideas, new products and activities, and envisioning a future for the area. This study, which is based on case studies resulting from nine semi-structured interviews carried out in rural areas in Ireland, South Africa and USA, identifies key roles that social entrepreneurs play in terms of rural destination development; namely that of an opportunist, catalyst, and network architect, and this is used to build a theoretical framework within which SEs can be analyzed

Property Owners’ Attitudes Toward Sustainable Tourism: Comparing Coastal And Mountain Counties

This study explored factors influencing property owners’ attitudes toward tourism development in two very different counties in North Carolina: one coastal (n=854) and one in the mountains (n= 619). Attitudes toward the impact of tourism and sustainable tourism development were compared for permanent and second-home residents and between the two counties. Findings include the fact that 22% of property owners in the coast and 12.8% of property owners in the mountains thought that the impact of tourism in their community was such that they wished they lived or owned property elsewhere. Permanent homeowners were more likely than second homeowners to have this opinion. Second homeowners in both counties perceived that they had little or no influence over tourism-related issues, a perception stronger in the coastal county than mountain

Exploring The Expectations And Satisfaction Derived From Volunteer Tourism Experiences

The aim of this paper was to examine the satisfaction of voluntourists derived from various aspects of their trip. Framed within the Existence, Relatedness and Growth Theory, the paper examines volunteers’ motivations, expectations and satisfaction based on their financial and time investment volunteering with Volunteer Eco Students Abroad (VESA), the intereactions they had on the trip, and the extent to which travellers felt as though they contributed to community goals. In 2012, the researchers carried out in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 16 Canadian voluntourists following their time in St. Lucia, South Africa. A thematic analysis was used to interpret the data, resulting in three themes: ‘Evaluating Investment’, ‘Contribution to Community’ and ‘Opportunities and Reaffirmations’; sub-themes were matched with aspects of Existence, Relatedness and Growth Theory. Findings elicited several levels of expectations of voluntourists revealed through their feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. On the lowest level, voluntourists expect adequate food and water whilst volunteering. Informants highlighted the various ways they raised fund for the trip, and this impacted their level of accountability for contributing to the community. Volunteers also expect volunteer organizations to be transparent regarding the use of funds and expressed dissatisfaction when this did not occur. Volunteers anticipated a feeling of connection between the hosts and themselves and were frustrated if they felt more time could have been allotted to working with community residents. Lastly, informants expected the experience to provide an opportunity for self-learning and professional development and overall were satisfied with this element of the trip

Fostering Tourism And Entrepreneurship In Fringe Communities: Unpacking Stakeholder Perceptions Towards Entrepreneurial Climate

The success of entrepreneurial ventures in tourism is tied to the community ecosystem that supports it. As such, communities are continuing to assess their entrepreneurial climate to identify areas where new programs might enhance entrepreneurial success. Based on previous measures of entrepreneurial climate, the current study furthers the entrepreneurial ecosystem literature within the context of fringe communities as it relates to tourism development. Fringe communities, which are found in the peri-urban outskirts of major cities, have increasingly grown as the urban–rural divide continues to blur. Amenity migrants flock to these communities with access to “best of both worlds” with regard to having access to the resources available in both areas. Given the complexity of community demographics emerging in these communities, this study explored whether stakeholder demographics and relationship with the community affects perception of the entrepreneurial climate. Specifically, this research examined residents’ perceptions in a location demonstrative of fringe communities: Moore County, North Carolina, US. The study found that the most differing views were held on Basic Community Needs, Community spaces/green spaces, Innovative, supportive & celebratory environment, and Community spirit

Using Ecological Systems Theory And Density Of Acquaintance To Explore Resident Perception Of Entrepreneurial Climate

Using the concepts of Ecological Systems Theory and Density of Acquaintance, this study was developed to explore the relationship between rural North Carolina residents’ characteristics and their perceptions of entrepreneurial climate (e-climate). The North Carolina Community Assessment for Tourism and Entrepreneurial Climate Study was developed to determine which factors influence how residents view their community e-climate, an important antecedent to tourism success, in their community. Four categories of hypotheses were developed focusing on a resident’s (1) residential tenure and nativity, (2) community involvement through volunteerism, (3) employment, and (4) entrepreneurial self-perception were developed. The first three categories included variables measuring residents’ Density of Acquaintance; the fourth category addressed residents’ perceptions of themselves concerning entrepreneurial activity in both their paid and volunteer work. Findings indicated that residential tenure and amount of volunteerism had the greatest influence on perceived e-climate. The most commonly differentiated factor of e-climate was consistently Training and Assistance

The Battle Of The Socials: Which Socially Symbolic Factors Best Predict Intent To Travel?

Tourists are flooded with travel options making competition fierce within their consideration sets. While most research emphasizes the functional attributes of destinations, as narcissism becomes more normalized, it is of increasing interest to examine the influence socially symbolic factors have on tourist decision making.Therefore, this study sought to examine the efficacy of four different socially symbolic predictors of travel—social norms, social self-concept (actual and ideal), and social return—for predicting a person's likelihood to travel to Cuba across three time horizons (1 year, 5 years, and 10 years). Results from a panel of 785 U.S. travelers found social norms to be the best predictor of travel across all three time horizons with social return also being significant across all time horizons. Implications to destination marketing are discussed such as some socially symbolic variables being easier to operationalize in marketing campaigns compared to others (e.g. social return vs. social norms)

Gaps And Barriers Along The North Carolina Agri-Food Value Chain

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to formulate an exhaustive list of the issues, gaps, and barriers at each level of the agri-food value chain in North Carolina (NC), and second, to identify the issues of greatest importance to its members. Design/methodology/approach – This research employed the Delphi technique in two stages of input. The first round of input was designed to create a comprehensive list of issues for each of nine “stages” of the agri-food value chain. In round two, the issues were prioritized. Findings – The top ten responses of each stage were aggregated into themes that represent the most critical issues identified by respondents: connectedness within the value chain, access to markets and marketing, affordability/availability of food and food distribution, farm profitability, societal awareness, and education about healthy, local food, and supporting institutions. Originality/value – The findings could be used by practitioners to inspire innovation in food-related products, programs, processes, organization, and marketing. The findings can help farmers, institutions, food distributors, policy makers, and other members of the agri-food value chain to make decisions about food distribution and access in NC and in other states facing similar issues and circumstances. The findings of this research also have further reaching implications, such as the connectivity of members along the agri-food value chain, the impact of a strong agri-food value chain on agritourism and the potential value of state marketing initiatives

A Spatial Analysis Of Tourism, Entrepreneurship And The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In North Carolina, USA

In light of the projected long-term national economic trends, the vulnerability of rural regions, and the difficulty of small businesses to stay solvent, it is imperative to understand the critical elements within a small business’ operating environment or “ecosystem” that support or thwart entrepreneurial activity. Using the 100 counties of North Carolina as a case study, the purpose of this research project was to determine which entrepreneurial ecosystem elements (E3) have the most influence on tourism and entrepreneurship, to identify spatial patterns in this relationship, as well as the extent to which entrepreneurial and tourist activity overlap regionally. Using national secondary data sources, the authors identified that the interaction of entrepreneurship with the proportion of those employed in the creative class is strongly associated with the growth in the number of new establishments and employment, particularly in those rural counties endowed with attractive outdoor amenities

Heritage Site Visitation And Attitudes Toward African American Heritage Preservation: An Investigation Of North Carolina Residents

Understanding disparities in visitation rates to heritage sites and patterns in public support for preservation and remembrance of African American heritage could greatly inform decision-making and management philosophies of park/historic site operators, preservationists, and other entrepreneurs. Informed by critical theory, this study examined heritage site visitation and attitudes toward remembrance and preservation of African American heritage among North Carolina (NC) residents. Telephone interviews were completed by 843 residents investigating their heritage site visitation patterns and support for African American heritage. The results suggest that race, age, education, income, frequency of travel, and voting record impact variation in heritage site visitation among NC residents while race, age, education, the presence of retirees or children in the household, voting record, and identification as a Southerner influenced attitudes toward African American preservation. This study contributes to the critical analysis of how patterns in heritage site visitation and public support of preservation perpetuate racialization of the travel experience