Balancing Development and Sustainability in Tourism Destinations

Malaysia has the potential to become one of the top destinations for ecotourism, because it is one of the world’s 12 mega diversity hotspots. Ecotourism is a growing niche market within the larger travel industry, with the potential of being an important sustainable development tools. However, without proper regulatory control, ecotourism may facilitate biopiracy. The issue of ecotourism and biopiracy has been the subject of major debates. Biopiracy, if not properly remedied, is detrimental to the interest of Malaysia over its genetic resources and traditional knowledge. The main purpose of this study is to examine the various legal issues pertaining to ecotourism and biopiracy in connection with sustainability of tourism destination in Malaysia, looking in particular at the roles played by the international and national laws.

The increasing awareness in environmental issue drives companies to implement green practice in the business. Therefore, some hotels name themselves as green hotels in order to attract potential customers. This study examines tourists’ eco-friendly attitudes and the effect on their intention toward green hotels. The eco-friendly attitudes were measured by tourists’ perception based on the attributes, such as, severity of environmental problems, inconvenience of being environmental friendly, importance of being environmental friendly, and level of responsibility of business corporations. Therefore, tourists were asked about their intentions to visit, to engage in word-of-mouth behaviors, and to pay more for a green hotel. Questionnaires were distributed to the domestic and international tourists in Juanda International Airport Surabaya using convenience sampling technique. The study shows that tourists have positive responses in environmental issues; however, they tend not to separate piles of garbage for recycling reason. The result reveals that tourists’ eco-friendly attitudes significantly influence their intention to visit, to engage in word-of-mouth behaviors, and to pay more for green hotels. Partially, attitudes in being environmental friendly make the largest unique contribution in intention to visit while perception of environmental problem contributes the most in word-of-mouth intention. In addition, intention to pay more is highly affected by tourists’ inconvenience of being environmental friendly.

Malaysian are among the societies in the world who started late in documenting their history. Most stories and cultural heritage were commonly shared orally from one generation to another. Hence, the lack of original historical resources has been a major problem in reconstructing Malaysian history. Without oral history being recorded and written, and with the loss of the elders who were willing to preserve and pass along this history, cultural memories began to wither, along with many of the colorful cultures and heritage. Malaysia, known as a melting pot of race and culture, has a society who had long discovered their culture and heritage through oral history as a part of their rich historical heritage. In view of that, there is a need of encouragement and effort on historical research and oral history writing for the continued preservation and appreciation of oral history among its people. This paper provides an overview on the importance of oral history in preserving the valuable oral treasures among the society, and to further enrich the local culture and heritage for the future generations. The findings of this paper suggest that there is a need for requirement of improved level of awareness on the value of oral history, and as well as a greater exposure through education for the younger generations and tourists, in order to ensure that oral history is appropriately understood and accepted at all levels.

Toraja in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, is a tourist destination known for its ethnicity as the main attraction. It is located in the northern part of South Sulawesi Province, or about eight hours drive from the province capital, Makassar. The traditional houses of Toraja with their distinctive shape, the ancestral house known as Tongkonan, cliff-hanging, and stone-carved burial sites, and traditional ceremonies such as the death ritual, RambuSolok, were considered interesting for the taste of ethnic tourists. International tourist arrival to Toraja reached its peak in the 1997 but plunged to a low number from 1998 to 2003 when a series of unfortunate situations ranging from economic crises, the fall of New Order regime, to safety issues hit Indonesian tourism sector. International tourist arrival to Toraja continued to fall from 2004 to 2009. In 2013, the number of tourist arrival finally picked up and the revitalization of tourism in Toraja is underway. Through the Indonesian Government Regulation Number 50, 2011 on the National Master Plan for Tourism Development, the government has again designated Toraja as one of national strategic tourism areas to be prioritized in its tourism development plan. This paper will describe the tourism revitalization planning process that was undertaken from July 2014 to December 2014 involving teams of academics from various background, consultants, and local stakeholders, using data collection technics such as observations and site visits, market survey, and focus group discussions (FGD). Some of the objectives identified from this process include diversification of visitor attractions beyond traditional settlements—as expected by the emerging Asian tourists to Toraja; setting quality standards and improving ICT capacity among tourism service providers; and enhancing interpretations and visitor management systems within heritage sites.

Local sense of place refers to the emotional and reciprocal relationship between the residents of a community and the environment they inhabit. It is fundamental to cultural sustainability, especially after a place is exposed to tourism. This paper derives from a digital ethnography that examines the reconstruction of place identity by local community in desa adat Kuta, a Balinese customary village, which is also a popular beach destination in Bali, Indonesia. The local residents’ contemporary expressions with regard to sense of place were analyzed from the local community’s social media (Facebook group). This study adopts discourse analysis to identify the recovery of the indigenous characteristics of Kuta and Balinese values expressed by the inhabitants, despite the challenge of living in a tourist destination. The findings suggest that the indigenous community has a significant role in maintaining the traditions, identity, values, and esteem of their village, according to desa adat Kuta. Concomitantly, the identities of the people of Kuta are being (re)-constructed from their local emotional attachments with their village. Further, the residents also leverage tourism development to enhance their livelihood and to contribute to their identity formation. The study’s conclusion has an important implication, particularly for advancing existing cultural tourism policy, by suggesting the incorporation of local sense of place in tourism planning and development in Bali.

Tourism provides a raft of economic benefits to destination communities, including employment, income, foreign investment, improved infrastructure and facilities. However, core benefits received are often juxtaposed with local concerns regarding economic, environmental and social impacts of tourism, such as seasonality, congestion, acculturation and foreign ownership. Much literature supports the notion that residents support tourism, as long as benefits derived outweigh any costs incurred. However, such studies have not specifically considered the perspectives of locals who work in the tourism industry. Consequently, the aim of this research is to explore the perceptions of locals employed in the tourism industry of Ubud, Bali, towards further development. To achieve this objective a series of 21 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Balinese locals employed in the tourism industry were undertaken. The interviews were conducted with the help of a bilingual university-educated local “gatekeeper”, and were audio recorded, transcribed and then analysed using open, axial and selective coding to identify common themes. Key findings revealed that respondents value their community and surroundings, due primarily to the village feel, scenery and climate. Respondents showed concern for the potential of tourism development changes to Ubud such as modern, western style accommodation, loss of traditional farming land and increased traffic. However, many were equally appreciative of the benefits received from tourism such as job opportunities, economic development, opportunities for cultural creativity and improvements to the local infrastructure and facilities. Respondents expressed a desire for more tourists to travel to Ubud whilst keeping development levels sustainable for future generations. While an increase in tourists and job opportunities in the future was welcomed by most respondents, some also stipulated that authorities must maintain control of tourism development, limiting the number and scale of new hotels and restaurants whilst preserving the physical environment and culture. Long-term tourism industry employees tended to express more caution about further tourism development in Ubud as opposed to recently employed locals. Distance was also a key factor, with locals with a workplace situated further away from the centre of Ubud more likely to support further development than those who worked in the centre of town. These findings suggest that locals employed in tourism in Ubud would likely support further development if located away from the centre of town and built according to Balinese tradition and local developmental regulations. Younger respondents also were more supportive of future development than older respondents citing job creation and career opportunities as incentives. Future research should consider perceptions of residents in destination communities not directly employed in the tourism industry to compare and contrast their views on the impacts of tourism and future development with those who are tourism industry employees. In addition, future research should enhance the conceptual clarity surrounding issues of how tourism and future development impacts destination communities of unique culture and traditions.

Lombok is one of the most Muslim-populated Islands of Indonesia and is entitled ‘island of a thousand mosques’. Such status may be one of the reasons behind the plan of Indonesian Government to develop Lombok as an Islamic (halal-friendly) tourist destination in Indonesia. This study is aimed at investigating the potentials of Lombok and its surroundings (a number of small islands or gilis around Lombok) to adopt the Islamic principles (followed to develop halal-friendly tourist destination) from the destination marketing perspectives. Data was collected from electronic and non-electronic promotional materials used by tourism agencies and private tourism enterprises (travel agents, hotels, and restaurants) in promoting Lombok and its surroundings. The data was then analyzed using content analysis approach. The study finds two main categories: (1) the potential halal-friendly tourist destinations, including all tourist destinations from within Lombok Island, and (2) the moderate halal-friendly tourist destinations, including the gilis. These findings suggest that the Islamic tourism principles can be adopted by all tourism enterprises in Lombok, and used to market Lombok as a halal-friendly tourist destination. However, such principles cannot be fully adopted by all tourism enterprises on the gilis. Instead, the halal-friendly tourism can be adopted by individual tourism enterprises and used as an individual market positioning on the gilis. The study brings implications to both tourism studies and management.

Tourist attractions are associated with souvenirs; most tourists purchase souvenirs when travelling. In this study, we investigated the reasons for tourists purchasing souvenirs. In addition, we explored the factors that contribute to purchasing souvenirs. The two-way ANOVA results indicated that there was no significant difference in souvenir purchase between male and female tourists, and no difference was found between the tourists’ origins (North America, South Africa, Europe, or Asia-Pacific). The multiple regression results showed that purchasing souvenirs as gifts significantly contributed to purchase frequency, while purchasing souvenirs as evidence and memories were not significant predictors of purchase frequency. Further, we evaluated the roles of behavioural belief and tourists’ perceived authenticity about the souvenirs in the three purchasing behaviours: as gifts, evidence, and memories. Our findings extended knowledge of the importance of souvenirs for tourists, especially in Malaysia, and we concluded that tourists mostly purchase souvenirs for gifts compared to other purposes and that tourists’ behavioural beliefs are a more significant factor than the souvenirs’ perceived authenticity. The results of this research contribute to the development of the souvenir industry specifically and the tourism industry in general.

This paper aims to scrutinise the ethnic characteristics of the Bidayuh community in Sarawak, Malaysia, which could be conserved and capitalised on for the development of indigenous tourism. The community, also called ‘people of the land’, is characterised by its cultural identities such as ‘O gong’ (a gong troupe), massive drums, and ‘pratuakng’ (a percussion instrument made out of bamboo). Furthermore, this study brings to light the willingness of the indigenous community to partake in activities related to tourism. The study investigated the hindrances encountered by them to foster tourism in their region. The community’s ethnic distinctiveness is acknowledged by foreign travellers as well as other Malaysian societies. However, questions have been raised over the actual act of developing tourism so as to reveal the customs and traditions of the community to the rest of the world. Although, according to initial analyses, the community is eager to partake in tourism activities by sharing their culture with foreigners, no effectual developmental initiatives have been undertaken by the government. Thus, this study holds significance from the point of view of generating awareness among the outsiders regarding the unexploited indigenous resources so as to promote sustainable cultural commercialisation.

Screen tourism has played a significant role in expanding the number of tourists hoping to visit destination(s) portrayed in films and TV series. Therefore, identifying the drivers of screen tourism and understanding their effects on the tourism industry is crucial for destination managers. However, studies on-screen tourism, particularly in Malaysia, are limited and scarce. This study thus attends to a gap within screen tourism to identify potential factors that encourage viewers’ visitation to a film location(s). In order to achieve this, the relationship between screen tourism and travel intention has been investigated. Using a quantitative research design with a structured questionnaire, the researchers distributed 300 online questionnaires, acquiring 176 usable responses. The respondents consist of Malaysian viewers who watched films that feature a particular destination within a 6-month period. Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to confirm the proposed hypotheses. Place, performance, and personality were identified as the pull factors of screen tourism. This study confirmed past empirical evidence supporting the effects of the 3P Pull Factor theory on viewers’ travel intentions. Additionally, it was found that the respondents were aware of the linkage between tourism and the film industry, which further supports the significant role that films play in influencing viewers’ travel intentions.

In recent decades, food has emerged as an important lifestyle trend in tourism. This paper explores the role of celebrity chefs in enhancing culinary experiences in Singapore. More specifically, our work identifies thematic determinants of how world-renowned chefs and their signature restaurants in Singapore contribute to the country’s culinary scene. This study analyses 12 restaurant websites showcasing celebrity chefs. A range of themes such as the type of restaurant, cuisine, location, menu, length of time in business and promotional activities were examined to deduce the role and impact of celebrity chefs as an integral part of Singapore’s desire to be a food capital of Southeast Asia. Celebrity status works in tandem with a mix of local and global cuisines, physical location and ambiance to carve out a niche for particular eating establishments in the landscape of worldwide culinary tourism, leading to the conclusion that celebrity chefs play a significant role in tourism promotion.

Some studies have found culinary tourism to support the development of cultural tourism. Through social media, the promotion of culinary tourism has influenced many people to consume food and drinks in variety of ways than they might have otherwise, and has drawn them to different tourist destinations to experience culinary attractions. Two of the most popular words in tourism social media jargon that have arisen with this phenomenon are #foodgasm and #foodporn. Neither of these has been widely studied by contemporary tourism researchers. Tourists using social media services, such as Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr, Youtube and Twitter, will use the hashtags (#)foodgasm and (#)foodporn on the photos that they share of particularly attractive food experiences, tastes and pleasures. Food representations via social media, especially in the form of photos, have created broader awareness of the diverse chain of global food production, distribution and consumption. Furthermore, pop culture involving aesthetics of food, as well as its social and cultural construction, has created food photography websites and food blogs. This research used content analysis to outline how tourists are using the two hashtags, all of which have implications on culinary tourism promotion and destination marketing.

This study identifies the characteristics of urban residents’ leisure activities and leisure skills from a 952 person sample in Hangzhou, China. The research documents, the frequency, and the categories of leisure activities in which the urban residents participate. The study also assesses their skills at those leisure activities. Four key findings emerged. First, residents generally had a low frequency of leisure activities, and these were mainly casual activities. Second, the respondents’ demographic characteristics influenced their participation. Third, leisure skills were generally low. Fourth, demographic characteristics were related to their leisure skills. These results affirmed the following points. First, the forms of leisure activities undertaken by residents were mainly static, and this may be a reflection of Chinese traditional culture. Second, residents felt they had low leisure skills and that many of the leisure activities they undertook were monotonous or boring. Third, people are facing more life pressures, especially in urban cities, but the influx of other people from different cities does add to the variety of the leisure culture. There are opportunities for those who manage civic life as well as tour operators to include more assisted leisure programs for Chinese tourists. Diversity and choices of new leisure activities, particularly some likely to appeal to those with more education are immediate areas for innovation and development as a means to improve overall life satisfaction in increasingly sophisticated cities such as Hangzhou.

Muslim market is one of the latest growing market segments in the world. Muslim countries, such as Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Indonesia have developed Islamic tourism in marketing the country as a holiday destination for Muslim travellers. Non-Muslim countries, such as Japan, Korea, Thailand and Europe also show great interest to attract this market. There are various issues and challenges faced by these countries. Malaysia, being a multiracial and multi-religious country with Islamic modernization and revivalism has provided an interesting research context for Islamic tourism development. The issues and challenges such as the sensitivities and sensibilities of the other religion towards the implementation of Islamic tourism in the country may exist. These issues are also supported based on the previous studies where problems such as complications of the relationship and disagreement between religious practices occurred when tourism and Islamic religion came in contact. Thus, this study aimed to (i) identify the most influential socio-cultural attributes towards the development of Islamic tourism in Malaysia, (ii) to investigate the relationship between socio-cultural attributes and the development of Islamic tourism in Malaysia, and (iii) to examine the government support as the moderating variable towards the development of Islamic tourism in Malaysia. The findings and results from this research may benefit the local communities as well as the government particularly the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and also Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC). The outcome of this study also could be used as an indicator in setting up the particular policy standard for Islamic tourism development. As for the local communities which consist of multiracial community, they surely will have a better understanding regarding the proper Islamic tourism perspective.

People have various motives in participating as volunteers in special events. In fact, motivation theories of pull and push factors have been the common dimension in identifying motivation among volunteers toward satisfaction. Nevertheless, a limited number of studies have investigated the influence of demographics (age and gender) on motivation and satisfaction among special event volunteers. As special events have been expanding around the globe, identifying, and understanding the factors that influence volunteer motivation and satisfaction would enable event managers to develop better strategies for the retention of volunteers. Hence, this article specifically discussed if age and gender influence motivation and satisfaction among special event volunteers, with reference to Malaysian context.

The Gunung Padang Site (GPS) is located in Karyamukti Village, Campaka subdistrict, Cianjur District, and is believed by locals to be a legacy of Prabu/King Siliwangi. The location is recognized by the tourism industry as a tourist destination but there has been limited research on its tourism development, particularly in respect of the community’s social capital (which could play an important role in the success of its tourism and ecotourism). This research was designed to provide data on social capital in the community around GPS, and employed interviews based on a modified ‘Social Capital Assessment Tools’ questionnaire. The findings indicate that the community of Karyamukti Village has positive social capital that could be exploited for the ecotourism development of GPS. Community members trust the GPS management (with the exception of the Kompepar). They also trust their informal leader. There are small number of people who still practice customary law, which could be beneficial as a tourist attraction. The community tends to be open towards visitors and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In terms of networking, the people are involved in various social networks, and have started to develop links with other stakeholders. They have taken proactive action in relation to experience sharing, participation in social organizations, and protection of the environment. However, there was also a negative side to their social capital: they still retain some jealousy of each other with regard to job opportunities. This could pose a threat to the success of any tourism development in that there would likely be unfair competition by individuals or subgroups, which in turn could affect tourism operations in the location.

Despite tourism being recognised as a promising growth sector in many Small Island Developing States (SIDS), its contribution to community wellbeing has been neglected. The current study is set within the context of tourism development in a SIDS and examines the positive and negative outcomes of enclave tourism to community wellbeing in Mauritius. International tourism to Mauritius has developed significantly over the past 30 years with the hotel industry being the most dominant form of tourism enclave. Although, large resorts provide the environment for attracting tourists to destination communities, it remains unclear how this form of tourism contributes to community wellbeing in Mauritius. Moreover, although past studies have been conducted on enclave tourism in SIDS, there is no study which has specifically been undertaken on the contributions of enclave tourism to community wellbeing. Therefore, the aim of this research is to assess the host community’s perceptions regarding the contributions of enclave tourism in Mauritius. Given the lack of information on the topic, a theoretical sample with in-depth interviews was used amongst key informants of the destination. The findings reveal mostly similarities amongst the interviewees and identify that enclave tourism contributes to community wellbeing in seven domains namely: Economic, Social, Environmental, Cultural, Leisure, Educational and Political. The findings reflect that although the economic benefits of enclave tourism has a greater potential to contribute to community wellbeing, better policy and planning are needed to unleash the opportunities for entrepreneurship which are currently limited. Moreover, the findings show that tourism development in Mauritius occurs on an ad hoc basis with short-term gains, which limit the potentials of and negatively affect community wellbeing.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been a central topic within both the academic area and business practice. Academically, this topic has gained much attention through continuous research. Similarly, an increasing practice of CSR by organizations has been evident. However, while it is important that companies demonstrate their concern on CSR activities, it is essential to understand if there are impacts for the companies internally. Limited study has viewed CSR from this point, especially within the hotel context. This paper reports on the results of an initial study that was part of a larger study aiming to examine the relationship between CSR activities and brand image. At its preliminary stage, the research elicited the respondents’ views on CSR activities. Their views were then compared to identify if there are differences. Furthermore, an exploration was undertaken on the internal impacts of CSR program that the hotels face. The study was conducted in Bali, involving twenty hotel managers of 3–5 star hotels. Data were collected using interview method and were analyzed using qualitative approach. The results of the study showed that all hotel managers emphasized the importance of CSR, although their degree of understanding and knowledge varied especially between different hotel star ratings. The majority of the respondents emphasized that CSR activities were programmed in order to meet the government’s requirement. Furthermore, there were eight themes representing the internal impacts of CSR obtained from the data. All of the themes are considered to be favorable impacts and most of them give new insight to the CSR literature as have not been published in the previous studies. They are trust, image, protection, improved closeness to, understanding and knowledge of nature, environment, and society, pride, mouth-to-mouth advertisement, recognition, and profit. The most frequent theme was mainly in terms of increasing brand image. The majority of the themes have not been found in the CSR literature, suggesting a new understanding. Having these results, the follow-up study which was designed as the main study is to be undertaken. That is to statistically examine the link between CSR and brand image. Future research may also investigate the relationships between CSR, brand image, profitability, and sustainability.

“No pict is hoax” is a statement usually used by young people, which means that pictures need to be taken to provide a sense of meaningfulness to their stories. Generally, tourists use pictures to share their experiences from the tourist destination with their relatives, friends, and communities. In this digital era, there is no real need to share the photographs in printed version. Through the Internet, people can share their moments with all of their acquaintances in social media. This paper reports on research undertaken into tourists photo taking behavior at Nglanggeran Ancient Volcano. It finds that respondents take some pictures as part of self-actualization. Tourists mainly use camera in their mobile phones in preference to other photographic devices, which they will typically share via social media. The result shows that most respondents take pictures and share them in a single device that is mobile phone.

Natural environment in Malaysia has become one of the major attractions for tourists. Participation in recreation and tourism in natural areas can bring many benefits such as family cohesiveness, relaxation, and provide green spaces for people to appreciate the aesthetical values of the park. These activities help to spread the awareness, disperse knowledge, and foster a sense of environmental appreciation. In addition, the development of tourism in these areas provides employment and economic growth of the local community. The increasing popularity of parks and protected areas as tourism destination definitely calls for special attention to its planning and management. It is crucial to ensure planning and development of tourism infrastructures and programs will not create extensive damage to the environment. One principle of sustainable tourism is incorporating public views and ideas through public participation practice. The study explores respondents’ opinions on the current pattern of public participation, with reference to participation in planning for tourism in natural settings. The results indicated some lacking, especially along the overall practice, on the methods used in the drill, the extent of information presented, the opportunity for the public to share views and the thoughtfulness of the public’s opinions in decision-making. These findings encourage for thoughtful consideration by the respected authorities to improve the current practice of public participation and calls for further studies to investigate further on the issue.

This critique argues that the mechanism of land utilization under post-war tourism in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka was instigated by marker-driven political negligence. It discovers that the introduction of post-catastrophic tourism (Zizek 2014) has been influenced by immediate commercial motives and no attention has been paid to the political significance of the traumatic historical memory of the community affected by a lasting conflict. The post-war tourism has generated a phenomenon called dark tourism in the area concerned, where the curiosity to see the ‘monuments’ of the fierce battle could be exploited for recreational purposes. The victorious southerners used their political hegemony to legitimize their commercially motivated invasions by converting the once battlefield to a tourism zone of ‘leisure tourism practices’ (Pieris 2014: 266). For this purpose, the most valuable lands located in potential of nature tourism have obviously been grabbed by the Sri Lankan military depriving of those who claim the right to those lands. In the meantime, the apparent mass tourism promotion by the government between 2009 and 2014 too has significantly disregarded the fundamental principle that careful attention must be paid to, ‘the visitation to places, where tragedies or historically noteworthy death has occurred and that continue to impact our lives’ (Tarlow 2005: 48) before obvious profit motives. In the context of this paper, the above aloof attitude in neglecting geo-political sensitivity of the community by the then politico-administrative agents, who were blinded by their own development paradigm, is identified as a dangerous humanitarian mistake from a wider universal sense. While acknowledging tourism as an agent of development, this paper understands that the trivialization of land rights and the disregard towards the significance of a historical memory and the ownership of a community, which has turned ‘the suffering into a leisure experience for contemporary tourists’ (Smith et al. 2010: 38) cannot also be easily overlooked.

Tourism Development is one of regional development priorities for North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Manado Waterfront Development (MWD) is one of city development programs to enhance the image of Manado as a waterfront city. Manado waterfront is being developed to strengthen opportunities for both tourism and other businesses. There are many buildings that are used for trade and business purposes. The spatial distributions of tourism, commercial, and residential land uses overlap. The previous study had developed a clustered based model for Manado waterfront area. This study is an evaluation on implementation of the model and strategy proposed in the previous study for waterfront urban tourism in Manado Indonesia. This study is aimed to examine to what extent the model is successfully applied and how stakeholders perception and public participation can contribute to development program for the city tourism. The study applies descriptive approach using survey, in-depth interview, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) to get inputs and recommendation on the implementation of tourism development model for Manado as a waterfront city based on previous research. Field research consisted of a survey questionnaire, interview and observation on study sites. The results show that stakeholders such as government, tourism industries, local residents at and around the waterfront, city planners, and academics all agree to include the model into the city planning and implement it into practice. The study proposed a formulation of strategies and policies for waterfront tourism development and proposed to local authorities for implementation.

Sharia tourism consists of recreational activities that are based on Islamic values. Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country, and this is especially true of West Nusa Tenggara Province. However, the word tourism market does not associate the province with the concept of sharia travel. The Indonesian tourism ministry has designated three provinces for sharia tourism development: Nanggro Aceh Darussalam, West Sumatera, and West Nusa Tenggara. These three provinces should be in a good position to implement this policy. West Nusa Tenggara (also known as Nusa Tenggara Barat, or NTB) is well positioned to prepare for the arrival of tourist from Muslim countries and regions because Muslims comprise the majority of the population there. NTB is known as having “a thousand mosques”, as well as many Islamic boarding schools and clerics. It has many places of Islamic heritage, there are many hotels and restaurants serving halal food, and its art and culture reflect the nuances of Islam. This paper assesses potential sharia tourist destination in West Nusa Tenggara using qualitative methods to recommend a tourism development strategy.

Tourism has undergone fundamental changes due to the vast developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) over the past decade. One of the most important aspects of technological development has been in the area of payment system. As we are heading toward a more digital society, governments are encouraging the adoption of cashless system to be implemented in every sector, including tourism. Cashless payment systems are promoted for their efficiency and inclusiveness. The systems are especially important for island destination where access to financial services is often limited. The development of ICT in the form of a cashless payment system can strengthen a destination’s connectivity and creating a more seamless tourist experiences. A memorable tourism experience has been argued to lead to destination loyalty. Thus a cashless payment system has been considered to be the future method of payment for tourism destinations. Tourism has been a pioneer in cashless payment systems predominantly in the gaming industry. However, the study of cashless payments in other areas of tourism has been rarely explored. This study serves as a preliminary study to explore consumer behavior regarding cashless payment systems in island destinations. It argues that the cashless payment system can enhance the vacation experience, which can serve as a differential marketing value for a destination. Employing mini focus group discussions, it investigates tourist behavior in cash and noncash payments. The findings provide interesting insights on developing criteria for cashless payment systems and communication tools for cashless systems in tourism, as well as building a foundation for future research on the possible alternatives to cashless payment devices.

Tourism development in North Sulawesi grows with a variety of industry sectors including souvenir industry. Souvenir representing local tourism products is an important component of the tourist experience visiting North Sulawesi. However, the souvenir industries in North Sulawesi have not yet been produced distinctively as local souvenirs and are still limited in both quality and quantity. This study is aimed at identifying and developing souvenir model and design as a supporting element of tourism product in North Sulawesi in terms of uniqueness, marketability and competitiveness with its local characteristic of North Sulawesi. Data and information are collected from home industries in North Sulawesi which produced souvenirs made from wood and coconut shell materials. This study employed filed observation, interviews and FGD (Focus Group Discussions). The informants are craftsmen and the souvenir sellers in North Sulawesi. The interview was also conducted to tourists visiting North Sulawesi to get their opinion and recommendations. The results of the study identified several models and designs for coconut souvenirs related such as the miniature related to local heroes for examples Sam Ratulangi, Toar-Lumimuut and Dotulolong Lasut. The miniatures related to local flora and fauna such as the ancient fish (Coelacanth), manguni bird and tarsius spectrum with its uniqueness and speciality of North Sulawesi souvenirs.

Padang Besar is a border town situated between northern Malaysia and southern Thailand, and has been well known for its border shopping activities since the early 1950s. There are many shopping locations to be found here where visitors can find a variety of goods at bargain prices. Though historically it is a shopping attraction for domestic visitors, early observation by researchers showed that there was a lack of adequate facilities for the development of tourism in Padang Besar. Therefore, this research was conducted to try to understand border shopping development from the perspective of tourism supply chains. Grounded theory qualitative data analysis strategy was employed through personal interviews along with observations of, tourism supply chains. The findings indicated that the tourism supply chains, namely the traders, government organizations, and tourism distribution channels, failed to collaborate and this resulted in poor planning and development of the town. The concluding section of this paper suggests that Padang Besar would benefit from concrete support from all levels of supply chains, including government and private investors. This cooperation would undoubtedly help to improve the shopping zone by facilitating the efficient development of shopping infrastructures, facilities, and amenities, not only for tourists but also for local communities as a whole.

Sustainable tourism is growing nowadays and it involves destination, product, process and place (3Ps) of tourism. These are areas of importance for current practices of tour operators. However, current practices by tour operator are lacking in fostering sustainability. This paper illustrates some literatures and the linking of terminology namely supply chain management (SCM), corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ecotourism towards sustainable tourism. The review of the literature is useful for better understanding of the significant contributions of tour operators in implementing sustainable practices in tourism industry.

Derawan Island in East Kalimantan, Indonesia has seen growth in recent times. The island is endowed with natural resources, particularly with marine biodiversity, which make them appealing to international and domestic tourists. This paper reports a part of the findings of a larger study that explored young Indonesians’ level of awareness and perceptions of domestic attractions in Indonesia. More specifically, this paper presents the insights of Indonesian students in Singapore about Derawan Island. The data collection involved an online survey which yielded 126 responses. The findings suggest that the respondents had low level of awareness of Derawan’s features and accolades as a destination. Additionally, the results imply that visiting Derawan with the intention to “see and experience” the island rather than “do to experience things there” is a common rationale for young Indonesians in visiting.

This study examines the responses of social media users to tourist photographs and professional photographs on social media platforms. The research participants were students from the Diploma Program in Tourism, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). The research design was experimental using questionnaires as the data collection instrument. This research used a paired t-test to analyze the differences in responses to photographs by tourists and professionals in terms of the photography’s component and eWOM’s components through AIDA’s hierarchy process model. Some different responses were identified.

Online sales for business trips in Indonesia have increased during 2008–2013 from 2.55 trillion to 26.54 trillion rupiahs. This development is supported by increasing numbers of social network users who convey their experiences in Indonesia, which includes the rise of low-cost airlines, using social media, such as Twitter, to promote the tourism experience in Indonesia. These developments have not been deeply explored in academic research; in particular, there is a lack of research examining low-cost airlines and their use of social media. Therefore, we take an inductive approach using qualitative and quantitative analysis methods (mixed method) for this research. Gathering primary data from the Twitter account @Citilink from the fourth Quarter of 2014 (October, November, December) and the first quarter of 2015 (January, February, March), we have extracted the data, preparing it for processing using the Mixed Method Proval is Research software. There were 2194 tweets from fourth quarter of 2014. After cleaning the data, 992 tweets were excluded from the analysis. The data were further categorized into 821 tweets and 381 retweets. Of the 1724 tweets from first quarter of 2015, 436 tweets were excluded from the analysis; the remaining tweets were further categorized into 588 tweets and 436 retweets. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted and the findings show that the @Citilink Twitter account delivered five service attributes, including (1) routes, (2) quizzes and ticket promotions, (3) call center information, (4) tourism destination exposure, and (5) Citilink promotional gimmicks for the netizen (Twitter followers). Furthermore, the n words paired t test to compare the tweet and retweet data found that @Citilink preferred other service attributes to retweet, compared with the service attribute tweet. The retweets (netizen tweets forwarded by the @Citilink twitter administrator) often show the service attributes of on-time airline performance and airline smooth landings. The smooth landing is an innovative and distinctive service attribute that is proposed for the potential customer when compared with the other service attributes from the @Citilink account. These findings show the advantage of using exploratory factor analysis to construct and discover the relationships and motives within the unstructured dataset.

This study aims to investigate the spatial dependence of international and domestic tourists in 81 Turkish provinces for the period 2001–2013 using spatial statistics and mapping analysis. In the study, data relating to the number of domestic and international tourists participating in tourism movements in Turkey between 2001 and 2013 was used. The obtained results of an autocorrelation value of near zero shows that there is no global spatial pattern at province levels in Turkey. Since the study was conducted at city level, differences within cities could not be studied. Therefore, the spatial distribution of tourists was analyzed by mapping analysis. The west of Turkey receives more visitors compared to the east. International tourists travel in Turkey becomes denser in the southwest and west coasts of the country. An increase can be seen from the west towards the central parts of Turkey in terms of both domestic and international tourists. The effects of projects, designed to increase rest areas to improve mass tourism can be observed in the distribution of the number of tourists. Furthermore, it may be stated that the effects of practiced strategies, such as the spread of tourism nationwide, thereby decreasing regional development differences, can be seen.

Besides resort tourism, Turkey has a huge potential of alternative tourism sources, such as health and thermal tourism, winter sports and mountain nature tourism, mountain tourism, rural and eco-tourism, congress and exhibition tourism, cruise and yacht tourism, golf tourism, and so forth. However, this potential can hardly said to be used effectively. For example, attractive and suitable alternative destinations, as well as routes for thermal, spring, winter and mountain sports, to be distributed in different regions throughout Turkey could not be constructed. In this study, we research occupancy rates in the hospitality sector for the period 2001–2013, by using spatial analysis techniques in order to demonstrate whether there is any spatial pattern of occupancy rates in Turkey. For this purpose, we calculated Moran’s I spatial autocorrelation coefficient for occupancy rates in the hospitality sector for both domestic and international tourists. The results show that, while there is spatial autocorrelation, taking accommodation of international tourists into account, spatial autocorrelation does not arise in terms of domestic tourist’s occupancy. Thus, domestic and international tourists’ spatial patterns are different in Turkey. This result can be interpreted as a preference of domestic tourists to visit relatives in Turkey, while international tourists prefer to stay in the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts along with Istanbul. Also, climate affects the occupancy rates. In other words, the length of the tourist season affects occupancy rates in the hospitality sector. Moreover, we also aim to detect spatial-dependencies among domestic and international tourists’ lines and local correlations using bivariate Moran’s I and LISA. The analyses show that coastal provinces that have HH autocorrelation are neighboring provinces that have a low degree of occupancy indicating that strong tourism routes and regional destinations have not yet been established. For this reason, such destinations should be bolstered with accommodation, culture, hand-crafts, and food and beverage facilities. Therefore, the results of this study may help Republic of Turkey’s Development Ministry to rearrange their integrated tourism planning approach.

This paper explores whether tourism core resources promote destination competitiveness and performance, focusing on the travel and tourism (T&T) competitiveness index (TTCI) rankings and tourist arrivals. Utilizing panel data from eight ASEAN countries, this paper examined the statistical relationship between tourism core resources, tourism performance, and TTCI ranking. This empirical research relied on measures of tourism core resources compiled from various tourism organization reports and databanks. The results revealed a mixed correlation effect between these variables, particularly between TTCI ranking and tourism core resources. The lack of TTCI ranking correlation with the tourism core resources arises from the fact that the observed countries are in different economic development stages, which affect the TTCI ranking indirectly.

Recent studies have shown the travel and tourism industry to have positive impacts on the economic development of a country and its global competitiveness. In this research, we have analyzed how the ecosystem of the travel and tourism industry extends beyond the 14 pillars of industrial competitiveness to also include social and political factors. The analysis is based on data at the national level, with a case study discussion of Indonesia’s tourism sector. Data which we have obtained illustrate how, the development of Indonesia’s travel and tourism industry remains low and lags far behind neighboring ASEAN member states such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. At present, travel and tourism—from domestic and overseas tourism—contribute 3 % to Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP). Contributing factors in the country’s travel and tourism sector’s slow development include unfinished consolidation in the management procedures where by involving a range of factors including bureaucracy involving local governments, the community as well as the central government; the central government has the authority to manage responses for situations affected by macroeconomic, social, and political indicators. We apply the exploratory approach to analyze the correlation between the travel and tourism’s competitiveness index and the six world governance indicators defined by the World Bank through the provision of a scatter plot and factor analysis. Sources for the secondary data include Indonesia’s Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS—Badan Pusat Statistik Indonesia), the World Economic Forum (WEF), and the World Bank (WB).The completion of the research proves how there is a positive correlation between the travel and tourism competitiveness index and the six world governance indicators. The effectiveness of governance has the highest correlation to the competitiveness index followed, respectively, by regulatory quality, rule of law, control of corruption, voice and accountability as well as the political stability/absence of violence (the factor with the least effect with the index). Moreover, this paper also highlights the importance of taking into account sociopolitical factors in order to better understand the 14 pillars of the competitiveness index; these factors pinpoint common factors of the 14 pillars. Numerous factors that must be prioritized within sociopolitical indicators include controlling the widespread act of corruption, rule of law, government effectiveness, and regulatory quality.

The beach is one of the idyllic tropical attractions requiring and receiving attention from all those who partake in it. As a tourism resource, the issue of preserving its awe and beauty proves challenging for stakeholders in the tropics. Existing academic frameworks of sustainability primarily focus on the triple bottom line, community-based tourism and tourist management strategies to mitigate tourist activities that are detrimental to the beach as a generational resource. This paper proposes a marketing-activities approach to offer policy options when promoting beaches in the tropics. In this approach, we analyse ways natural settings and accompanying activities produce sustainable results if the marketing programmes are in sync with activities at the beach as a perceived valuable resource. The model attempts to understand the beach as a marketable resource commensurate with escalation of activities. A comparative descriptive study was conducted on Singapore’s Sentosa Island, Thailand’s Phuket and India’s Goa beaches to draw a conceptual framework. This framework presents principal stakeholders practical management strategies vis-à-vis marketing and beach activities. Tropical destinations are limited natural resources and face increasing development pressures. A marketing-activities approach can address issues of sustainability alongside experiences of quintessential tropical vacations for tourists.