Sustainable tourism development: critically challenging some assumptions

Tourism has long been perceived as a passport to development in Pacific Island Countries and Territories. That much is generally accepted. But how it contributes to sustainable development and what type of tourism is most appropriate to contribute to sustainable tourism development in a globalised world is much more contested. This contribution may well be significantly reshaped through existential crises such as climate disaster and pandemics. This paper draws out several of David Harrison’s challenges to accepted thinking about sustainable tourism development: how tourism contributes to poverty alleviation; how the scale of tourism impacts sustainable tourism development and the role international tourism plays in a globalised interconnected world are the three issues that are examined. Through critically analyzing these issues, a more nuanced approach, as outlined by Harrison, more accurately reflects the situation and offers grounds for better scholarship

Deconvolution of spectra for intimate mixtures

Visible to near infrared reflectance spectra of macroscopic mixtures have been shown to be linear combinations of the reflections of the pure mineral components in the mixture. However, for microscopic mixtures the mixing systematics are in general nonlinear. The systematics may be linearized by conversion of reflectance to single scattering albedo (w), where the equations which relate reflectance to w depend on the method of data collection. Several proposed mixing models may be used to estimate mineral abundances from the reflectance spectra of intimate mixtures. These models are summarized and a revised model is presented. A noniterative (linear) least squares approach was used for curve fitting and the data, measured as bi-directional reflectance with incidence and emergence angles of 30 and 0 deg were converted to w by a simplified version of Hapke's equation for bi-directional reflectance. This model was tested with two mixture series composed of 45 to 75 micron particles: an anorthite-enstatite series and an olivine-magnetite series. The data indicate that the simplified Hapke's equation may be used to convolve reflectance spectra into mineral abundances if appropriate endmembers are known or derived from other techniques. For surfaces that contain a significant component of very low albedo material, a somewhat modified version of this technique will need to be developed. Since the abundances are calculated using a noniterative approach, the application of this method is especially efficient for large spectral data sets, such as those produced by mapping spectrometers

Reflectance spectra of Fe(2+)-Mg(2+) disordered pyroxenes: Implications to remote-sensed spectra of planetary surfaces

The reflectance spectra of Fe(2+)-Mg(2+) disordered orthopyroxenes are relevant to surfaces of terrestrial planets onto which basaltic magma has been extruded. If cooling rates of basalt lava flows were fast, equilibrium iron intersite partitioning may not have been achieved so that abnormal enrichments of Fe(2+) ions in M1 sites would occur. The two intense pyroxene Fe(2+) site CF bands in the 1 micron and 2 micron regions would continue to dominate the the reflectance spectra so that the pyroxene composition and structure type would be readily identified in telescopic spectral profiles. However, abnormal intensification of the Fe(2+)/M1 site CF band at 1.20 microns could lead to the false identification of olivine in remote sensed spectra because in pyroxene-olivine mixtures the inflection around 1.20 microns is the only spectral feature for detecting the presence of olivine. The identification of iron-bearing plagioclase feldspars, too, would be obscured by the pyroxene Fe(2+)/M1 site CF band at 1.20 microns. Such interference would be a major problem if in situ reflectance spectra could be measured on the surface of Venus where ambient temperatures are as high as 475 C. Disordering of Fe(2+) and Mg(2+) ions comparable to that in the orthopyroxenes used in this spectral chemical study might be expected in low Ca pyroxenes occurring on the Venusian surface. Researchers conclude that Fe(2+)/M1 site spectral features need to be carefully assessed in remote-sensed spectra before deductions are made about the presence of olivine on planetary surfaces

The perplexing continuum slope of Mars: Effects of thin ferric coatings and viewing geometry

The experiment discussed here was designed to constrain interpretations of variations in continuum slope variations which define several spectral annuli on the flanks of Olympus Mons, observed in the Imaging Spectrometer (IMS) data. The IMS Olympus Mons data reveal that the rings, seen as alternating brighter and darker reflectance in Viking data, correspond to annuli of alternating shallower and steeper continuum slope. At least three factors contributing to continuum slope are identified: ferric coating thickness, viewing geometry, and surface texture. Because the Olympus Mons spectral annuli were observed at nearly constant backscatter geometries in the ISM data, with only slight viewing variations due to the volcanoe's flank slopes, the difference of continuum slope between annuli probably cannot be explained by viewing geometry alone. This suggests that the variation of some fundamental surface characteristics, such as ferric dust/rind thickness or surface texture, is the cause of the Olympus Mons special annuli observed in the ISM imaging spectrometer data

Marketing cultural tourism in a developing country setting: the case of Murshidabad, West Bengal, India

Many potential destinations are rich in cultural resources. As cultural tourism becomes increasingly important for communities to showcase their cultural capital, it is vital to assess how cultural tourists can be better understood and serviced through planning and marketing to attract more international visitors. The marketing funnel process can help policymakers understand the critical components of tourists’ visiting behavior. The process conceptualizes the process of how a consumer purchases a product or service from awareness through to purchase. We augment this marketing funnel process by also noting the importance of postconsumption evaluation: the likelihood to recommend. Cultural heritage tourism is an important feature of India’s tourism. Murshidabad, a district of West Bengal, India, situated on the bank of Bhagirathi River, is 220 km away from the State capital, Kolkata. Murshidabad has a large number of cultural resources, both tangible and intangible. The study explores the cultural resources and their potential availability in Murshidabad. This will determine the scope of cultural heritage tourism development. This research assesses tourists’ awareness, visitation, and likelihood to recommend cultural heritage resources in Murshidabad. It also assesses residents’ perceptions towards cultural heritage tourism development as well as the community’s participation level in cultural tourism development. This research uses a quantitative method to sample both tourists and the local community. The findings reveal strong support for cultural tourism development among the local community and high willingness to recommend many cultural attractions, although promotion and awareness of some attractions can be improved

Unlucky for some? Are some hotel rooms and floors really unluckier than others?

Purpose – Different cultures believe that some numbers are ‘‘lucky’’ and other numbers are ‘‘unlucky’’. The purpose of this paper is to determine to what extent hotels follow numerological superstitions in their floor and room numbering, if more accidents or complaints occur on unlucky hotel floors compared to other floors and if more accidents or complaints occur in unlucky hotel rooms compared to other rooms. Design/methodology/approach – For the first research objective, an audit of hotels in a particular destination, Hong Kong, is taken capturing the number of floors and rooms on each floor and determining if ‘‘unlucky’’ numbers are used. For the second and third objectives, the accident and complaint database of one upscale hotel in Hong Kong across a five-year period is investigated. Findings – The authors find that hotels do follow superstitious numbering, with ‘‘unlucky’’ numbers not being included in floor or room numbering. Chinese superstition is more likely to be followed than Western superstition. The non-inclusion of ‘‘unlucky’’ numbers is more likely for hotel floors than for hotel rooms. In the case study hotel, they found no significant differences in the number of accidents and complaints between unlucky and other rooms and floors across the five years of analysis. Originality/value – Superstitions surrounding numbers can affect decisions made by individuals and businesses and can have significant economic consequences. There is little academic research into how the hotel sector is impacted by numerology superstitions