What do sustainable tourism researchers value? An analysis of citations from the Journal of Sustainable Tourism (1999-2008)

Sustainable Tourism has emerged as a major field of specialisation within tourism and has been so pervasive that some have suggested that the field represents a fifth platform of tourism research, while others have argued that the field has moved beyond a niche area of research to inform tourism research more generally. While there have been some qualitative attempts are mapping the growth and evolution of the field, no quantitative research has been conducted to identify the most valued authors, works and journals. This paper adopts a relational bibliometric approach to provide insights into the intellectual structure of sustainable tourism research. The study presents citation and co-citation analyses of papers authored by researchers in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism between 1999 and 2008. A general picture of the field is drawn by examining the most-cited authors and works as well as co-citation patterns. The analysis is extended by the use of network analysis to explore the links between title words and influential works in the field. Results indicate that sustainable tourism research has been strongly influenced by geography and ecology. The study also identifies three major clusters or research focus: sustainable tourism development, ecotourism and the management of tourism impacts

Using wikis to help first year students develop collaborative knowledge management skills for tomorrow

In the information economy the ability to harness digital technologies to capture and manage knowledge is a critical skill for university graduates. This study examines the use of wikis as an assessment tool to help first year students develop a range of knowledge management skills, including creative collaboration, consensus building and technical literacy. The purpose of the study is to provide an exploratory analysis of student attitudes toward the use of wikis as a collaborative assessment task. The results indicate that most students perceived wikis to be a flexible, convenient and fair pedagogical technique for collaborative learning. While many students preferred the wiki to a paper-based assessment, some students were not convinced that the task produced better collaborative outcomes. It is suggested that a staged wiki assessment might overcome some of the perceived shortcomings reported by students

Exploring the flexible learning preferences of tourism and hospitality management students

Flexible learning is emerging as a new education paradigm for responding to the demographic, economic, political and technological changes confronting university educators in Australia. Tourism and hospitality management programs are not immune to the flexible learning revolution, and indeed some educators have already embraced this concept. The purpose of this study is to examine tourism students' perceptions of the attractiveness of various flexible learning opportunities at a regional Australian university. The findings suggest that students are enthusiastic about the prospect for more flexibility and have strong preferences for structured approaches that provide 'real life' experiences and allow them to interact with educators, peers and future employers. Students are not enthusiastic about flexible learning approaches which impinge on their ability to work while studying

Approaches to monitoring change in the business environment of tourist attractions

All businesses require information about the environment in order to make operational and strategic decisions. As suppliers at the end of the distribution line, attractions need information about their customers, competitors and other tourism industry sectors to inform decision-making. To compound this need for information, many attractions are small businesses, often lacking the personnel or resources to conduct elaborate environmental scanning and evaluation projects. This paper explores the environmental scanning approaches used by tourist attraction managers when gathering information for strategic purposes. A mixed methods approach is used to explore the type and number of sources used by attraction managers, as well as the impact of organisational characteristics and environmental complexity on the information sources consulted. The results suggest that primary research is the major source of information for attraction managers. It also appears that organisational characteristics such as size, growth and employee numbers may be linked with higher levels of environmental scanning. The paper has both practical and theoretical implications. It proposes a model of\ud environmental scanning in tourism businesses and at a practical level provides some evidence that managers who spend more time collecting information about the environment may reap the benefits of a more robust business

The role of local government in developing small tourism enterprises in regional destinations

Small tourism enterprises are at the heart of the tourism industry in many regional destinations. The growth of regional destinations is often linked much more strongly with the success of these enterprises than might be the case in metropolitan destinations, yet there are many impediments to their development. The focus of this paper is on barriers to the growth of small tourism enterprises from the perspective of small tourism operators and government respondents. The paper also assesses ways in which local government agencies in regional destinations can assist in the development process. The results indicate that both tourism operators and government respondents perceive human resources to be a core barrier to growth. However, this core barrier has different dimensions for each group. This research adds to the theory, knowledge and understanding of the development of small enterprises in tourism and offers practical implications to assist government agencies in supporting the growth of small enterprises