Books / Book chapters

Lone Parents, Leisure Mobilities and the Everyday

Bernadette Quinn — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 07:30:33 PST

This chapter highlights the importance of the ordinary as a site for enquiring into how people make sense of their worlds. The primary intention is to highlight the spatiality of everyday leisure practices and to unravel some of the connections that link these to the occasional leisure practice of holidaying. Empirically, the study focuses on a group of female lone parents of dependent children living on low incomes in Dublin. In Ireland as elsewhere, lone parent families constitute a sizeable, growing but marginal societal group. For the women studied, leisure constituted informal, unstructured and modest activities that were stitched into daily routines and mobilities in a variety of unremarkable ways. Of note is the extent to which distinctions between work and leisure and between obligation and leisure were blurred. Overwhelmingly clear was the fact that even the most modest engagement in leisure activities facilitated social engagement and served as very important sustaining and coping mechanisms. Time and financial factors clearly constrained the women’s ability to practise leisure activities, however, so too did other factors including the quality of everyday spaces, a very prevalent ethic of care, social perceptions of lone parents, the social constructedness of public and certain private spaces, and the workings of the institutionalised tourism industry. There is much in the data to suggest that the myriad cultural practices, habits, mobilities and ways of being that make up our everyday existence are far more connected into, and mutually constitutive of, our extra-ordinary endeavours than might be popularly thought.

Measuring business tourism destination competitiveness: The case of Dublin, Ireland

Ruth Craggs — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 08:48:30 PST

Business tourism has the potential to generate substantial economic returns and thus, many cities have invested in venues and facilities to attract and satisfy business tourists. In Dublin, emphasis has been placed on this growing, high-value industry and the development of a new purpose-built Convention Centre in the city presents an opportunity for Dublin to make advances in the business tourism market. Additionally, business tourism has been targeted as a priority for the National Tourism Development Authority, Fáilte Ireland, and Dublin Regional Tourism Authority. Indeed, it is anticipated that through promotion and a more active industry group, Dublin will have the potential to emerge as a leading business tourism destination. Dublin’s competitiveness is a major issue given the importance of business tourism for the city. However, Dublin’s competitiveness versus other business tourism destinations has been largely unexplored. Furthermore, previous research in the area of destination competitiveness has paid little attention to business tourism destinations. Given the gap in the existing literature, the study seeks firstly to develop an appropriate methodological framework for measuring business tourism destination competitiveness and secondly, to apply this model to evaluate Dublin’s competitiveness. The paper argues that importance-performance analysis can be used to explore the importance of a range of destination attributes and the destination’s competitiveness on each attribute. The paper discusses the proposed methodology and practical applications of the study.

Community Tourism Groups: Development for Sustainability

Ann Conway — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 04:11:15 PST

Environmental policy in Ireland draws on the principles and priorities set out in the National Sustainable Development Strategy, which was endorsed by Government and published in 1997. It recognises that future development in tourism can be sustainable only if the natural assets upon which they depend are protected. Sustainable tourism aims to meet the needs and aspirations of the host area and its people, holiday makers and operators alike in a way which respects them all and those who will follow on. There are many different government departments and national, regional and local agencies involved directly and indirectly in the promotion and delivery of tourism policies and objectives. There are many community groups and individuals committed to the social and environmental welfare of their localities and communities who are now involved in tourism development as a growing component of economic development. This paper looks at the importance of local community groups who are involved in the development and protection of tourism through both an international and national case study of community based sustainable tourism development. The first case study examines the positive effects of community involvement in tourism planning and development in the Youlong Snow Mountain Region of China. The second case study examines the power behind pressure form local community groups involved in the protection and sustaining of their areas, through the examination of the “10-year saga” of sustainable rural tourism development in the Burren in North Clare.

Sustainable Tourism Development: Toward the Mitigation of Tourism Destination Impacts

Sheila Flanagan et al. — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 02:13:44 PST

This report has been prepared as part of the Environmental Research Technological Development and Innovation Programme under the Productive Sector Operational Programme 2000–2006. The programme is financed by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan (NDP) 2000–2006. It is administered on behalf of the Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government by the Environmental Protection Agency, which has the statutory function of coordinating and promoting environmental research. The EPA research programme for the period 2007–2013 is entitled Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for the Environment (STRIVE).

The DIT-ACHIEV Model of Sustainable Tourism Management: the trials and tribulations of indicator models

Kevin A. Griffin Dr. et al. — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:26:16 PST

This chapter is composed of two parts. Part A outlines the development of the DIT-ACHIEV Model for the Sustainable Management of Tourism, and Part B presents a discussion on its implementation, with particular emphasis on how community actors have been involved in its testing and implementation.

This model of sustainable tourism indicators has been developed by the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and is endorsed by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency and Fáilte Ireland (the National Tourism Development Authority of the Republic of Ireland). The model is designed to mitigate against the negative impacts of tourism and guide a destination towards a broad range activities which will encourage movement towards true sustainability. The model comprises six Fields of Interest, the initials of which, lead to its name:

• Administration,

• Community,

• Heritage,

• Infrastructure,

• Enterprise and

• Visitor.

The DIT-ACHIEV Model - a tool for sustainable event management

Kevin Griffin — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:26:15 PST

This chapter outlines how, in theory, an environmentally integrated destination management model could be employed in an events context, thereby stretching the understanding of sustainability to include themes as diverse as Administration, Community, Heritage, Industry, Enterprise and Visitor. It is proposed that use of this integrated management approach, or model, could mitigate the negative and maximise the positive impacts of events.

The globalisation of pilgrimage tourism? Some Thoughts from Ireland

Kevin Griffin — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:26:14 PST

There are many reasons why people travel, these motivations have been researched extensively by geographers, sociologists and others including the business community. The phenomenon of religious tourism, and more particularly, pilgrimage tourism, while widely recognized has not received much attention in literature. Perhaps the reason for this neglect is the difficulty of classifying this aspect of the tourism industry in a growing secular world, where spiritual meaning is often seen as un-fashionable and perhaps even seen as a little ‘backward’. Referring to Ireland, this disquiet was captured by Pochin Mould as early as 1955 who commented:

To write of the Irish pilgrimages is to tread on dangerous ground, it is to attempt to keep a true balance between agnosticism and excessive credulity. It is easy to sneer at somebody else’s superstition, and equally easy to fall into a too sentimental piety.

In order to avoid these pitfalls, it would appear that the easiest solution for those concerned with examining tourism has been to deal briefly with, or totally avoid the topic of religious tourism. This is not to say that it has been ignored by all authors (a lengthy and highly useful international bibliography of religious tourism was assembled by the ATLAS Religious Tourism Special Interest Group in 2005), but the emphasis in most texts has been on either pilgrimage or tourism, and where both have been considered together, the emphasis would appear to be on descriptive case-studies of religious tourism, and on religion being an motivator for early tourism.

Contemporary Issues in Irish and Global Tourism and Hospitality

Geraldine Gorham et al. — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:45:31 PST

This book contains an edited collection of papers presented at the Tourism and Hospitality Research in Ireland Conference 2009 (THRIC). This annual conference provides an invaluable opportunity for Irish and international tourism and hospitality academics and practitioners to debate the key contemporary challenges facing the sector. Based on this selection of conference papers a broad range of issues are addressed in the following chapters. These are issues, which are pertinent not only for Irish tourism and hospitality academics, policy makers and industry, but also resonate with international counterparts. Contributions to this book are made by an eclectic mix of highly established and published academics and those who are conducting their PhD research. The areas explored in this book span sociology, business and tourism and deal with issues as diverse as performance management, transport, sustainability, city breaks, sports, volunteer and dark tourism. Rather than thematically group chapters we have left them as stand alone contributions, however common threads and linkages are highlighted in the introductory chapter.

The Use of Relationship Marketing in Developing Network and Co-operative links within Tourism Product Marketing Groups (PMG’s

Catherine Gorman — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 07:23:41 PST

Co-operative marketing groups are common in tourism, particularly in the case of destination marketing. Destination tourism marketing groups offer a diverse range of tourism products and experiences which complement each other and are delineated by a specific geographical parameter. Tourism product marketing groups offer similar tourism products or services and through a co-operative approach focus on an identified target markets. Co-operative marketing can make greater impact in terms of market presence and can be more cost effective. Members need to see the value in their membership in order to remain involved. Many tourism product providers are SMTE’s (Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises) and as tourism is recognised as a fragmented business, peripherality may play a role in isolating some providers. Co-operative marketing and evolving relationships can help to create a common group identity and a sense of belonging. Socio cultural issues, evaluation of product vision, perceived value as well as many of the constructs associated with the concepts of co-operative marketing, networking and relationship marketing, are explored with a view to understanding a more effective and efficient method of product marketing.

Co-operative Marketing Structures in Rural Tourism: The Irish Case

Catherine Gorman — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 06:41:13 PST

It is recognised that co-operative practises amongst tourism providers creates competitive advantage through utilising and sharing resources. This leads to efficiencies and more effective provision of a valued experience for the visitor. This chapter explores the co-operative practises being utilised by three groups operating within the rural tourism sector in Ireland. It identifies barriers to co-operation and summates that frequent communication and evident benefits are key considerations in implementing an effective co-operative approach.

Shaping tourism places: agency and interconnections in festival settings

Bernadette Quinn — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 07:21:46 PST

In the contemporary era local places seem exposed to more and faster change than ever before. The difference between places seems to be diminishing and debates as to whether ‘cultural homogenisation’ or ‘reconstituted difference’ best describes the changes affecting place feature prominently in recent social science and humanities literatures. Local places are linked to regional, national and supra-national spheres through multiple connections. Tourism is one important globalising force, linking places into the wider world and influencing the changing meanings of place. This chapter is broadly concerned with examining how tourism is implicated in changing the meanings of place. The type of tourism places selected for enquiry is arts festivals turned tourist attractions. The arguments draw on doctoral research conducted into the Wexford Festival Opera and the Galway Arts Festival. It construes tourism places as phenomena forged through local – extra-local interactions, explores the complicated roles played by both place-based actors and tourists, and analyses the tourism places ultimately reproduced.

Dwelling through multiple places: a case study of second home ownership in Ireland.

Bernadette Quinn — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 07:15:19 PST

The literature on second home ownership is by now quite extensive. While it may be also quite disparate, as Kaltenborn (1998) has claimed, identifiable areas within the general second home literature have begun to emerge. This paper focuses on one such area, that which explores the meaning of second home ownership. It re-visits one of the basic questions in the literature by asking why do people have second homes? This question has preoccupied several researchers over the last 20 years (e.g. Clout 1972, Jaakson 1986, Kaltenborn 1998, Chaplin 1999) and the ensuing literature has produced reasonably consistent findings by way of explaining the phenomenon. A number of explanatory motives have been put forward, most notably the desire to escape from routine, from home life, and ultimately from modernity itself. The second home is viewed as something of a release valve, providing a temporary escape that enables people to return to their routine lives having been revitalized and restored by their second home experiences. This chapter does not refute this basic theory but it argues that there is a need for further refinement of the processes and meanings at issues. In particular there is much scope for considering how the meaning that people attach to different places informs the decision to become involved in second home ownership. There seems little doubt that a desire to escape is a prevalent motive, but in terms of the places selected for escaping to, the process may not be as random as the literature has generally implied to date. The growing literature on what Clifford (1997:2) has termed ‘dwelling-in-travelling’ creates a useful context within which to explore how acquiring a second home creates a means of re-discovering and re-connecting with places that hold special meanings in peoples lives, thereby serving to counter the sense of place-alienation and dislocation associated with globalisation. This chapter furthers its case using empirical material from a case study of second home owners in south-east Ireland.

Ireland

ziene mottiar — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 08:48:35 PDT

Rural and Agri-Tourism in Central and Eastern Europe

Frank McMahon — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 08:48:34 PDT

The Importance of Place, Space and Culture in the Development of an Industrial Agglomeration in Ireland: The Furniture Industry in Co. Monaghan

Ziene Mottiar et al. — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:17:27 PDT

Host as Entrepreneurs: Female Commercial Home Entrepreneurs in Gaeltacht Areas in the West of Ireland

Ziene Mottiar et al. — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:44:51 PST

An Adventure in Service-Learning: Developing Knowledge, Values and Responsibility

Anto T. Kerins — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:01:42 PST

An Adventure in Service-Learning argues that education can provide not just knowledge and skills but it can also encourage the development of values and responsibility. It does so by discussing a relatively new teaching method called service-learning. Where a lecture operates through presentation and explanation and a tutorial, through discussion, questions and answers, service-learning is different.

Service-learning is a teaching method that allows students to use their classroom theory to help others through relevant service or volunteering activity. In so doing, it gives students the opportunity to use the experiences of helping others to strengthen their understanding of subject material. The volunteering or service activity thus becomes an integral part of the curriculum and learning process.

This method can be used to teach any subject from architecture to zoology. In project management, for example, students are provided with project management theory in the normal class environment. However, they are then required to manage a volunteering project so as to help strengthen their subject knowledge and skills and encourage the development of responsibility and values.

In heritage studies, on the other hand, students might be asked to classify the heritage resources in an area and provide the results to the local community through an exhibition or report. Similarly, zoology students taking a communications module could be requested to provide presentations for local schools on the importance and excitement of zoology.

Service-learning is therefore like a bridge that connects the curriculum with the outside world. It can breathe life and clarity into any subject and better prepare students for life after college.

This is a well written and easy to read book. It introduces the newcomer to service-learning and provides the seasoned practitioner with an important analysis of this most interesting of teaching methods. Its discussion of learning and the role of higher education will interest educationalists and its consideration of service will be important to those who are concerned about community.

It examines service-learning in project management, leadership and management consultancy and provides the reader with an understanding of how the method can work in any subject or discipline. In considering the nature of service it clarifies the need for community and discusses the nature and possibilities of what it means to be human.

The book is permeated with a passionate belief in education and its possibilities and will help renew and reinvigorate practitioners, policy makers and the education system as a whole.

The Role of SMEs in Tourism Development: an Industrial District Approach Applied to Killarney, Ireland

Ziene Mottiar et al. — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:32:04 PST

Learning society and low unemployment: education and training in low unemployment countries

Anto T. Kerins — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:38:09 PST

Ireland is a world leader in literature, music and well bred horses. She has also done well in economic growth, foreign trade and low inflation. However, in unemployment she is also, unfortunately, a world leader. This book approaches the jobs crisis in Ireland by reflecting on the experience of five relatively low unemployemnt nations: Austria, Japan, Norway and Sweden. This book offers a wide range of ideas and proposals on how to reduce our unemployment.

Unemployment: the need for change

Anto T. Kerins — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:19:05 PST

Unemployment is the most important problem facing Ireland today. Politicians and public servants, employers and employees, academics and ordinary citezens are becoming increasingly concerned at the large number of people without work. Most countries throughout the world share this problem with us but Ireland's level is high even by international standards. Consequently, practical and useful solutions are urgently needed. This publication brings together a number of specialists from Ireland and abroad who provide insight and proposals on various aspects of the probelm. The material in the following chapters is provided by two different groups of people- academics and public representatives.