Muslim world and its tourisms

Published Date
January 2014, Vol.44:1–19, doi:10.1016/j.annals.2013.08.011

Author 

• Jafar Jafari ^a,,
 
• Noel Scott ^b

• aSchool of Hospitality Leadership, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie WI 54751, USA
• bSchool of Tourism University of Queensland St Lucia, 4072, Australia

Available online 3 October 2013.

Abstract

The study of tourism in the Muslim world can be about religious topics such as hajjand pilgrimage, but it actually means and involves much more. Because religious life and secular life in Islam are closely intertwined, study of its tourism is also partly about its worldview and culture as well as a means of reflecting on Western concepts of travel and hedonistic tourism. This review article introduces selected aspects of Islam to non-Muslims and reviews the tourism literature to identify themes and areas for further research. In addition to scholarly goals, an understanding of the patterns and requirements of the growing numbers of Muslim travellers is of practical importance for the tourism industry. Significantly, the Muslim world provides opportunities for studying differences in policy and development decisions that can offer new insights and inform tourism by providing alternative perspectives.

Keywords

Islam

Muslim tourism

culture

religion

pilgrimage

appropriate development

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• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author.

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The absorptive capacity of tourism organisations

Published Date
September 2015, Vol.54:84–99, doi:10.1016/j.annals.2015.06.004

Author 

• Rhodri Thomas ^,
 
• Emma Wood ^1,

• Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom

Received 20 November 2014. Revised 20 April 2015. Accepted 20 June 2015. Available online 10 July 2015. Coordinating Editor: Chris Cooper

Highlights

• Absorptive capacity is an organisation’s ability to use external knowledge for competitive advantage.
• •
  A new theoretical model is suggested which is more suitable for understanding tourism organisations.
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  It is now possible to measure absorptive capacity in tourism.
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  This has important implications for policy-makers seeking to enhance the competitiveness of destinations.

Abstract 

Absorptive capacity, one of the most prominent constructs in innovation research over recent decades, has advanced theoretically without consideration for the peculiarities of tourism and tourism enterprises. At its core is the notion that an ability to acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit external knowledge generates competitive advantage. Following a review of the literature and a study of absorptive capacity in the international meetings industry, a new theoretical model is proposed. The paper also provides the means by which policy-makers might, for the first time, assess levels of absorptive capacity in destinations.

Keywords

Innovation

Innovation policy

Business events

Professional conference organisers (PCOs)

Knowledge

Destination competitiveness

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• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 (0)113 8123462.
  
  

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Links between nature-based tourism, protected areas, poverty alleviation and crises—The example of Wasini Island (Kenya)

Published Date
June 2013, Vol.1:18–28, doi:10.1016/j.jort.2013.04.004

Author 

Hubert Job ^,

Ferdinand Paesler

Institute for Geography and Geology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany

Received 24 January 2013. Revised 8 April 2013. Accepted 9 April 2013. Available online 4 May 2013.

Abstract

Nature-based tourism in protected areas of low-income countries can contribute to regional economies, reduce poverty, and help to develop rural areas. This study analyses the situation on Wasini Island, a peripheral island neighboring the Kisite Marine National Park on the southern coast of Kenya. An economic impact analysis was undertaken for the two island settlements of Mkwiro and Wasini village. Firstly, the difference in the participation in nature-based tourism is striking. For Wasini village, the results show an increased income from tourism, which has led to population growth and improved standards of living. Secondly, the comparison of two main tourism enterprises operating in Wasini village shows that tourism per se does not necessarily contribute to poverty-reduction; it is the tourist businesses' ties with the local economy that matter. Thirdly, the study finds that tourism has made other livelihoods, such as small-scale fishery and subsistence agriculture, nearly redundant. This paper also considers the impact of crises emanating from outside the island. In such a situation local economies can be more resilient if the local population can revert to earlier subsistence based modes of production.

Management implications

• Focus on a close relationship with the local population and participatory development of management options.
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  Install fair institutional arrangements.
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  Facilitate the opportunities of nature-based tourism with essential training in business skills, guiding and production of local goods and handicraft.
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  Encourage community members to avoid a total dependence on nature-based tourism by maintaining a subsistence economy for times of crises.
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  Communicate that locally embedded tourism development takes time and is unlikely to improve local economy immediately.

Keywords

Nature-based tourism

Protected areas

Poverty alleviation

Crises

Land-use change

Kenya

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  A draft version of this paper was presented at the 32nd International Geographical Congress, Cologne 2012 during a session held by the International Geographical Union Commission on Tourism, Leisure and Global Change.

• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 931 31 85552; fax: +49 931 31 85556.

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A CGE assessment of Singapore's tourism policies

Published Date
February 2013, Vol.34:25–36, doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2012.03.006

Author 

• Xianming Meng ^a,1,
• Mahinda Siriwardana ^a,,
• Tien Pham ^b,2,

• aSchool of Business, Economics and Public Policy, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
• bSchool of Tourism, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia

Received 17 August 2011. Accepted 12 March 2012. Available online 9 April 2012. 

Abstract

The extraordinary performance of the Singapore tourism industry is attributed, among other factors, to the active tourism policies of the Singapore government, but the effectiveness of Singapore tourism policies has never been quantified. By building a CGE model for the Singapore economy with an emphasis on tourism and utilising the recently published Singapore input–output tables and tourism survey data, this study has gauged economic impact of Singapore inbound tourism and the effectiveness of Singapore tourism policies based on the simulated macroeconomic and sectoral effects. The modelling results show that, in terms of both real GDP and total tourism expenditure, tourism GST deduction is the most effective policy followed by the tourism activity subsidy policy. The tourism industry subsidy policy is proven to be the least effective. Since different tourism policies have different strengths and weaknesses, a balanced and focused approach to tourism policy is suggested for policy makers.

Highlights

► This study has gauged the effectiveness of Singapore tourism policies. ► Tourism GST reduction is the most effective policy overall. ► The tourism industry subsidy policy is proven to be the least effective option. ► A balanced and focussed approach to tourism policy is suggested for policy makers.

Keywords

CGE modelling

Tourism policy

Singapore economy

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• ∗ 
  Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 2 6773 2501; fax: +61 2 6773 3596.
  
  

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