Channel View Publications

This book is a fast-paced and thorough re-evaluation of what heritage tourism means to the people who experience it. It draws on contemporary thinking in human geography and heritage studies, and applies it to a sector of tourism that is both pervasive yet poorly researched in terms of the perspective of tourists themselves. In a series of lucid and tightly argued chapters, it traces the use of semiotics as an analytical tool from its theoretical origins in text, through the all-important dynamics of visuality into an expanded realm of feeling and sensuality. Challenging assumptions about the way that heritage is experienced, this book uses examples from around the world to explore the semiotic landscape that surrounds heritage sites, linking what is represented about the past and how it feels to be there.

The tourism industry provides employment for literally millions of individuals. Despite global recessions, terrorist attacks and other catastrophes this is likely to remain unchanged in the long-term. Resilience of this nature helps tourism remain a major global employer in both developed and emerging economies. The important role played by tourism workers cannot be overstated; some argue that they actually define the product on offer. Accordingly, mediocre or poor performance gives rise to an unremarkable service experience or one to which customers would not return willingly. The inextricable link between the calibre and performance of staff and service delivery is a key issue for human resources management. This challenge is further complicated by a number of structural characteristics including: dominance of unaffiliated small to medium-sized organizations; high levels of labour turnover; and a heterogeneous workforce with individuals having a wide variety of cultural differences and employment aspirations. This book accounts for the above factors using an approach which is part prescriptive and part enquiry or research-oriented. In doing so, espoused 'HRM convention' may be understood against 'HRM in practice'. Additionally, by using this method we hope to instil a sense of enquiry in the reader. This is a necessary intellectual asset for the future and will also allow the individual to make a positive contribution in the workplace.

Sugar as a global commodity has shaped our world, impacting cultures and influencing cuisine. The heritage of sugar is investigated in the context of globalization and tourism development. Facets of the sugar story include colonization, enslavement, decolonization and postcolonial tourism while cultural practices traced to sugar include carnival and confectionery as souvenirs. However, what happens where sugar is still produced, where production is in decline, or where the country has exited from producing? How is sugar engrained in national identities and how does this influence tourism? From the perspectives of contributing authors, destination examples include Brazil, India, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts. This is the first work examining sugar heritage in relation to tourism from a global perspective, identifying related tourism directions.

The books that we read, whether travel-focused or not, may influence the way in which we understand the process or experience of travel. This multidisciplinary work provides a critical analysis of the inspirational and transformational role that books play in travel imaginings. Does reading a book encourage us to think of travel as exotic, adventurous, transformative, dangerous or educative? Do different genres of books influence a reader's view of travel in multifarious ways? These questions are explored through a literary analysis of an eclectic selection of books spanning the period from the eighteenth century to the present day. Genres covered include historical fiction, children's books, westerns, science-fiction and crime fiction.

The family remains at the emotional heart of society, and makes up a significant proportion of the tourism market. However, the concept of family has changed over the decades and there are now different types of families that have their own unique attributes and needs. Families may have one parent or two, who may or may not be of different genders. This cutting-edge book constructs a multidisciplinary perspective on family tourism by discussing various types of families; how parents and children influence travel behaviours now and in the future and how family holidays may also be linked to stress. Family Tourism: Multidisciplinary Perspectives provides a compilation of issues from academic writers around the globe, to provide a range of perspectives linked by a common theme of family tourism with a futures perspective.

Inclusion, disability, an ageing population and tourism are increasingly important areas of study due to their implications for both tourism demand and supply. This book therefore sets out to explore and document the current theoretical approaches, foundations and issues in the study of accessible tourism. In drawing together the contributions to this volume the editors have applied broader social constructionist approaches to understanding the accessible tourism phenomena. Accessible tourism, as with any area of academic study is an evolving field of academic research and industry practice. As with other areas of tourism, the field is multidisciplinary, and is influenced by various disciplines including geography, disability studies, economics, public policy, psychology and marketing.

In the popular imagination, Mallorca is the archetypal mass tourism resort, one of the world’s pioneers of mass tourism, linking the resources of the Mediterranean to the supply of tourists from northern and western Europe. It is now attempting to better manage the ubiquitous transformational environmental and socio-economic impact of the industry. The book identifies and examines critically the major socio-economic and political forces that have played a significant part in the formation of the industry; the development of tourism as a business and efforts to diversify the tourism product as it move into the uncertainties of the 21st century.

Cities are the dominant geographical focus of business and leisure tourism travel, and cities everywhere are regenerating and reinventing themselves so as to attract visitors, students and investment. Inside City Tourism explores the organisational challenges to which this gives rise, and in particular examines the history, structure and functioning of the urban delivery mechanisms set up to raise profile and maximise tourism. The book is written by the Chief Executive Officer of European Cities Marketing who – as a former tourism academic and city marketing professional – is uniquely placed to synthesise academic and practical insights and to provide a distinctively European overview. While cities increasingly seek to differentiate themselves through brands, events and iconic structures, the approaches, techniques and language used by cities to promote themselves is remarkably similar across the length and breadth of Europe. Never before published case material exemplifies best practice in city marketing, with the greater part of leading edge practice to be found in Scandinavia, Holland, Germany, Austria and Spain. Inside City Tourism ‘tells it like it is’, uncovering the pitfalls and failures as well as the opportunities and successes, and the attendant leadership challenges. It is essential reading for practitioners and policymakers as well as students and academics.

Inclusion, disability, an ageing population and tourism are increasingly important areas of study due to their implications for both tourism demand and supply. This book therefore sets out to explore and document the current theoretical approaches, foundations and issues in the study of accessible tourism. In drawing together the contributions to this volume the editors have applied broader social constructionist approaches to understanding the accessible tourism phenomena. Accessible tourism, as with any area of academic study is an evolving field of academic research and industry practice. As with other areas of tourism, the field is multidisciplinary, and is influenced by various disciplines including geography, disability studies, economics, public policy, psychology and marketing.

This book is an interdisciplinary collaboration between a literary critic and cultural historian, which examines and recovers a radical and still urgent challenge to the industrialisation of cultural tourism from the work of John Ruskin. Ruskin exerted a formative influence on the definition and development of cultural tourism which was probably as significant as that, for example, of his contemporary Thomas Cook. The book assesses Ruskin’s overall influence on the development of national and international tourism in the context of pre-existing expectations about tourism flows and cultural capital and alongside parallel and intersecting trends of the time; examines Ruskin’s contribution to the tourist agenda at all social levels; and discusses Ruskin’s significance for current debates in tourism studies, especially questions of the place of the ‘canon’ of traditional European cultural tourism in a post-modern tourist setting, and the various incarnations of ‘heritage tourism’.

Building on previous work on backpacking, this book takes the analysis of backpacker tourism further by engaging both with new theoretical debates into tourism experiences and mobilities as well as with new empirical phenomena such as the rise of the ‘flashpacker’ and alternative destinations. Chapters include material on flashpacking, the virtualization of backpacker culture, the re-conceptualisation of lifestyle travellers, backpackers as volunteer tourists, as well as backpackers' experiences of hostels, mobilities and their policy implications. It sets a new benchmark for the study of independent travel in the contemporary world.

The tourism industry provides employment for literally millions of individuals. Despite global recessions, terrorist attacks and other catastrophes this is likely to remain unchanged in the long-term. Resilience of this nature helps tourism remain a major global employer in both developed and emerging economies. The important role played by tourism workers cannot be overstated; some argue that they actually define the product on offer. Accordingly, mediocre or poor performance gives rise to an unremarkable service experience or one to which customers would not return willingly. The inextricable link between the calibre and performance of staff and service delivery is a key issue for human resources management. This challenge is further complicated by a number of structural characteristics including: dominance of unaffiliated small to medium-sized organizations; high levels of labour turnover; and a heterogeneous workforce with individuals having a wide variety of cultural differences and employment aspirations. This book accounts for the above factors using an approach which is part prescriptive and part enquiry or research-oriented. In doing so, espoused 'HRM convention' may be understood against 'HRM in practice'. Additionally, by using this method we hope to instil a sense of enquiry in the reader. This is a necessary intellectual asset for the future and will also allow the individual to make a positive contribution in the workplace.

Building on previous work on backpacking, this book takes the analysis of backpacker tourism further by engaging both with new theoretical debates into tourism experiences and mobilities as well as with new empirical phenomena such as the rise of the ‘flashpacker’ and alternative destinations. Chapters include material on flashpacking, the virtualization of backpacker culture, the re-conceptualisation of lifestyle travellers, backpackers as volunteer tourists, as well as backpackers' experiences of hostels, mobilities and their policy implications. It sets a new benchmark for the study of independent travel in the contemporary world.

Geothermal springs constitute a major tourism resource, providing spectacular settings, recreation facilities, a recognised value in treatments beneficial for health and wellness, a sense of heritage and adventure, and links with the natural environment. Health and wellness tourism accounts for a significant proportion of the world’s tourism consumption, with components ranging from hot spring bathing for leisure and recreation, through mineral water use in health treatments under the supervision of highly specialised medical professionals, to water treatments in the wellness and beauty therapy sector and the use of mineral water for drinking purposes. This makes it an economically and socially important area of tourism demanding in-depth analysis. This book explores health and wellness tourism from a range of perspectives including usage, heritage, management, technology, environmental and cultural features, and marketing.

Tourism destinations and businesses are becoming increasingly prone to the impacts of crises and disasters due to global environmental change and security risks. This is the first research based book that provides a strategic approach to understanding the nature of tourism crises and disasters before outlining tourism crisis and disaster planning, response, and longer term recovery and knowledge management strategies. It applies a wide range of theoretical perspectives and concepts to improve our understanding of both organisational crises and natural disasters. The book draws on examples from around the world including the USA, Europe, UK, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. It will be essential reading for tourism academics and students as well as tourism managers and government officials involved in tourism destination management and marketing.

Tourism destinations and businesses are becoming increasingly prone to the impacts of crises and disasters due to global environmental change and security risks. This is the first research based book that provides a strategic approach to understanding the nature of tourism crises and disasters before outlining tourism crisis and disaster planning, response, and longer term recovery and knowledge management strategies. It applies a wide range of theoretical perspectives and concepts to improve our understanding of both organisational crises and natural disasters. The book draws on examples from around the world including the USA, Europe, UK, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. It will be essential reading for tourism academics and students as well as tourism managers and government officials involved in tourism destination management and marketing.