Tourism Governance

Critical Perspectives on Governance and Sustainability

Bill Bramwell, Bernard Lane

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135723156
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

The role of governance has only recently begun to be researched and discussed in order to better understand tourism policy making and planning, and tourism development. Governance encompasses the many ways in which societies and industries are governed, given permission or assistance, or steered by government and numerous other actors, including the private sector, NGOs and communities.

This book explains and evaluates critical perspectives on the governance of tourism, examining these in the context of tourism and sustainable development. Governance processes fundamentally affect whether – and how – progress is made toward securing the economic, socio-cultural and environmental goals of sustainable development. The critical perspectives on tourism governance, examined here, challenge and re-conceptualise established ideas in tourism policy and planning, as well as engage with theoretical frameworks from other social science fields. The contributors assess theoretical frameworks that help explain the governance of tourism and sustainability. They also explore tourism governance at national, regional and local scales, and the relations between them. They assess issues of power and politics in policy making and planning, and they consider changing governance relationships over time and the associated potential for social learning. The collection brings insights from leading researchers, and examines important new theoretical frameworks for tourism research.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

Introduction

Critical research on the governance of tourism and sustainability

Bill Bramwell and Bernard Lane
Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK

Tailored and effective governance is a key requirement for implementing sustainable tourism: it can enhance democratic processes, provide direction and offer the means to make practical progress. This introduction explains how the papers in this collection provide critical assessments of the theory and practice of tourism governance and sustainability. It argues that theoretical frameworks are crucial to research on the subject as they affect the issues examined and the policy recommendations made. Several papers in the collection focus on relevant theoretical frameworks and concepts, while others consider governance at different geographical scales and the interconnections between those scales. The temporal dimensions of governance are also explored because sustainable development relates to long time horizons. Governance is also considered in relation to trade-offs, policy failures, learning processes, adaptive management, the public sphere and the principle of subsidiarity.

Introduction

This collection of papers examines the governance of tourism and sustainability. In the tourism literature, the term governance is used less frequently than the related terms of tourism politics, policy, policy-making and planning, and destination management (Dredge & Jenkins, 2007; Hall, 1994, 2008; Hall & Jenkins, 1995). While there seem to be differences between each of these terms and their tourism-related activities, they also overlap to varying degrees. For example, both planning and policy in tourism involve political debate about what the agenda is, what the issues are, who is involved or affected and the alternative courses of action that are available. The idea of governance includes within its compass all of these more established terms and activities. An understanding of these tourism activities can be enhanced by drawing on ideas from the rapidly expanding social science literature on governance (Kooiman, 2003; Rhodes, 1997). This literature often emphasises how governance cannot be understood in isolation from its relationships with society, including the societal groups that seek to influence the governance processes.

There are many potential uses of the concept of governance, and this diversity of uses exceeds any attempt to offer a short yet comprehensive account (Ruhanen, Scott, Ritchie, & Tkaczynski, 2010). Governance implies a focus on “systems of governing” and on the ways that societies are governed, ruled or “steered” (Bulkeley, 2005; Stoker, 1998). Governing systems provide means for “allocating resources and exercising control and co-ordination” (Rhodes, 1996, p. 653). Governance involves the processes for the regulation and mobilization of social action and for producing social order. According to Atkinson (2003, p. 103), governance involves processes “whereby some degree of societal order is achieved, goals decided on, policies elaborated and services delivered”. The concept of governance is seen as broader than that of government, in recognition that often it is not just the formal agencies of government that are involved in governance tasks (Goodwin & Painter, 1996). Non-state actors that can be involved in governance include actors in the business, community and voluntary sectors.

The processes of tourism governance are likely to involve various mechanisms for governing, “steering”, regulating and mobilizing action, such as institutions, decision-making rules and established practices. The forms of tourism governance can include hierarchical tiers of formal government, networks of actors beyond government, communities and also markets (Hall, 2011a). There are important power relations around tourism governance, with some groups in society, for example, having relatively more influence than others on the governance processes affecting tourism (Dredge & Jenkins, 2007; Hill, 1997). There can be significant conflicts around tourism governance as groups seek to secure their favoured policy decisions.

Tailored and effective governance is a key requirement for furthering the objectives of sustainable tourism in at least two senses. First, participation by a diverse range of actors in tourism decision-making potentially can enhance the democratic processes and ownership widely associated with sustainable development. At the local scale, for example, Mowforth and Munt (2009, p. 114) argue that “In the field of tourism, those who speak of sustainable development almost always include participation of the destination communities as one essential element or principle of that sustainability”. Sustainable tourism also usually requires effective governance processes, adjusted to specific purposes and contexts, if it is to make progress towards securing the economic, socio-cultural and environmental goals of sustainable development. Such effective governance usually entails a need for appropriate institutions, decision-making rules and established practices. Subsequently, there is also a need to develop and apply suitable instruments to implement sustainable tourism. But governance guided by sustainable tourism objectives is likely to face major obstacles. These obstacles can arise, for example, because the concerns of sustainable tourism span numerous policy domains, many relevant policies are made in other policy domains and the relevant actors are diverse and have varied interests and priorities (Bramwell, 2011).

The papers in this collection assess aspects of the governance of tourism and sustainability. They show that a focus on governance can provide helpful insights into the issues related to tourism and sustainability. The contributions explore, first, some theoretical and conceptual frameworks that can assist in understanding the governance of tourism and sustainability. Second, some papers consider tourism governance at national, regional and local scales; one explores an example of how governance at the global scale can interact with local tourism practices. The third group of papers focuses on explaining temporal change in the governance of tourism and sustainability, and on social learning within such governance processes.

Two approaches to governance

It is helpful to recognise two distinctive approaches to conducting research on governance. The first approach considers the processes for governing, “steering”, regulating and mobilizing social action that apply for the cases being studied (Bevir, 2009; Healey, 2006). The pattern of governing that arises may be led by government, but equally the state may play little or no role. In this approach, governance processes are likely to vary from case to case, but governance processes of some form will always be found. This general use of the governance concept enables researchers to explore the construction of social order, social coordination or social practices irrespective of their specific content and context.

The second approach considers that governance relates to specific trends in the roles and activities of the state in some countries following neo-liberal public sector reforms begun in the 1980s and 1990s (Bevir, 2009; Dredge & Jenkins, 2007; Shone & Memon, 2008). Typically, these reforms are said to have led to a shift from a hierarchical bureaucracy based on the state towards a greater use of networks beyond the state, as well as markets and quasi-markets. This use of the governance concept is firmly related to specific trends in the state’s activities that are said to have occurred since the late twentieth century and particularly in certain countries.

Sustainable tourism

The papers here focus on the governance of sustainable tourism. The ideas behind sustainable tourism emerged earlier, but the term became popular following the release of the Brundtland Report (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). In that context, it is often defined as tourism that meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable tourism may be regarded most basically as the application of the sustainable development idea to the tourism sector. The paper by Hall (2011b) outlines key organising ideas behind the sustainable tourism policies of the United Nations’ Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Their policies focus on three dimensions or “pillars” of sustainable development, namely economic, social-cultural and environmental sustainability, and sustainable tourism is considered to involve striking a balance between these three dimensions. For Hall, the cornerstone of their sustainable tourism policy paradigm is the notion of so-called “balance”.

There are varying views about sustainable tourism, however, as it is a socially constructed and contested concept that reflects economic interests, the ethical beliefs of different actors and the strength and effectiveness of various lobbies. Differing sustainable tourism concepts can be used by actors to achieve their socio-economic and political objectives. Weaver and Oppermann (2000, p. 353) suggest that “sustainable tourism is ... susceptible to appropriation by those wishing to pursue a particular political agenda”. The varied viewpoints and continuing debates mean that it is becoming more widely accepted that the quest for a universally applicable definition of sustainable tourism will not be successful. There are critics, for example, of the UNEP and UNWTO view of sustainable tourism based on the notion of “balance” between economic, social and environmental issues. Cater (1995) argues that the language of “balance” can be misleading as economic growth through tourism will often conflict with environmental protection, with difficult “trade-offs” needing to be made between economic, social and environmental dimensions. Hunter (2002, pp. 10–11) also asserts that the idea of “balance” may be “used to mask the reality that economic growth is generally the primary concern”. Hall (2011b) contends that in practice the so-called “balanced” approach results in continued economic growth. This may reflect a widespread pro-growth presumption within the present political–economic system. Thus, Harvey (2010, p. 27) indicates that “The current consensus among economists and within the financial press is that a ‘healthy’ capitalist economy, in which most capitalists make a reasonable profit, expands at 3 per cent per annum”.

The sustainable tourism concept has become a key discourse through which tourism industry owners and managers, environmentalists, host communities, developers, politicians and academics frame certain tourism issues (Macnaghten & Urry, 1998). In liberal democracies, debates around disputed ideas such as sustainable tourism form an essential component of the political struggle over the direction of political and socio-economic development. Sustainable tourism has been useful in encouraging dialogue between individuals with different perspectives about tourism and its economic, social and environmental dimensions (Wall, 1997). The growing societal awareness of sustainable development issues has also helped to give prominence to the economic, environmental and socio-cultural problems connected with the tourism industry, although the evidence of continued growth in tourism’s environmental impacts suggests that at best the practical achievements of sustainable tourism policies have been limited (Hall, 2011b). The burgeoning issues surrounding tourism’s role in global warming and climate change have given new urgency to the sustainable tourism dialogue (Scott, 2011).

Critical perspectives

There is no single way to undertake “critical” research on tourism. The papers assembled here offer critical perspectives on the governance of tourism and sustainability, as suggested by the title of this collection. They challenge and re-conceptualise established ideas in the field, and thus they seek to advance conceptual thinking. In a discussion about innovation in sustainable tourism research, Liburd and Edwards (2010, p. 226) assert that “Critical thinking calls for an unrelenting examination of any form of knowledge ...and underlying dogmas”. Second, the contributions engage with theoretical frameworks from other social science fields, and this “permeability” across research domains provides new insights into tourism governance (Tribe, 2007).

Third, the papers provide assessments of the importance of interests, economic forces, power, institutional arrangements and governance processes; these are key aspects of society which interest researchers in many disciplines (Bianchi, 2009; Wilson, Harris, & Small, 2008). Finally, the authors present policy-relevant research, especially in relation to sustainable tourism policies, which potentially can help to improve society and reduce adverse environmental impacts. This policy relevance can also help to inform calls for social and political change and related action (Bramwell & Lane, 2006). Here, it should be noted that the collection provides numerous assessments of the practice of tourism governance. While there is discussion of prescriptive or normative approaches, these are grounded in assessments of what has actually happened and what has been more or less valuable in practice.

The organisation of the papers

Theoretical frameworks

The first four papers in the collection focus on identifying and assessing theoretical frameworks that explore and explain the governance of tourism and sustainability. Theoretical frameworks are crucial to research on tourism governance because they influence what is studied, how it is studied, the conclusions reached, the recommendations proposed as well as the political implications of the research.

Moscardo’s (2011) paper examines the theoretical underpinnings behind the tourism policy and planning models found in the academic literature and in government and NGO guidelines. The diagrams used in these sources that visually summarise tourism policy and planning processes were subject to content analysis in order to assess their construction of knowledge. The diagrams are potentially important as they may indicate the social representations held by researchers and practitioners about how tourism should be managed and about whether and how destination residents should be involved in governance. Moscardo finds that the diagrams convey a hegemonic social representation that has altered little over the past two decades or more. She suggests that this social representation is rooted in business theory, that it encourages a reactive rather than proactive concern for sustainability and that it suggests that the core actors in tourism development processes are tourists, followed by external agents, tourism businesses and government actors. It also indicates that residents have at best a limited role in destination tourism policy and planning processes. It is argued that it is necessary to recognise this dominant social representation of tourism governance, to critically assess ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Notes on Contributors
• 1. Introduction: Critical research on the governance of tourism and sustainability
• 2. Exploring social representations of tourism planning: issues for governance
• 3. A typology of governance and its implications for tourism policy analysis
• 4. Governance, the state and sustainable tourism: a political economy approach
• 5. Event tourism governance and the public sphere
• 6. Tourism governance and sustainable national development in China: a macro-level synthesis
• 7. Rethinking regional tourism governance: the principle of subsidiarity
• 8. Death by a thousand cuts: governance and environmental trade-offs in ecotourism development at Kangaroo Island, South Australia
• 9. Climate change pedagogy and performative action: toward community-based destination governance
• 10. Global regulations and local practices: the politics and governance of animal welfare in elephant tourism
• 11. Adopting and implementing a transactive approach to sustainable tourism planning: translating theory into practice
• 12. Rethinking resort growth: understanding evolving governance strategies in Whistler, British Columbia
• 13. Policy learning and policy failure in sustainable tourism governance: from first- and second-order to third-order change?
• Index