Planning for tranquil spaces in rural destinations through mixed methods research

There is a view that applied researchers produce more relevant findings for practitioners in the tourism industry if they use quantitative methods. This paper claims that findings relevant to industry can be produced through the use of qualitative methods of data collection, and indeed a unique perspective is offered by qualitative research that a quantitative approach may not produce. Furthermore, a mixed methods approach to research combines the advantages offered by both qualitative and quantitative research, and is advocated as an appropriate way forward when both types of data are needed. Using a unique mixed-methods study of the meaning of tranquillity to visitors to and authorities and residents in Dorset, Southern England, this paper illustrates the value of both qualitative and quantitative data to tourism planners. The study reveals that tranquillity was most commonly aligned to the natural environment whereas non-tranquillity concerned both sounds and sights of manmade origin

Broadly engaging with tranquillity in protected landscapes:A matter of perspective identified in GIS

References to the subjective notion of tranquillity have long been extensively deployed in marketing\ud literature and in planning policy in relation to both its promotion and its protection, particularly in protected\ud areas. Whilst a liberal use of the term has ensued, a plethora of research interprets tranquillity\ud primarily with noise, and where broader interpretations are progressed, traditional, directional questioning\ud techniques are evident in attempts to understand tranquillity and quantify its features. Surprisingly,\ud few enquiries have taken a broader, inductive approach to determining the range of stakeholders’ views\ud and of these even fewer have engaged specifically with local residents and particularly those classed as\ud hard-to-reach. Using these latter approaches, of the few and most recent studies conducted, the Broadly\ud Engaging with Tranquillity project provides a replicable framework for determining and mapping tranquillity.\ud An extensive community engagement process launched the study, using participatory principles\ud from which stakeholders’ views were modelled using Geographical Information Systems. Results of this\ud research are reported together with an interpretation of the models created according to four distinct\ud groups representing views of institutions and members of the public. Similar views are identified amongst\ud the groups with tranquillity commonly related to natural environments, whereas nontranquillity was\ud primarily equated to seeing and hearing people and the products of human activity. Yet distinctions are\ud identified between the four groups that have important implications for who should be involved in determining\ud local characteristics of tranquillity and for how protected area managers might include nonexpert\ud views in their understanding and conservation of tranquillity