Making kin and making sense of human-animal relations in tourism

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The Roles of Social Entrepreneurs in Rural Destination Development

This paper examines the relevance of social entrepreneurs in our consideration of rural destination development, which represents an important tool for rural revitalization. While many peripheral rural areas face significant challenges in terms of sustaining communities and attracting tourists, it is often social entrepreneurs, as much as traditional entrepreneurs, who are involved in developing new ideas, products and activities, as well as envisioning a future for the area. This study, which is based on cross-case analysis resulting from nine semi-structured interviews carried out in rural areas in Ireland, South Africa and USA, identifies key roles that social entrepreneurs play in terms of rural destination development; namely that of opportunists, catalysts, and network architects and this is used to build a theoretical framework within which SEs can be analyzed. By contributing to social objectives through these roles, the SEs have a significant impact on tourism and development in their rural areas, suggesting the importance of considering their contributions in wider discussions of rural destination development

An Industry View of Experiential Learning

With the downsizing of hotel companies in the 1980s and 1990s. internships became a way of supplementing staff during peak seasons and auditioning students for full-time positions upon graduation. The authors surveyed corporate directors of human resources on specific activities and tasks associated with experiential learning in the guest services areas of hotels

Exploring Foodie Segmentation

Previous research studies have explored the activities, motivations, and outcomes for the culinary tourist, and researchers have theorized certain segments of culinary travelers (Boniface, 2003; Mitchell, Hall & McIntosh, 2000). Contrasting to this, investigation into “the foodie” and his or her activities at home has been strikingly infrequent. Exploring the foodie ‘at home’ or the foodie’s everyday behavior is critical to understanding different types of foodies, how to market to foodies, and their decision-making processes for culinary travel. The purpose of this study is to test, via an online survey, a scale that distinguishes between different types of foodies, and determine if their home-foodie habits are the same while traveling. The study includes five samples: all of the populations were selected to attempt to get a variety of respondents; some settings were food-focused and some were not. Factor analysis was used to group like respondents together; factors that overlapped across samples includes Sustainable Food Activist, Cooking, Cooking Competitor/Do-It-Yourself, Trendy Traveler, Gardening, and Drinking activity dimensions. Food-related businesses and tourism marketers would benefit from greater distinction between types of foodies so as to develop and market specific products to them, to create new packages with complementary activities, and to convert ‘crossover’ markets who visit for one reason but who could be convinced to ‘cross over’ to participate in other activities

Using Ecological Systems Theory And Density Of Acquaintance To Explore Resident Perception Of Entrepreneurial Climate

Using the concepts of Ecological Systems Theory and Density of Acquaintance, this study was developed to explore the relationship between rural North Carolina residents’ characteristics and their perceptions of entrepreneurial climate (e-climate). The North Carolina Community Assessment for Tourism and Entrepreneurial Climate Study was developed to determine which factors influence how residents view their community e-climate, an important antecedent to tourism success, in their community. Four categories of hypotheses were developed focusing on a resident’s (1) residential tenure and nativity, (2) community involvement through volunteerism, (3) employment, and (4) entrepreneurial self-perception were developed. The first three categories included variables measuring residents’ Density of Acquaintance; the fourth category addressed residents’ perceptions of themselves concerning entrepreneurial activity in both their paid and volunteer work. Findings indicated that residential tenure and amount of volunteerism had the greatest influence on perceived e-climate. The most commonly differentiated factor of e-climate was consistently Training and Assistance

Regional Resilience: Opportunities, Challenges And Policy Messages From Western North Carolina

This paper explores resiliency theory by assessing the ability of communities to adapt and recover economically and socially after a natural disaster. Community resiliency describes the capacity of finding a new equilibrium that is strengthened from change. Resilience can be seen as a strategy to facilitate recovery after a trauma and can be used as a preventative measure to avoid undesired outcomes. Through a qualitative assessment of the HandMade in America programme in three rural communities in Western North Carolina, this paper draws attention to the facilitation of community capital, resulting in social and political networks that allowed these towns to rely on increases in tourism to rebound from the 2004 hurricanes season

The Roles Of Social Entrepreneurs In Rural Destination Development

This paper seeks to explore how social entrepreneurs are relevant to our consideration of rural destination development. While many peripheral rural areas face significant challenges in terms of sustaining communities and attracting tourists it is often social entrepreneurs, as much as traditional entrepreneurs, who are involved in developing new ideas, new products and activities, and envisioning a future for the area. This study, which is based on case studies resulting from nine semi-structured interviews carried out in rural areas in Ireland, South Africa and USA, identifies key roles that social entrepreneurs play in terms of rural destination development; namely that of an opportunist, catalyst, and network architect, and this is used to build a theoretical framework within which SEs can be analyzed