I didn’t have the time of my life: Qualitative data collection challenges at the 2017 Dirty Dancing Festival

In August 2017 two brave researchers embarked on a journey to try a novel approach to collect data at the Dirty Dancing Festival at Lake Lure, North Carolina, United States. Our hope was to utilize qualitative data collection methods to empower the attendees at the festival to share their lived experiences of the festival through their lens. We asked them to upload their photos using social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. However, several unforeseen circumstances, including lack of wireless internet, impaired the data collection. Even with a backup of ipads for data collection, our efforts were challenged. In this paper, we will share our challenges with novel approaches to data collection and offer suggestions for future data collection

Spiraling Up: Framing Rural Tourism Development within Community Capitals

Carol Kline is an Associate Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Appalachian State University. Her interests focus on tourism development including how to create a supportive environment for tourism entrepreneurs, the role of sustainable food systems in tourism, the impacts of tourism on various community ‘capitals’, and early tourist markets in burgeoning and rural destinations. Whitney Knollenberg is a Ph.D. candidate in the Hospitality and Tourism Management Department at Virginia Tech. Her research interests include political leadership in tourism, tourism planning, and the role of policy, power, and partnerships in tourism development.Qualitative Research Method

The Emergence of Craft Distilling Tourism: The Role of Community Capitals

This study examines which Community Capitals have aided in the establishment of a craft distilling tourism product in North Carolina. Qualitative data collected from in depth interviews with distillers revealed that Social, Human, Political, Financial, Cultural, and Natural Capital played a role in creating a craft distilling tourism product. The presentation offers discussion of how these Capitals were manifest in this context and managerial implications for investing in these Capitals to sustain the development of the craft distilling tourism product in North Carolina

STAKEHOLDERS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN COASTAL COMMUNITIES

As North Carolina's coastal communities face challenges in maintaining the quality of the natural and cultural resources that drive their tourism economy the need for sustainable actions in tourism development is made apparent. Should tourism planners chart a new course in tourism development, one that includes sustainable actions, stakeholders who will affect or will be affected by the change must be consulted. Residents are critical stakeholders in the tourism development process, as they must regularly contend with the impacts of tourism. There are many second homeowners in the communities examined in this study who must also contend with change that tourism creates. Therefore property owners, both permanent residents and second homeowners, were examined to determine if there are groups of property owners who hold different attitudes toward sustainable actions in tourism development. A sociodemographic profile for each group was created to help planners identify the group's members. By understanding the varying attitudes towards sustainable actions in tourism development and being able to identify property owners who hold those attitudes, planners can ensure that all stakeholders are included in the tourism planning process.  M.S

Lesson Learned in the Use of Mixed Methods to Gain Multiple Perspective in Tourism Leadership Research

Previously ProvidedOral Presentatio

An Introduction to a Model of Political Leadership in the Context of Tourism Advocates

Whitney Knollenberg is a Ph.D. candidate in the Hospitality and Tourism Management Department at Virginia Tech. Her research interests include political leadership in tourism, tourism planning, and the role of policy, power, and partnerships in tourism development. Professor Nancy Gard McGehee is Head of the HTM Department, Virginia Tech. She has worked in the areas of rural tourism/volunteer tourism for two decades in such varied locations as Australia, Mexico, and Haiti. She is the 2014 recipient of Virginia Tech’s Alumni Award for Excellence in International Research.Oral Presentation, Passport to Research (Visual Papers

Initial Steps Towards Understanding Advocacy Planning Efforts in the Tourism Industry

This study seeks to identify best practices in advocacy planning among tourism industry associations in order to help all associations deliver services to their members. This presentation utilizes interviews with tourism association members to reveal factors that tourism associations should consider when planning for advocacy efforts. Using co-management theory to guide the qualitative data analysis, findings will focus on factors such as participants, components of the advocacy plan, resources needed for planning, and how these factors relate to the plan’s perceived efficacy by those involved. By identifying best practices related to these factors the study aims to advance knowledge of advocacy planning and the effectiveness of advocacy efforts for the tourism industry

Mixing Community Capitals and Creative Placemaking for Craft-Beverage Tourism Development

Craft-beverage tourism (CBT) is a growing segment in the USA and an attractive strategy for sustainable development. Hyperlocal strategies are suitable for this segment because the perception of craft beverages being authentic cultural representations is appealing to tourists. This study aims to identify the resources that facilitate this development by combining two theoretical models; determine the role of hyperlocal strategies in CBT development; and test the resulting model in a different context. A mixed method approach in three phases will address these objectives. Data from the first phase revealed that creativity and meaning accelerated the growth of the community capitals needed for CBT, causing a spiraling up effect. The second phase will provide evidence of the impact of hyperlocal strategies in CBT experiences. Outcomes from the study’s third phase will further improve CBT development efforts and consolidate CBT knowledge, and hyperlocality’s role in different contexts and development stages