Gender in Tourism Research: Perspectives from Latin America

Purpose This paper aims to examine the knowledge production on tourism gender research in Latin America and to reflect on the main challenges faced by this subfield. Design/methodology/approach The study conducts a bibliometric analysis of the journal articles on tourism gender research in the largest scientific databases in Latin America: Redalyc, Scielo and Latindex. The paper examines variables such as year of publication, journal, authors, affiliation, types of articles, research topics, methodologies and geographical location of fieldwork. Findings The study identified 153 gender aware papers from 70 journals for the period 2001-2015. The leading countries in the subfield are Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. The majority of papers are empirical and have a local scope. The main theoretical approaches derive from sociological and anthropological perspectives with a predominance of qualitative methodologies. There is a need to strengthen the theoretical and epistemological frameworks and increase international collaboration for knowledge exchange among tourism gender scholars. Research limitations/implications The bibliometric analysis was limited to indexed journals with online access. It focused on academic articles and excluded research notes, book reviews and conference proceedings. Originality/value As the main working languages of scientific production in Latin America are Spanish and Portuguese, this is the first attempt to make tourism gender research from this region visible for the predominantly Anglophone tourism academy, with the intention of identifying common challenges

Coastal scenic assessment and tourism management in western Cuba

Coastal scenic assessments via checklist tables (18 natural, 8 human related parameters), can provide benchmark measures regarding desirable/non-desirable beach conditions and also classify sites. The scenic value for 43 sites in western Cuba was investigated, with the aim of helping managers improve bathing areas, especially for tourism purposes. Sites were categorised from Class 1, (top grade scenery), between La Habana and Matanzas, as extremely attractive, with white sand, turquoise water and additional scenic elements. Class 2 sites were located in Varadero, and their high scores were greatly due to appropriate human interventions, e.g. beach nourishment and dune restoration works. Classes 3 to 5 (the latter having very poor scenery), included sites with low scores for natural parameters. For these sites, coastal managers can do little to alleviate scenic impact, apart from addressing the human parameters, where improvement is possible, e.g. by litter removal together with the present chaotic protective structures

‘Nudging’ as an architect of more responsible consumer choice in food service provision: The role of restaurant menu design

The sector of food service provision generates substantial environmental and societal impacts. Environmental impacts are particularly pronounced in terms of carbon footprint build-up while societal impacts are reflected in often unhealthy food choice. These impacts should be minimised to facilitate progress of the sector towards sustainability. A significant share of the negative impacts from food service provision is attributed to irresponsible consumer choice which needs to be architected and made more society- and climate-benign. Customer ‘nudging’ is an effective tool of consumer choice architecture and yet little research has examined its application within the context of private food service provision. This study set to better understand the determinants of consumer choice when dining out and how consumer choice could be reinforced to make it more beneficial from the sustainability viewpoint. To this end, the study reported on the outcome of a consumer survey conducted among visitors to a UK casual dining restaurant where menu design was employed as a customer ‘nudging’ tool. The survey demonstrated that, next to price, food provenance and nutritional value determined consumer choice when dining out. This information should therefore be displayed on restaurant menus to enable educated, and more environment- and society-benign, food choice. While presenting the food carbon values on a menu was well perceived, some skepticism attached to their prospective use as a determinant of consumer choice was recorded. Recommendations were made on the design of the industry and policy-making interventions required to enhance the public appeal of this menu item

Score a goal for climate: Assessing the carbon footprint of travel patterns of the English Premier League clubs

Football is the most popular sport, globally and in the United Kingdom. However it generates a range of negative environmental impacts, such as climate change, due to an extensive amount of travel involved. The growing contribution of football clubs to the global carbon footprint has been recognised, but never consistently assessed. This study assesses the carbon footprint of the English Premier League (EPL)clubs, using the patterns of their domestic travel in the 2016/2017 season as a proxy for analysis. The study shows that, within the 2016/17 season, the EPL clubs produced circa 1134 tonnes of CO 2- eq. as a result of their travel, where transportation accounts for 61% of the carbon footprint. To reduce this carbon footprint, a careful review of the current corporate travel and procurement practices in the EPL clubs is necessary. This is in order to optimise the travel itineraries, prioritise more climate-benign modes of transport and contract budget accommodation providers with the ‘green’ credentials

The carbon impact of short-haul tourism: A case study of UK travel to Southern France using life cycle analysis

Tourism holds a significant share in the global carbon footprint. Transportation to the destination is recognized as the primary contributor, although its contribution can be less dominant in the context of short-haul travel. Previous studies do not provide a critical comparative analysis of how changes in travel behaviour, notably modal shift, affect the total carbon impacts from short-haul holidays; nor do they explore the relative contribution of the specific elements of the holiday product or account for global variations when measuring those contributions. This paper presents a carbon impact assessment case study of short-haul tourism to Southern France by British tourists. It applies an advanced, Life Cycle Assessment-based, method of evaluation, the hybrid DEFRA-LCA (Ecoinvent) approach, which is capable of appraising both the direct and the embodied 'indirect' greenhouse gas emissions. The principal finding supports the traditional view that transportation generates the largest carbon footprint and that the most significant carbon savings can be achieved by switching from air and car-based travel to train and coach. However, the study also indicates that if tourists stay at the destination longer, and travel to the destination by train or coach, the destination-based elements of the holiday can make a large carbon contribution and even outweigh the share of the transit element. The Life Cycle Assessment also shows that the 'indirect' greenhouse gas emissions from tourism in Southern France are significant, thus emphasizing the importance of their incorporation into future carbon impact appraisals. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved