Rural Tourism : An International Perspective [1 ed.] 9781443874038, 9781443866774

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Rural Tourism

Rural Tourism: An International Perspective

Edited by

Katherine Dashper

Rural Tourism: An International Perspective, Edited by Katherine Dashper This book first published 2014 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2014 by Katherine Dashper and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-6677-6, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-6677-4

For my mam – Maureen Brady

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements .................................................................................... xi List of Tables ............................................................................................. xii List of Figures........................................................................................... xiii Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Rural Tourism: Opportunities and Challenges Katherine Dashper Part One: Defining the ‘Rural’ through Tourism Chapter One ............................................................................................... 22 Urbanity and Rurality in a Tourism Context: Exploring the Myth of Vivid Cities and Sleepy Villages Peter Möller, Maria Thulemark and Christina Engström Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 41 Producing and Consuming the Global Multifunctional Countryside: Rural Tourism in the South Island of New Zealand Michael Mackay, Harvey C. Perkins and C. Nicholas Taylor Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 59 Protect, Promote, Develop: Rural Tourism and Village Patrimonialisation in France Hélène Ducros Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 79 “There’s not a hot-dog van in sight”: Constructing Ruralities through South Australian Regional Festivals Rosie Roberts, Jodie George and Jess Pacella

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Part Two: Rural Tourism Experiences Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 98 Staging Sensescapes for Rural Experiences in Estonian Farm Tourism Enterprises Ester Bardone and Maarja Kaaristo Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 115 Transcending Neoliberalism in International Volunteering Mark Griffiths Chapter Seven.......................................................................................... 134 The Phenomenology of World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) in Hawai‘i: Farm Host Perspectives Saleh Azizi and Mary Mostafanezhad Chapter Eight ........................................................................................... 151 The Pursuit of a Sustainable Rural Event: A Case of the Hay Literary Festival (Wales, United Kingdom) Andrea Collins Part Three: Rural Tourism in Developing Countries Chapter Nine............................................................................................ 172 Packaging Culture and Heritage for Tourism to Improve Rural Lives at Lekhubu Island, Botswana Monkgogi Lenao Chapter Ten ............................................................................................. 189 Will the ‘Dancing Waves’ Bring Harmony to the Lives of the Poor? Making a Case for Pro Poor Tourism Development Planning in Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka Fazeeha Azmi Chapter Eleven ........................................................................................ 210 Wildlife Tourism Experiences: Case Studies from Rural Tanzania Emmanuel Sulle, Holti Banka, Janemary Ntalwila

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Chapter Twelve ....................................................................................... 229 Rural Tourism as a Tool of Regional Development: A Multi-Scalar Analysis of Responsible, Home Stay Tourism in Rural Peru Jane Carnaffan Part Four: Collaboration and Conflict in Rural Tourism Chapter Thirteen ...................................................................................... 250 Feeding Countryside Tourists: Exploring Collaborative Actor Strategies in Rural Denmark Pennie F Henriksen and Henrik Halkier Chapter Fourteen ..................................................................................... 267 Sustainable Tourism Development and Indigenous Communities in Malaysia Norliza Aminudin Chapter Fifteen ........................................................................................ 283 Rural Tourism Policies and Existing Conflicts in South Africa Lindisizwe M. Magi and Nothile P. Ndimande Chapter Sixteen ....................................................................................... 303 Touristification and Cultural Heritage in the Pampas: New Ruralities and Idyllic Stories of Rural Areas in the Province of Buenos Aires Cecilia Pérez Winter and Perla Zusman Part Five: Rural Tourism and Regional Development Chapter Seventeen ................................................................................... 322 Understanding the Place of Bird Watching in the Countryside: Lessons from Fair Isle R. W. Butler Chapter Eighteen ..................................................................................... 337 Rural Tourism and Regional Revitalisation in Japan: A Spotlight on Satoyama Kazem Vafadari, Malcolm Cooper and Koji Nakamura

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Chapter Nineteen ..................................................................................... 361 Not all that Glitters is Gold: Three Case Studies of Film Tourism in Rural New Zealand Anne Buchmann Chapter Twenty ....................................................................................... 375 Riding Towards Sustainable Rural Development? Promising Elements of Sustainable Practices in Equine Tourism Rhys Evans and Sylvine Pickel Chevalier Chapter Twenty-One ............................................................................... 390 ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’ from the Coast: Rural Island Tourism in the Mountains and Alternative Regional Development Vassilios Ziakas and Nikolaos Boukas Contributors ............................................................................................. 410 Index ........................................................................................................ 421

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The idea for this edited collection arose from the ‘Active countryside tourism’ conference that I helped organize in Leeds in January 2013, in association with the Tourism and Regional Development network of the Regional Studies Association. I would like to thank all participants at the event for an enjoyable and stimulating few days, particularly the network organizers Professors Henrik Halkier and Marek Kozak. Colleagues at the International Centre for Research in Events, Tourism and Hospitality at Leeds Beckett University have provided a supportive working environment and thanks go to those who reviewed chapter submissions. Particular thanks are due to the head of the research centre, Professor Rhodri Thomas, for his constant support and encouragement. I was keen for this volume to be broad and truly international in feel and so the collection took considerable time and effort to collate, and several people were instrumental in ensuring a successful outcome. Thank you to all contributors to the volume who have worked hard to produce a diverse and interesting collection. Unwavering support at home was vital, and Ian’s belief in me motivates and inspires me daily. My parents, Frank and Maureen Brady, have always been behind me in everything I do, but special thanks must go to Maureen, my mam, who proofread the entire collection, going far beyond motherly duty. I couldn’t have done it without you!

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Global diffusion Table 7.1: Summary of research participants Table 8.1: Visitor main reasons for attending the 2012 Festival Table 8.2: Summary of Ecological Footprint results for the 2012 Hay Literary Festival, Wales Table 8.3: Visitor travel and Ecological Footprint results Table 8.4: Visitor energy use in overnight accommodation Table 8.5: Visitor food and drink consumption and Ecological Footprint results Table 8.6 Comparison of Ecological Footprint results for major events and festivals in Wales Table 10.1: Tourist arrivals from 2004-2012 Table 10.2: Age and sex composition of the participants Table 10.3: Participation in tourism by employment Table 10.4: Opinion on tourism’s impacts on poverty alleviation Table 11.1: International visitor receipts in Tanzania, 1995-2012 Table 11.2: WMA income from photographic tourism Table 17.1: Significant changes affecting Fair Isle Table 18.1: Development Impact Assessment of tourism for social capital Table 18.2: Development Impact Assessment of tourism on natural capital Table 18.3: Development Impact Assessment of tourism for economic capital Table 18.4: Development Impact Assessment of tourism on attraction capital Table 21.21.1: Troodos tourism product Table 21.2: Troodos events calendar

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: The location of Sälen in Sweden, and the location of the villages and resorts in the area surrounding Sälen Figure 1.2: A conceptual model of the ‘two-dimensional’ continuum, with ‘rural-urban’ as one dimension and ‘traditional-modern’ as the other Figure 2.1: Central Otago and Cromwell District Figure 4.1: The “Keg Roll” competition Figure 4.2: ‘Yarn Bombed’ car Figure 10.1: Location of Arugam Bay Figure 10.2: Factors influencing participation Figure 11.1: Map of Enduiment WMA Figure 11.2: Map of Ololosokwan Village Figure 11.3: Revenue trends from tourism business at Ololosokwan village Figure 16.1: Province of Buenos Aires Figure 18.1: Map of the Noto Peninsula Figure 18.2: The Sustainable Livelihoods Model Figure 18.3a: A 93 year old man grows small fish in his paddy field for the guesthouse market Figure 18.3b: An old women works in a paddy field Figure 18.4: City children learn how to play traditional music in their visit to Shunran Figure 18.5: Local community hold regular meetings Figure 18.6: Utilising Satoyama Mountain forest for tourism Figure 18.7: The former elementary school in Shunran

INTRODUCTION RURAL TOURISM: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES KATHERINE DASHPER

This book will take readers on a journey around the world. From the hot plains of Tanzania to the snow-topped peaks of Sweden, this collection of case studies of rural tourism takes in diverse landscapes, peoples and practices. A goal of the collection is to give readers–students and academics–a varied and lively feel for some of the challenges, opportunities and experiences that rural tourism offers from a variety of locations around the globe. The UN has recently highlighted the quickening global trend of urbanisation, forecasting that this will accelerate further as developing nations become increasingly urban (UN, 2014). This will put extra pressure on urban resources and communities, but may also exacerbate the growing divide between urban and rural areas, in terms of economic and social development (Costa and Chalip, 2005). Rural regions are already experiencing fundamental challenges to their ways of life and social fabric, as traditional land-based occupations are in decline and younger and better educated rural residents migrate to cities for greater work, social and cultural opportunities (Butler, et al., 1998; Briedenhann and Wickens, 2004; Bock, 2006). Rural tourism offers a possible solution to some of the problems associated with lost economic opportunities and population decline that accompany the waning of agriculture. Many governments and regional authorities have embraced rural tourism as an opportunity to bring new money into rural regions, stimulating growth, providing employment opportunities and thus beginning to halt rural decline (Briedenhann and Wickens, 2004; Gulcan et al., 2009; Dimitrovski et al., 2012). Rural tourism offers many opportunities including accommodation and other service provision, showcasing of local culture and heritage, and active countryside pursuits, the latter of which may be well-placed to capitalise

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Introduction

on the move away from mass tourism products and a consumer desire for more niche and tailored offerings (see Evans and Pickel Chevalier, this volume). The last 25 years has seen a growth in active countryside tourism as increasingly urban populations seek relaxation and leisure in rural areas. Ranging from traditional countryside pursuits, such as walking, horse riding, and bird watching, to the increasingly popular ‘adventure sports’ or ‘extreme sports’, such as snowboarding, windsurfing and kayaking, rural regions offer the required natural resources and quiet, picturesque settings necessary to enable tourists to experience rurality and, frequently, controlled risk and excitement as an alternative to the perceived pressures and constraints of urban life (Costa and Chalip, 2005; Butler, this volume). This may offer rural regions new opportunities for development and regeneration. However, the possibilities of rural tourism to promote rural regeneration have been criticised for being over-stated and unrealistic (Roberts and Hall, 2001). Rural tourism has frequently been found to under-deliver in terms of expected economic benefits and job creation, and may exacerbate social and economic inequalities, and rural communities often lack the skills and experience required to successfully attract and satisfy tourists (Costa and Chalip, 2005). Miller et al. (2010: 10) argue that rural tourism is not “a magic panacea” for overcoming the complex and deep-rooted problems facing rural regions around the world, however it may provide one avenue, amongst others, for rural growth and (re)development. This compilation of research-driven case studies includes contributions from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America and Oceania. Two seemingly conflicting conclusions can be drawn from the following chapters. Firstly, rural tourism, and rural areas in which such practices take place, are diverse, heterogeneous and constantly changing (McAreavey and McDonagh, 2010; Roberts et al., this volume). Therefore, it is more appropriate to speak of ‘ruralities’ in plural form when discussing the places, spaces and practices of rural tourism, than to the use the singular term ‘rurality’ which implies homogeneity. Whether speaking of the ‘countryside’ that plays host to rural tourists, or to the people who take part (tourists, hosts and other key stakeholders), or to the activities and experiences that constitute rural tourism practices, this collection depicts the diversity and vibrancy of rural tourism in different geographic, social and cultural contexts. However, whilst these contributions clearly illustrate diversity and difference in rural tourism practices and experiences they also demonstrate several similarities that appear to characterise rural

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tourism regardless of local context and specificity. The interplay between ‘nature’ (as characterised by the physical environment) and ‘culture’ (as characterised by tourism practices and experiences) is a key element of rural tourism that attracts tourists, offers opportunities for developing appealing and distinctive tourism products and offerings, and contributes to the sustainability of rural communities in the face of changing economic, social and cultural patterns and widespread rural restructuring. As several contributions to this collection illustrate, this offers rural communities and tourism entrepreneurs opportunities for rural tourism development. However, the delicate relationship between physical environment, local culture and society, and global tourism is difficult to manage and can result in environmental degradation, community disengagement and uneven development. Careful planning, monitoring and management is needed to ensure that the environment and local communities are not harmed by tourism development, but rather benefit from such processes (see Collins, this volume). If rural tourism is to be championed by governments, NGOs and multilateral organisations such as the United Nations as a mechanism for rural development in developing countries and as a tool to try and reduce rural decline in industrialised nations then critical consideration of the positive and negative aspects of rural tourism for a host of stakeholders is necessary to inform debates, policies and practices. This collection contributes to such discussions by providing evidence and insight from a variety of rural contexts around the world. This introductory chapter sets the scene for the following empirical case studies and examinations of rural tourism by discussing several key issues that underpin rural tourism development, experiences and practices.

What is ‘rural tourism’? Fundamental to discussions of any phenomena is some shared understanding of the concepts or issues involved, however such consensus is often difficult to achieve and this is certainly the case for rural tourism. Difficulties in defining rural tourism have led to difficulties in measuring its impacts at local, regional, national and international levels and reflect the diversity of definitions of both ‘rural’ and ‘rural tourism’ used in different countries and regions (Hall et al., 2003). Sharpley and Roberts (2004: 119) describe rural tourism as “a dynamic phenomenon”, yet more specific definitions have proven illusive and often unsatisfactory. A contributing aspect to difficulties in defining the phenomenon known broadly as ‘rural tourism’ is the contested nature of the ‘rural’ which itself

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Introduction

defies easy classification, as distinctions between ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ become increasingly blurred (see Möller et al., this volume). Rural tourism is tourism that takes place in the ‘countryside’, but what constitutes the ‘countryside’ varies significantly between, and even within, countries, an issue picked up further below and in the first section of this edited collection (see also Lane, 2009). Perhaps the most influential attempt to define rural tourism is that offered by the OECD, prepared in collaboration with Bernard Lane (see Lane, 1994, 2009). This definition describes rural tourism as a discrete activity with distinctive characteristics, such as its scale, location and character. In his seminal 1994 paper, Lane described a typology of rural tourism ranging from ‘pure rural’ to that situated on the urban fringe. He suggested that demand for rural tourism is directly related to the specific characteristics of rural areas (such as location, physical environment etc.) and that the principle motivation of tourists for visiting the countryside is to experience ‘rurality’. This typology has proven influential in the development of rural tourism research. Sharpley and Roberts (2004) suggest expanding the typology to include any form of tourism in a rural area, including activities in which the rural location is just a backdrop to the primary activity. Defining rural tourism is important in policy terms and for individual regions and businesses that seek funding, market positioning and effective promotion (Lane, 2009). However, for many rural tourists and for people living in the countryside official definitions relating to features such as population density, land use and social structures have little relevance to their experiences of rural tourism. As Argent (2011: 184) points out, there are “many different rurals” and different people imagine and experience rural spaces in different ways. The ‘countryside’ has frequently been idealised and represented through a nostalgic lens as a timeless space in which life is somehow simpler, purer and easier than the hectic lifestyles of most people in modern urban settings (Bunce, 1994; Butler and Hall, 1998; Sharpley and Jepson, 2011). This idealistic, mythical representation of the rural has proven effective in terms of rural tourism marketing (see Durcos, this volume). However users of the countryside are constantly redefining what constitutes ‘rurality’ and the diversity of rural landscapes, and tourism and recreation activities that take place in rural spaces, require a more nuanced understanding of the countryside beyond the ‘rural idyll’ as an escape from urban sprawl (Roberts and Hall, 2004). Contributions to this collection reflect the contested nature of both ‘rural’ and ‘rural tourism’. As well as being places of natural beauty, rural spaces can also often be understood as masculinised spaces, characterised

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by poverty and inequality, features which tourism can exacerbate (Saugeres, 2002; Scheyvens, 2007). Rural places are not always characterised by the peace and tranquillity of western idealistic myths of the countryside, and also include noisy, dirty and even ugly spaces, as argued by Magi and Ndimande in relation to rural tourism in South Africa (this volume), highlighting the importance of an international perspective in helping to avoid hegemonic western ideas being taken and represented as normal and universal. Rural tourism can thus be usefully understood as a social construction, continually being (re)defined by a variety of stakeholders and showing vast variation between different localities, cultures and practices.

Rural change and rural tourism A striking feature characterising rural areas across the world has been the pace and rate of change. The countryside was traditionally a place of production, dominated by farming, but changes in farming practices, mechanisation and the influences of globalisation have profoundly affected the fabric of rural communities, which have increasingly shifted from being production spaces to consumption spaces, in which tourism plays an important role (Marsden, 1998; McAreavey and McDonagh, 2010). Rural restructuring, as a result of these changes in agriculture, has had significant effects on the social and cultural make-up of rural communities. Out-migration, especially of young people, has been a common practice as people seek work in urban areas to replace now-lost land-based occupations (Butler et al., 1998; Vafadari et al., this volume). Some rural regions in western countries have seen an influx of new wealthy residents from urban and semi-urban areas who seek leisure and relaxation in the countryside, a form of rural gentrification (Sutherland, 2012). These changes have affected the cohesion and vitality of many rural communities. The post-productionist countryside is characterised by mutlifunctionality (Mackay et al., this volume). Still spaces of (often limited) production through drastically changed agricultural practices, many rural areas are now also ‘places to play’ for relatively wealthy, often urban, citizens (Sutherland, 2012). Rural regions have seen increases in the number of tourists visiting, in the variety of recreational activities on offer for tourists, and in the nature of those activities, shifting from passive enjoyment of rural environments to also include more active, technological and resource-intensive activities, such as adventure sports (Butler et al., 1998; Roberts and Hall, 2004). These changes in the characteristics of

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Introduction

rural tourism require rural communities to provide high levels of service and often specialist skills and support. Such expertise is not always available within rural communities without significant investment in training and education, which is often not forthcoming, especially in poor rural communities. This limits the ability of these communities to get involved in and benefit from rural tourism opportunities (see Azmi, this volume). Tourism has been seen as a key mechanism for revitalising rural communities and has been supported by local and national governments across the world, including in western countries, such as Portugal and France (Costa and Chalip, 2005; Durcos, this volume), throughout the former Soviet nations of Eastern Europe (Dimitrovski et al., 2012; Bardone and Kaaristo, this volume) and in many developing countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and South America (Briedenhann and Wickens, 2004; Lenao, this volume), with varying degrees of success. There are examples of cases where rural tourism development has directly benefited local communities economically and socially, such as through helping to preserve regional identity and local traditions and keeping young people in rural regions (Gulcan, et al., 2009; Dimitrovski et al., 2012; Aminudin, this volume). But rural tourism development has often been limited by poor planning, lack of infrastructure and inward investment, and corruption (Macbeth et al., 2004; Carnaffan, this volume). While tourism development can bring positive social and economic benefits to rural communities careful planning, community involvement and transparency are essential at all stages. Hall et al. (2003) argue that tourism works best in areas with a thriving and diverse rural economy in which tourism is just one amongst many regeneration strategies. Without this, tourism development can intensify inequality, as several contributions to this volume illustrate.

Key stakeholders in rural tourism Rural tourism is not a magic solution to the problems faced by many rural areas, but it does offer opportunities for economic growth, social and cultural development and enhancing community cohesion. There is a wide range of stakeholders involved, including tourists, tour operators, businesses, local communities and a variety of organisations and agencies (including governments), but the interests of these groups often differ markedly (Cawley and Gillmor, 2008). There is often little common ground between different rural stakeholders, leading to conflict and uneven development (Argent, 2011). Powerful stakeholders – such as

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large private companies – have more resources (economic, social and cultural) to invest in rural tourism development, and so their interests often take precedence over less powerful groups, such as poor local communities. Indeed focusing primarily on tourism development, over other forms of development, has in some cases increased divisions and hierarchies in rural communities and reinforced inequalities, with transnational corporations and non-local business elites benefiting disproportionately in relation to local communities (Torres and Mornsen, 2005). As mentioned above, rural tourism development is often characterised by poor planning, inadequate infrastructure and limited connectedness between different stakeholders, and this limits progress and the equitable spread of any associated benefits (Fons et al., 2011). Rural tourism development, then, is strongly influenced by the negotiation of power relationships between different stakeholders, and this makes it somewhat problematic as a tool of regional development and poverty alleviation (Cawley and Gillmor, 2008). An important element in rural tourism development is ensuring community involvement and support at all stages of the process, but this too is difficult to ensure (Latkova and Vogt, 2012). There is a tendency in some rural tourism research to view ‘the local community’ as a homogenous group with similar stakes in tourism development, but this is rarely the case. Communities are diverse social groupings, and the interests of young people, women and poorer families and individuals are often sidelined and not adequately taken into account in development processes, leading to feelings of exclusion, isolation and even resentment (Petrzelka et al., 2005; Azmi; Lenao, this volume). A community approach to tourism development can begin to overcome some of these issues when the opinions and needs of a broad section of the local community are sought and attended to, and when local communities are supported through the provision of adequate resources from local government and funders, good leadership, access to information and networks, and training and technical assistance (Wilson et al., 2001). There are examples that demonstrate that it is possible to share the benefits of rural tourism development relatively equitably amongst local community members as the examples of Peru and Japan illustrate within this volume (Carnaffan; Vafadari et al., this volume). Within developing countries the difficulties of trying to ensure local people benefit from tourism development are particularly pronounced and urgent. The World Bank (2014) reports that 70% of the world’s poorest people live in rural areas, predominantly across Africa and South East Asia, and that these people are suffering from degradation of land and

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Introduction

water supplies, and reduced returns for their traditional exports of crops like coffee and bananas (Scheyvens, 2011). For these regions, tourism seems to offer a rare opportunity for growth, but the challenge remains of how to ensure those opportunities are shared fairly. The Pro Poor Tourism framework (PPT) was developed to try and ensure that poor people do receive net gains from rural tourism development in their area (see Azmi, this volume). This is certainly a laudable goal, and the concentration on private sector involvement in development has made the PPT framework into an attractive proposition for governments and agencies, but there is limited evidence to show that PPT does in fact benefit poor people more than business and non-local elites (Goodwin, 2009; Scheyvens, 2011). Poor communities often have little choice but to accept short-term economic benefits over protecting the long-term sustainability of their livelihoods as the pressures of poverty take precedence over other less immediate concerns (Briedenhann and Wickens, 2004; Sulle et al., this volume). The PPT framework argues that for poor people to really gain from tourism development, large-scale international change is needed, often at the level of private companies and investors (Goodwin, 2009). These kinds of changes – such as improvements in wages and working conditions – have not been forthcoming, so the extent to which poor people are benefiting from tourism development is limited (Scheyvens, 2011). Tourists themselves are important stakeholders in rural tourism development, and tourist demand for more niche experiences has influenced how the industry has developed over recent years. Increased demand for ecotourism, ethical tourism and volunteer tourism all have potential to challenge dominant norms within the industry and possibly move towards more equitable sharing of the benefits between different stakeholder groups (see Azizi and Mostafanezhad, this volume). However, these forms of tourism are themselves not without their issues, and tourist desires to experience ‘difference’, even sometimes to witness poverty, are interpreted by some commentators as a form of neo-colonialism which once again disempowers poor communities (Spenceley and Mayor, 2012; Griffiths, this volume). However, although tourism development, including that which is following an explicitly PPT framework, is problematic and does not do enough to benefit poor communities, it is a possible avenue for growth and a beacon of hope for many poor communities trying to pull themselves out of poverty (Scheyvens, 2011). With strong government support, pressure on private corporations and ethical choices by tourists, poor people may benefit from rural tourism

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development, although this alone may not be a route out of poverty (Scheyvens, 2007). Rural tourism is a growing phenomenon, popular with domestic and international tourists around the world. Communities and regions in countries as diverse as Cyprus and Argentina are developing rural tourism initiatives based around distinctive physical, social and cultural attributes of the local area (see Perez Winter; Ziakas and Boukas, this volume). Drawing on local resources, such as film locations and local food specialities, rural regions are trying to carve out a tourism niche within a crowded and dynamic global tourism market (see Buchmann; Henriksen and Halkier, this volume). These initiatives are experiencing varying degrees of success, and encountering many problems and issues along the way. The chapters in this volume illustrate the complexity of rural tourism from the perspectives of a variety of stakeholders, including tourists, local communities, and regional authorities.

Outline of the book This collection is divided into five key themes: defining the ‘rural’ through tourism; rural tourism experiences; rural tourism in developing countries; collaboration and conflict in rural tourism; and, rural tourism and regional development.

Defining the ‘rural’ through tourism As stated above, definitions of ‘rural’ are contested, depending on what measures are applied. Tourism plays a role in helping to define and redefine rural areas and the four chapters in this section illustrate various ways in which tourism impacts on understandings of the ‘rural’ and ruralities. Peter Möller, Maria Thulemark and Christina Engström begin by questioning divisions between ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ and the role that tourism plays in maintaining or breaking down these divisions. Using the example of the Swedish skiing resort of Sälen they argue that this division is often untenable and that regions which would be characterised as rural in relation to environmental characteristics and population density often do not feel rural in terms of the atmosphere, culture and people’s attitudes. Möller et al. suggest that it is tourism that makes supposedly rural places like Sälen feel more urban and suggest that Sälen embodies a ‘modern rurality’ that exhibits a complex mix of rural and urban characteristics. They produce a two-dimensional model for understanding the interplay

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Introduction

between place, tourism and rurality/urbanity, along axes of rural-urban and traditional-modern. Where a place fits along these axes will vary in relation to time, space, and which stakeholders it is applied to. Michael Mackay, Harvey Perkins and C Nicholas Taylor consider how the countryside has changed as a result of powerful social and economic forces at local, national and global levels. Once primarily about production, the countryside is now also about the consumption of commodities, services, lifestyle products and experiences. Their case study of Cromwell District, Central Otago in the South Island of New Zealand is representative of a community in transition. Mackay et al. present Cromwell District as a clear example of the emergence of a global multifunctional countryside, in which tourism plays an important role. They argue that tourism growth in such areas “is allied to, and often dependent on, other economic and cultural activities, and thus rural activities, and the spaces in which they occur, are co-dependent and complex” (p.55) – characteristic of the emergent global multifunctional countryside. Hélène Ducros uses the example of the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of France to explore how ideas of rurality have developed over time and are now being repackaged and resold to attract tourists to the countryside. The ways in which the Association is drawing on the unique relationship between French people and the countryside is an example of how rural heritage tourism can be used as a lever for rebirth and socio-economic growth. The Association relies heavily on the ‘myth of the rural’ to encourage French tourists to (re)connect with their pays. In such ways the Association serves as both a protector of rural France and actually prescribes norms about how a French rural village should be, and thus “constructs a new imaginary and creates a new rural reality” (p.73). Although Ducros shows that this is a very French phenomenon, it is interesting to note that the model has been picked up and adopted by several other countries, illustrative of the important role of rural spaces in “the tug between the local and the global” (p.75) within and beyond France. In the fourth chapter in this section Rosie Roberts, Jodie George and Jess Pacella explore the links between rural festivals, place-based identities and tourism. Arguing that “issues of belonging and what it means to be local are critical to rural contexts” (p.83) they use case studies of three very different rural festivals to consider how events can highlight “often contradictory and diverse representations of what it means to be ‘rural’” (p.94). Their case studies raise interesting questions about inclusion and exclusion, power and belonging in rural places. Roberts et

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al. argue that the rural is not only about tradition, pastiche and nostalgia but also increasingly about exclusivity and high-end, boutique experiences. Rural events and festivals bring many of these issues to the fore and highlight the diversity of rural places and the people who live in and visit them.

Rural tourism experiences Tourism is often understood as a form of escapism from the mundane pressures of everyday life, and this may be particularly true of rural tourism, where the combination of an often idealised notion of the ‘rural’ as simple and easy is combined with the fun and relaxation of ‘tourism’ and holidaying. The chapters in this section explore the experiences of rural tourism from the perspectives of both tourists and hosts. Ester Bardone and Maarja Kaaristo draw on the concept of ‘sensescapes’ to consider how “the practices of farm tourism emerge from particular embodied encounters, from particular activities that both hosts and guests perform” (p.100). Based on fieldwork conducted in southern Estonia they use Tim Edensor’s (2006) conceptualisation of ‘staging’ to draw attention to the social constructedness and the agency of individual actors within tourism encounters. Bardone and Kaaristo illustrate how tourism farmers act as ‘directors’ who stage different environments for their guests producing certain sensescapes, such as naturescapes, foodscapes and saunascapes, which form an important part of these rural tourism experiences. Mark Griffiths uses narrative techniques to create a stimulating and provoking account of encounters between young western volunteers and a small rural community in India. His creative approach evokes the feelings, sights and smells of these experiences, from the perspectives of the volunteer tourists. He shows how the Westerners and the Others (i.e. the local community) start out as different, strange and incomprehensible to each other, yet over time and through mainly non-verbal communication they reach some level of understanding and mutual care. Griffiths argues that volunteer tourism in poor rural areas is “inflected with issues of power, be it in the guise of race, gender or neoliberalism” (p.125) but also, and crucially, shows how “in these spaces we bear witness to moments that defy these maleficent presences of power” (p.125). His evocative account challenges researchers to “write affectively” in order to try and produce an account that “both documents and performs disruptive affective moments” (p.125).

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Introduction

Saleh Azizi and Mary Mostafanezhad use a phenomenological approach to consider the experiences of farm hosts involved in World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) in Hawai’i. Their chapter illustrates how “the economic intersects in interesting ways with the desire to decommodify rural tourism” (p.138) as both hosts and volunteers share interest in organic farming and alternative lifestyles. The farm hosts in their study all consider their farm operations as “some form of political and/or social activism” (p.140) and are keen to share their views, philosophies, knowledge and experiences with the young people who come to volunteer on their farms. Azizi and Mostafanezhad show various ways in which the lived experiences of hosts on small organic farms in Hawai’i are influenced both by their desire to share their outlook, principles and practices of sustainability, and by the economic necessity to rely on the labour of WWOOF volunteers to help them to continue their lifestyles, factors that are sometimes contradictory and problematic for farm hosts. Andrea Collins introduces questions of environmental sustainability in her case study of the Hay Literary Festival in Wales, UK. She uses the Ecological Footprint to assess the environmental impact of visitors attending this large literary event, held over 11 days in a small rural town. Collins suggests that environmental impacts of events have received less attention than economic and social impacts, but the organisers of this particular festival are explicitly committed to a sustainable approach and to trying to be environmentally friendly, making this an interesting and relevant case study. The Ecological Footprint offers an “aggregated measure of the global environmental impact of different visitor-related consumption activities, and can also assess the additional environmental impact of visitor consumption” (p.166), making it a useful tool for event organisers, tourism planners and policy makers. Collins found that travel made the biggest impact at this event, due to the rural location and poor public transport. She argues that events held in rural areas may have a bigger environmental impact than those held in urban areas, due to differences in infrastructure related to transport, accommodation and other service provision.

Rural tourism in developing countries As stated above, tourism has often been touted as the saviour of many poor rural areas and as an effective tool to raise communities out of poverty, even though the evidence for the efficacy of such goals is limited (Scheyvens, 2011). The chapters in this section draw on case studies of

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rural tourism initiatives in developing countries to consider the extent to which rural tourism development does indeed benefit poor local communities. Monkgogo Lenao uses the example of Lekhubu Island, Botsawana to consider questions of community involvement and power relations in the context of rural tourism development. Botswana benefits hugely from tourism, but those benefits tend to be concentrated in game-rich regions and are not equably shared across the country. There is also high economic leakage, as many tour operators are foreign-owned and employ predominantly foreign personnel. Lenao’s case study is based in a region away from the game hotspots, with little wildlife to attract international tourists. Lekhubu Island is a community-based tourism site which the local community do largely manage themselves, but it has consistently failed to make profits and remains dependent on external donor support, limiting any economic benefits for the local community. Lenao shows how unrealistic expectations and feelings of exclusion within sections of the community (particularly young people, women and elderly locals) combine to reduce community support for the project. Fazeeha Azmi presents a case study of Arugum Bay, a small fishing village in eastern Sri Lanka, with beautiful beaches but a distance from the main tourism hubs of the country. She questions the extent to which a Pro Poor Tourism (PPT) approach is being implemented in Arugum Bay, if and how local poor people are involved in tourism development in the area, and what can be done to increase the involvement of, and consequently the benefits accrued to, local poor people. She highlights issues to do with education, assets, financial issues, power and middlemen as barriers to poor people’s involvement in tourism development in the region and shows how although some local poor people – especially the young – do believe they are benefitting from tourism development, many feel that their traditional livelihoods and ways of life are threatened, consigning them to remain in poverty. Azmi argues that much greater government support and investment in things like human resource development are needed if local poor people are to benefit from tourism development in Arugum Bay. Emmanuel Sulle, Holti Banka and Janemary Ntalwila present case studies of wildlife tourism in Tanzania to question the extent to which local communities feel involved and see benefits from tourism development on and adjacent to their village lands. Community-based wildlife tourism projects have been established in Tanzania for nearly two decades, with the aims of enhancing revenue from tourism ventures, reducing poverty and promoting rural participation in wildlife

14

Introduction

conservation initiatives. Sulle et al.’s case studies show that despite these laudable aims, the local communities they studied do not feel they benefit adequately from tourism development on their lands, as the government over taxes them and does little to compensate the community for losses – of crops, livestock and people – from wildlife attacks. In the absence of concrete benefits, the community is not incentivised to participate in conservation efforts and further tourism development. Jane Carnaffan uses the example of responsible home stay tourism in rural Peru to argue that “the contingencies of tourism itself increase socioeconomic differentiation and conflict within communities” (p.230). She questions the extent to which this home stay tourism can be considered responsible and a more equitable way of sharing tourism benefits beyond the centres, a stated goal of the Peruvian government. She shows how the benefits of tourism in these rural regions tend to be limited to areas closer to developed tourism centres, and that local elites are better connected and already have the necessary resources to benefit more from tourism development in their region than do poorer groups and individuals. Traditions of reciprocity in Peru go some way towards mitigating some of these inequalities, but Carnaffan argues that NGOs and other investors help to reinforce local hierarchies and inequalities by preferring to work with elites who already have better education, language skills and contacts for developing tourism in their region.

Collaboration and conflict in rural tourism Many researchers have pointed to the importance of networks and collaboration in successful rural tourism development, yet there are numerous examples of conflict that occur as a result of tourism growth and expansion in the countryside. The chapters in this section consider various ways in which rural tourism development can be a source of both improved collaboration and increased conflict in rural areas. Pennie F. Henriksen and Henrik Halkier consider if and how foodrelated actors collaborate to grow markets for local food as part of the tourism experience and visitor economy. Their study involved interviews with three groups in Skive, Denmark – small producers of local quality food; distributors of local food (shops, restaurants); and, local public bodies. Applying a network approach they argue that the development of food tourism “is not just a marketing exercise but also presupposes the creation and maintenance of a local cross-sectoral food experience chain that brings together actors from both the food and tourism industries.” (p.251). Their findings suggest that the market for local food is local

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people more than tourists and that this affects what local food is produced, promoted and sold. Henriksen and Halkier argue that a network approach can be successful in developing local food experiences for local residents and tourists, despite problems with small-scale production and logistics. Norliza Aminudin uses an ethnographic approach to consider how different tribes and subtribes of indigenous peoples interact with tourism in Peninsula Malaysia, and the impacts this interaction (or lack thereof) have on their traditional ways of life. Her research covers four different tribes who exhibit differing degrees of direct and indirect involvement in tourism, which is rapidly developing around them. Many indigenous communities in Malaysia are living in poverty, and involvement in tourism may be one factor in trying to overcome this. Some of the tribes that Aminudin has studied show direct involvement in tourism and argue that this involvement actually helps them sustain aspects of their traditional lifestyles. Other tribes choose not to be directly involved in tourism, but due to the rapid development of tourism throughout the country few can avoid some degree of indirect involvement and contact with tourists. Aminudin argues that whatever their chosen level of involvement in tourism, indigenous peoples are valuable partners in helping to sustain the forest and natural environment and that their local knowledge and experience will prove invaluable for future efforts at sustainable development. Lindisizwe M. Magi and Nothile P. Ndimande address the extent to which rural tourism policies in South Africa have led to conflict. The changing social and political world of South Africa has impacted on rural tourism development. The rural in South Africa was long associated with Black communities, and thus had a low status, and this image is proving difficult to shed. South Africa is now hoping rural tourism will help reduce rural poverty, as is the goal in many developing countries, but Magi and Ndimande question the extent to which rural tourism development is benefiting local communities. They point out that much of rural South Africa bears little resemblance to the rural idyll sold to tourists and show, through two complementary studies, how the attitudes of management and officials to rural tourism development contrast sharply with those of local communities. They argue that for rural tourism to contribute to poverty alleviation there needs to be greater commitment and “willingness to involve and empower the local communities” (p.299). Cecelia Pérez Winter and Perla Zusman explore how romanticised narratives of the past have been valorised through tourism and heritage processes “to establish a bond between an idealised rural past and the rural present” (p.313) in the provinces of Buenos Aries. They argue that these

16

Introduction

are political processes that create an idealised reality for tourism consumption, but represent predominantly male and local elite values, leading to other groups and individuals becoming obscured and invisible within these constructed narratives. Pérez Winter and Zusman suggest that these heritage and tourism practices are closely linked to the ways in which Argentine identity has been shaped, contested and developed over the last few hundred years: European connections are stressed whilst the roles of Afro-Argentines and women are effectively erased. They argue that there are often “clashes between the logics of the tourist business and the logics of identity” (p.315) but “tourists seem to accept the provided narratives and imaginations” (p.316) causing us to question further the role of tourism in both the preservation and distortion of local identities.

Rural tourism and regional development Rural tourism is often used as a tool to help develop, and redevelop, different regions. The contributions in this final section consider how different niche tourism offerings are being developed and promoted by different regions in attempts to differentiate themselves within the highlycompetitive global tourism market. Richard Butler uses the unusual example of Fair Isle to consider how a niche tourism activity, bird watching in this case, has been “responsible for the transformation of the economy of a small isolated island” (p.322). Fair Isle’s economy was once based on subsistence agriculture, and would have become unable to continue to support a viable resident community if it were not for the area’s attraction as a site for migratory birds, and the consequent careful development of tourism associated with this niche interest. Butler first researched this island community in 1962/3 and returned again in 2012/3 so is able to offer insight into how bird watching and tourism have changed the community over time. Fair Isle has seen continuous growth in bird watching tourism over the last half century and local residents have a good understanding of the needs and motivations of visitors, but this growth has been steady and, by most standards, limited an important factor in acceptance from residents of this small community. Butler argues that Fair Isle offers “an all too rare example of effective sustainability” (p.326) and is “a somewhat unique successful integration of tourism into a community in economic, social and environmental terms” (p.334). Kazem Vafadari, Malcolm Cooper and Koji Nakamura’s chapter looks at the effectiveness of tourism as a regional development strategy in rural Japan, a region with an ageing population and high levels of out-migration

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of younger people. The Japanese concept of Satoyama applies to a particular type of landscape in which traditional rural elements are managed alongside human settlements in ways that benefit both. Vafadari et al.’s case study of Shunran-no-sato uses the Sustainable Livelihoods Model to show how rural tourism can be a path for regional development and revitalisation in the Satoyama landscape, but only if there is strong community involvement. Such development may prove to be an effective tool in countering some of the problems of an ageing population and declining services and thus shows that in some cases “tourism development is both part of a broader concept of rural development and a facilitator of particular activities within a community” (p.358). Anne Buchmann focuses on film tourism and presents three case studies based in rural New Zealand to consider if and how this particular niche form of tourism can help rural places become better known internationally and thus gain some economic benefits from tourism. Hobbiton, a location associated with both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies is an example of successful film tourism development, and continues to attract large numbers of visitors daily. The Last Samurai Village has proven less successful with tourists, despite having welldeveloped attractions and infrastructure, possibly as a result of its remote location. The Whale Rider locations have proven enduringly popular, as they connect to Maori culture and are perceived by many tourists as representative of what New Zealand really ‘is’. Through these three case studies, Buchmann argues that the combined presence of an internationally successful film showing stunning locations and backed up by good planning and marketing does not guarantee film tourism success, although film images can be used effectively by some rural locations as part of a wider strategy. Rhys Evans and Sylvine Pickel Chevalier consider the potential of another niche form of tourism – equine tourism, this time – to support sustainable development in the countryside. Based on case studies in France and in the Nordic countries they question whether equine tourism can be considered a form of sustainable tourism, and thus of economic, social and environmental value in specific regional contexts. They present various ways in which equine tourism and horses more generally have contributed to economic, social and environmental development in the regions studied. Evans and Pickel Chevalier suggest that equine tourism may be an effective form of sustainable tourism development for small regions, such as the village of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue, France, but question its effectiveness across bigger areas due to poor

18

Introduction

networking, lack of professionalism and poor co-ordination between public and private actors. The final contribution to this broad collection from Vassilios Ziakas and Nikolaos Boukas questions the effectiveness of rural tourism to “substantially diversify the tourism product of an island and enhance its authenticity” (p.405). Their case study of Troodos, a mountain region which is marketed as ‘The Green Heart of Cyprus’, illustrates an attempt to diversify the tourism offerings of an island away from the coast. Ziakas and Boukas draw on research conducted with tourism planners in order to consider the factors that both contribute to and restrict the development of Troodos as an attractive tourism destination. The development of tourism in Troodos represents an attempt to “reposition Cyprus on the international tourist map” (p.400) as an all-season destination with more to offer than just sun, sea and sand. This kind of tourism may offer tourists a more ‘authentic’ experience, but development is currently restricted by lack of cohesion, organisation and communication, a shortage of volunteers and clashes between the perspectives of local communities and planners. This collection of case studies is intentionally broad and is no way intended to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for students, academics and practitioners working within the field of rural tourism. However, the contributions reflect the diversity of current research related to rural tourism and highlight many opportunities and challenges that arise from attempts to understand and utilise tourism as a mechanism for rural development, sustainability and vitality in varied environmental, social, cultural and political contexts.

References Argent, N. (2011) Trouble in paradise? Governing Australia’s multifunctional rural landscapes. Australian Geographer. 42(2): 183205. Bock, B. (2006) Introduction: Rural gender studies in North and South. In B. Bock and S. Shortall (eds) Rural gender relations: Issues and case studies. Wallingford: CABI Publishing, 1-15. Briedenhann, J. and Wickens, E. (2004) Tourism routes as a tool for the economic development of rural areas: Vibrant hope or impossible dream? Tourism Management. 25: 71-79. Bunce, M. (1994) The countryside ideal: Anglo-American images of landscape. London: Routledge.

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Butler, R. and Hall, C.M. (1998) Image and reimaging rural areas. In R. Butler, C. M. Hall and J. Jenkins (eds) Tourism and recreation in rural areas. Chichester: Wiley and Sons, 115-122. Butler, R., Hall, C.M. and Jenkins, J. (1998) Introduction. In R. Butler, C. M. Hall and J. Jenkins (eds) Tourism and recreation in rural areas. Chichester: Wiley and Sons, 3-16. Cawley, M. and Gillmor, D.A. (2008) Integrated rural tourism: Concepts and practices. Annals of Tourism Research. 35(2): 316-337. Costa, C.A. and Chalip, L. (2005) Adventure sport tourism in rural revitalisation: An ethnographic evaluation. European Sport Management Quarterly. 5(3): 257-279. Dimitrovski, D.D., Todorovic, A.T. and Valjarevic, A.D. (2012) Rural tourism and regional development: Case study of development of rural tourism in the region of Gruza, Serbia. Procedia Environmental Science. 14: 288-297. Edensor, T. (2006) Performing rurality. In P. Cloke, T. Marsden and P. Mooney (eds) Handbook of rural studies. London: Sage, 484-495. Fons, M.V.S., Fierro, J.A.M. and Gomez y Patino, M. (2011) Rural tourism: A sustainable alternative. Applied Energy. 88: 551-557. Goodwin, H. (2009) Reflections on 10 years of Pro Poor Tourism. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events. 1(1): 90-94. Gulcan, Y., Kustepeli, Y. and Akgungor, S. (2009) Public policies and development of the tourism industry in the Aegean region. European Planning Studies. 17(10): 1509-1523. Hall. D., Roberts, L. and Mitchell, M. (2003) Tourism and the countryside: Dynamic relationships. In D. Hall, L. Roberts and M. Mitchell (eds) New directions in rural tourism. Aldershot: Ashgate, 318. Lane, B. (1994) What is rural tourism? Journal of sustainable tourism. 2(1-2): 7-21. —. (2009) Rural tourism: An overview. In T. Jamal and M. Robinson (eds) The Sage handbook of tourism studies. London: Sage, 354-370. Latkova, P. and Vogt, C.A. (2012) Residents’ attitudes toward existing and future tourism development in rural communities. Journal of Travel Research. 51(1): 50-67. Macbeth, J., Carson, D. and Northcote, J. (2004) Social capital, tourism and regional development: SPCC as a basis for innovation and sustainability. Current Issues in Tourism. 7(6): 502-522. Marsden, T. (1998) New rural territories: Regulating the differentiated rural spaces. Journal of Rural Studies. 14(1): 107-117.

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McAreavey, R.A. and McDonagh, J. (2010) Sustainable rural tourism: Lessons for rural development. Sociologica Ruralis. 51(2): 175-194. Miller, E., van Megen, K. and Buys, L. (2010) Impacts and opportunities: Residents’ views on sustainable development of tourism in regional Queensland, Australia. Journal of Tourism Challenges and Trends. 3(1): 9-28. Petrzelka, P., Krannich, R., Brehm, J. and Koons Trentelman, C. (2005) Rural tourism and gendered nuances. Annals of Tourism Research. 32(4): 1121-1137. Roberts, L. and Hall, D. (2001) Rural tourism and recreation: Principles to practice. Wallinford: CABI Publishing. Roberts, L. and Hall, D. (2004) Consuming the countryside: Marketing for ‘rural tourism’. Journal of Vacation Marketing. 10(3): 253-263. Saugeres, L. (2002) The cultural representation of the farming landscape: Masculinity, power and nature. Journal of Rural Studies. 18: 373-384. Scheyvens, R. (2007) Exploring the tourism-poverty nexus. Current Issues in Tourism. 10(2): 231-254. —. (2011) Tourism and poverty. New York: Routledge. Sharpley, R. and Jepson, D. (2011) Rural tourism: A spiritual experience? Annals of Tourism Research. 38(1): 52-71. Sharpley, R. and Roberts, L. (2004) Rural tourism: 10 years on. International Journal of Tourism Research. 6: 119-124. Spenceley, A. and Meyer, D. (2012) Tourism and poverty reduction: Theory and practice in less economically developed countries. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 20(3): 297-317. Sutherland, L. (2012) Return of the gentleman farmer? Conceptualising gentrification in UK agriculture. Journal of Rural Studies. 28(4): 568576. Torres, R. and Mornsen, J. (2005) Planned Tourism Development in Quantana Roo, Mexico: Engine for regional development or prescription for inequitable growth? Current Issues in Tourism. 8(4): 259-285. UN (2014) World urbanization prospects: 2014 revision. United Nations. Available from http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Highlights/WUP2014Highlights.pdf [Accessed July 29 2014]. Wilson, S., Fesenmaier, D.R., Fesenmaier, J. and van Es, J.C. (2001) Factors for success in rural tourism. Journal of Travel Research. 20: 132-138. World Bank (2014) Agriculture and rural development. [Internet] Available from http://data.worldbank.org/topic/agriculture-and-ruraldevelopment [Accessed July 29 2014].

PART ONE: DEFINING THE ‘RURAL’ THROUGH TOURISM

CHAPTER ONE URBANITY AND RURALITY IN A TOURISM CONTEXT: EXPLORING THE MYTH OF VIVID CITIES AND SLEEPY VILLAGES PETER MÖLLER, MARIA THULEMARK AND CHRISTINA ENGSTRÖM

Introduction During the 20th century tourism came to be of increasing importance within regional planning and economies especially in remote and rural areas in Sweden. The main reason for this was that the traditional economic sectors in rural areas, such as agriculture and forestry, were becoming extensively restructured, leaving many people unemployed (e.g., Bryden and Bollman, 2000; Lundmark, 2005). Consequently, remote and rural areas experienced problems with out-migration, reduced tax revenues and degrading community services. This backdrop of events called for new ideas, and a revitalisation of the economic base of rural communities. New and alternative businesses that could boost local economies were needed in order to reverse these negative developments. For many remote and rural areas, tourism was seen as one of the few suitable industries in this regard. Hence, in the second half of the 20th century, some Swedish rural areas underwent a transformation that led them to become vibrant tourism destinations. Especially in the Swedish mountain range, large-scale tourism facilities were established to meet increasing demand for winter tourism activities such as skiing. These facilities not only met the demands of tourists, but also enhanced local economies and provided work opportunities. In order to study tourism destinations in the Swedish mountain range, we conducted field research in a flourishing village – Sälen - which is largely dependent on winter tourism for its economic base. During our

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field trips we found that, although Sälen is considered to be a rural locality, it does not feel rural. Although a range of rural descriptions have been provided using both statistical and social constructions, and covering most characteristics of rural spaces, Sälen does not fully fit into these descriptions. Or rather, our perceptions of Sälen do not match these rural definitions. Therefore, the question arises as to what the reason for this is, and what it is that influences perceptions of a place; in this case ours and our respondents’ perception of the locality of Sälen. The aim of this chapter, therefore, is to study how the presence of a flourishing tourism industry can affect the perception of a local village as either rural or urban. During our visits to Sälen we conducted interviews with its inhabitants, politicians, tourism company owners and tourism workers, over the course of four separate studies. One study focused on transition to adulthood in Sälen; for this, 13 in-depth interviews were conducted in 2011 with young adult inhabitants who had grown up and, at the time of the interview, continued to live, in Sälen (see also Möller, 2012). A life history methodology was applied, with the aim of broadly examining how the respondents’ adult transitions had been affected by tourism. In the second study, focus-group interviews were conducted with seasonal workers on three different occasions: at the beginning, middle and end of the 2010/2011 skiing season in Sälen. This study focused on the respondents’ notions about Sälen and their thoughts about moving there permanently (see also Engström, 2011). The third study was conducted in 2010, and entrepreneurs and politicians were interviewed about their views on inmigration to Sälen in relation to areas such as recruitment of seasonal and permanent staff, investment, and attractiveness. Some respondents were not only company managers (for example), but also had personal experience of being in-migrants themselves (see also Thulemark and Hauge, 2013). The final study focused on young adults’ decisions to outmigrate from, or stay in, Sälen, and how both the out-migrators and ‘stayers’ perceive Sälen. Former students from the graduating classes 1993–95 were interviewed via telephone; in all, 67 interviews were conducted during spring 2013 (not yet published). All quotes used in this chapter are translated from Swedish, and have been slightly edited for grammatical purposes. Interviews from these four studies form the foundation of our attempt to interpret Sälen in terms of rurality. These studies vary in their methodology and aim, which has enabled us to examine Sälen from different perspectives embraced by temporary, permanent and former inhabitants of Sälen.

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Chapter One

In the following section, the concept of rurality will be examined both from a statistical and social constructivist perspective. We then go on to analyse how the concepts of modernity and traditionalism are connected to those constructions and representations, and to the concept of urbanity. In the next section, a description of Sälen itself is presented. The empirical material will then be introduced in a section on how Sälen is perceived as rural, followed by four themes: social interaction, creativity, seasonality and supply of services and entertainment. These were the themes within which our respondents discussed rural and urban topics. In a concluding section, we reconcile the concepts modernity, traditional, rurality and urbanity to propose a model for analysis in Sälen, and in rural locations in general.

Conceptualising rurality Attempts to find adequate definitions of ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ have been made for decades (Halfacree, 1993). These definitions did not only interest academics but also have a political dimension, not least from a support and planning perspective where, for example, geographical units for financial support have been developed. Depending on the aim with the definition – e.g. to limit a rural area geographically or to describe how different areas are perceived – different perspectives have been adopted. Knjle (2008) analysed definitions of ‘rural’ in previous research, differentiating between definitions as ‘empirical (observed) rural’, ‘mental (abstract) rural’ and ‘symbolic (ideal) rural’, ranging from statistical measures of population density and proportions of different business sectors to the analysis of personal features of inhabitants. In this chapter the focus will be on statistical and socially constructed definitions of rural(ity) and urban(ity). Within governance and policy formulation, statistical definitions are used to define rural areas, and adjusted to the specific country concerned. Definitions within countries may also vary depending on the object of the study. Many definitions are based on population density, but distance to specific services or cities, and economic structure, are also used (Knjle, 2008). Rural definitions used in Sweden are highly related to the demographic and geographic specifics of the country, and thus reflect its low population density. Hence, Swedish statistical definitions of ‘rural’ do not correspond to the definitions we see at a European level. With the high resolution data available today, it is not necessary to use the same definitions of rurality for comparison reasons, as long as the method is described in a proper way. Hence, different studies have different definitions of ‘rural’ that suit the aim of those specific studies.

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There is therefore no unequivocal statistical definition of rural areas. Distance and population density are important features in rural areas, which affect both the lives of the inhabitants of these places, and how the places are perceived. Hence, much research goes beyond statistical definitions, placing the urban–rural continuum in constructivist debates that recognise that sense of place and rurality or urbanity result from the lives, habits and notions found in rural or urban places. Although these views consist of highly individual representations, there are ways in which they can be merged, or made discursively distinctive as one dominant representation for an entire social group1 (Leyens and Codol 1988: 99). Agnew (1987) described place in terms of ‘sense of place’ (the affective attachments humans give to a location), which also has been used by others who talk about place as an idea; this entails picturing a place as a way of life, rather than as a dot on a map (Tuan, 1977; Buttimer and Seamon, 1980). Massey (1991) saw place (or locality) as an arena for social activities and relations, which is highly dynamic and under constant change. Indeed, Massey even claimed that there is no stable moment in localities – only a complex and dynamic series of social changes (Massey, 1991). Hence, places are empirically tied to a social context, and not to the physical place itself (Massey, 1994). Others think of place in similar ways; as spaces of social interaction (e.g., Chouinard, 1989), or as made up of differentiated and connected sceneries for interaction (e.g., Thrift, 1983). The very differentiation of each place forms its specific character (Massey, 1991). Others have argued that definitions of rural(ity) and urban(ity) are related to issues of social representation of space (e.g., Shields 1991; Halfacree, 1993). This would imply that rurality - as a social representation is a mental construction, which thus defines reality and contains both abstract and material images (Moscovici 1984: 38) that are dependent on places, times, cultures, groups, and strategies (Dagen, 2004 cited in Puissant and Lacour, 2007). In sum, it can be argued that the multiple meanings attached to each locality, which are created and held by different social groupings, make up the very foundation of what that place actually ‘is’. This implies that the 1

Here we argue that any social group has a distinct structure (for details on social structures see Giddens, 1984). Most of these groups have a range of inherent definitions, but there is a simultaneously broad structure within this group consisting of a dominant set of representations. Other rival representations are merely marginally significant within the structure, leaving one identity as hegemonic and discursively dominant within the social group (Potter and Wetherell 1987).

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Chapter One

existence and understanding of a specific place is not determined by its physical borders; rather, place is a matter of content, gained through local, regional, national or global practices that are materialised through diverging contexts. In other words, places are empirically tied to a social context, and hence not just to a static physical place itself (Massey, 1994).

Rurality: traditional or modern places? Rurality is also often associated with traditionalism and terms such as ‘the natural’ and ‘the idyllic’ are not uncommon in descriptions of rural areas (Halfacree, 1993; Murdoch and Pratt, 1993: 416; Phillips, 1998: 130). However, rurality is also often referred to using less positive descriptions, such as ‘rural dull’ (Lægran, 2002; Berg and Lysgård, 2004; Haugen and Villa, 2005) or ‘rural horror’ (Bell, 1997). Negative descriptions of rurality are often connected to the ways in which younger people describe the rural. Since out-migration has become a common demographic and socio-economic problem in rural areas (especially in relation to the younger population) (Garvill et al., 2002), younger people’s views of rurality have sparked interest among researchers (e.g., Rye, 2006). For example, younger people from rural areas often inherit their parents’ view of the home village, and describe it as ‘idyllic rural’, yet simultaneously they might describe the rural idyll as dull, without seeing this contradiction (Rye, 2006). Urbanity, as a dichotomy of a traditional rurality – where rurality represents stagnation and restraint, but also deep community feelings and security – is associated with ’the modern’ (Kåks and Westholm, 2006). Consequently, rurality becomes the opposite to modern urbanity, and is set in times other than the present. Urbanity becomes the standard against which the rest of society is measured, leaving rural areas associated with stagnation and positioned as being different from the norm (in other words, from the urban) (Hopkins, 1998). The concept of rurality thus has a ”powerful historical element” (Halfacree, 2004 cited in Knjle, 2008: 14), and has shown strong connections to tradition, national identity and history (e.g., Cloke, 1993; Halfacree and Boyle, 1993; Knjle, 2008). Many of the notions of rurality as traditional can be traced back to the end of the 19th century and Tönnies’ (1887 cited in Claval, 2007: 10) description of cities as expressions of modernity, in contrast to the more conservative rural areas. However, it has been argued that notions of modernity and identities associated with urbanity have been introduced into places normally perceived as rural; especially in places where tourism dominates the economic structure. It is

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thought that tourists bring a level of internationalisation to traditional villages, which in turn changes the image and perception of the place (e.g., Gergen, 1985; Collins, 2004). Hence, rural communities previously characterised by traditionalism can experience a transformed perception among the residents, giving the place a notion of being part of a wider national or international relationship (Dirlik, 2003). Economic and social developments during recent decades have had the effect of decreasing differences between rural and urban lifestyles. At the same time, there are huge variations between rural areas (as well as between urban areas). Several researchers have argued against the use of a rural–urban binary (e.g., Hoggart, 1990; Knjle, 2008). However, the connection between traditionalism and rurality does often implicitly remain. Tjallingii (2000: 103) described a worldwide trend in which “rural life becomes urban life in a green setting.” This raises the question as to whether it is an urban or modern life, albeit in a different physical environment, that is being described within modern conceptions of rurality. A transcending of the dimensions traditional–modern and urban– rural may contribute to an analysis of urbanity and rurality, while avoiding implicit notions of urban as ‘modern’ and rural as ’traditional’, and may thus help refine our ideas about rurality and urbanity in the current age. Sälen is a small village located in the southern part of the Swedish mountain range, approximately five hours by car from the capital, Stockholm. Sälen is host to one of Sweden’s largest skiing destinations; or, more precisely, Sälen contains six skiing destinations that together constitute a large skiing area (see Figure 1.1). The main company is Skistar, which owns and operates four of these destinations. Together with Skistar, over 100 small and medium-sized tourism companies run their businesses in Sälen. During the peak winter season, up to 70,000 tourists visit the area each week. The village of Sälen has around 650 inhabitants (the area includes 1500 inhabitants, if including the nearby villages), and is located 10 kilometres from the closest skiing resort. One skiing resort is located approximately 15 kilometres south of Sälen village, while the other five are located along the mountain road west of Sälen village. The supply of shops and restaurants increases significantly during high season, which stretches from mid-December to late April, but many of these outlets are also open during the whole year. Most facilities are located in Sälen Mountains, but some services and shops, such as the Swedish monopoly liquor store and the local health centre, are located in Sälen village.

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Figure 1.1. The location of Sälen in Sweden, and the location of the villages and resorts in the area surrounding Sälen. Map design: Peter Möller.

Perceptions of Sälen as rural That Sälen is in a rural location and is categorised as a rural area/village according to statistical definitions is indisputable. Also, when talking about the village with inhabitants, a sense of rurality was evident and similarities emerged with previous studies about rural life. The respondents described a safe childhood with low criminality (Francis, 1999), where they can move around freely by foot or by bicycle as they grow older. As reported in other rural studies (e.g., Philip, 2001), the respondents find the public transport system in Sälen poor, making it difficult to travel longer distances. Even though many respondents appreciated their childhood in Sälen, they described a period of dullness that appeared in their late teens. That rural areas can be perceived as idyllic during childhood and as dull in adolescence is reported in other studies as well (e.g., Glendinning et al., 2008). For respondents that had grown up in Sälen, lived elsewhere and

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then moved back, the main reason for returning was that the village provides a good environment for their children to grow up in. A community feeling, where almost all inhabitants know each other, was discussed in many interviews as something special that comes with living in Sälen. Some respondents described missing the close-knit community in Sälen when they lived in bigger cities. This aspect of closeness was described as providing a feeling of safety, and relating to the fact that the inhabitants can get help if needed. Another appreciated part of the rural life in Sälen, which has also been reported in previous studies (e.g., Halfacree, 1995; Rye, 2006), is the close proximity to nature, which makes hiking, fishing and hunting possible. Traditionalism was not noted as being very influential in the Sälen area, and was ascribed more to the nearby village of Lima. Several respondents noted that there are some more ‘traditional inhabitants’ who are more negative towards tourism, and have a generally retrogressive and narrow-minded mentality. One of the respondents stated that there is a big difference between Lima and Sälen. Lima is more retrograde than Sälen. Sälen is all about growth. In Lima it is like ‘if it is good enough for my father, it is good enough for me’

Later in the interview, this respondent stated that he enjoys life in Lima, because he has access to both traditional Lima and modern Sälen. An appreciation of this mix was apparent in many of our interviews, which revealed perceptions of Sälen partly as an ‘ordinary’ rural place, but also as exhibiting features connected to urbanity. One respondent put it this way: “the beauty in working here is the positive development. There are no closures [of services and facilities] here, rather a positive development.” These features contradict the division of rurality/urbanity that authors such as Kåks and Westholm (2006) have described, with rural areas being more associated with stagnation and restraint than development, which is highly associated with urban areas. This sense of ‘something else’ other than a rural village can be further illustrated by a discussion held between two young men in one of our focus groups. They originally came from one small and one medium-sized city in central Sweden, and have travelled to Sälen as seasonal workers for several years. After their first season they felt they wanted to do something else, and therefore took positions as chefs at a restaurant in a ski resort in the French Alps. However, they have now returned to Sälen for yet another season, and stated that they are considering moving to a rural area of Sweden. They have both been thinking about the opportunities and the way of life they would have thanks to living closer to nature and facilities

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that promote their main hobby, snowboarding. They argued that they would “rather have leisure stuff around the corner and go to the shops than to have shops around the corner and go to the leisure stuff” and added that “living in a city [is not] so fun”. However, when talking about the village they worked and lived in during their winter in France, they described the place as “a small f***ing village in the middle of nowhere.” Even though Sälen, with its roughly 650 inhabitants, can be considered a small village in a sparsely populated part of Sweden, the respondents stated that they experience something else in Sälen. The social life in Sälen gives the place another meaning and makes it more fun to live in, even though the respondents cited the snowboarding in the Alps as more challenging. When discussing the effects of tourism in Sälen, most respondents in our studies described these effects as something that adds to the (sense of) rurality in Sälen. A couple of respondents expressed a worry about Sälen turning into something that is fundamentally different from what it once was, though this view was not widely reflected in our sample.

A small community with vast social opportunities Limited social life in rural areas has been reported in many studies; this applies to both the extent of the social network (e.g. Phillips and Skinner, 1994; Glendinning et al., 2008), and a feeling of lacking privacy (e.g., Ní Laoire, 2000; Kloep et al., 2003). Although some of the out-migrated respondents have found Sälen to be too small and socially limited, many described tourism as providing different ways to boost the social life in Sälen. Among the respondents that grew up in Sälen, differences were cited in terms of how much interaction they have had with seasonal workers and tourists during their lives. Some have had very superficial relations at most, while others stated that some of their best friends are former seasonal workers that lived in Sälen for temporary periods. The seasonal workers were described as contributing most to the social life of the young adult inhabitants in Sälen, as, when they are in the same age bracket, the workers provide opportunities for the young adults to extend their social networks. In addition, seasonal workers were described as an appreciated external influence. One example of this was given by a 20-year-old man who stated that many of his friends from his childhood had opinions and behaved in a way he did not appreciate. For him, the seasonal workers offered an opportunity to make new friends, who are more open-minded and tolerant:

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I think that when you grew up, you had such a bloody narrow-minded view of life here. It’s like pink clothes . . . it's a standard here in the village that guys can’t wear pink. It’s a farming community so to speak, and you should be masculine and . . . well, it’s really this narrow-mindedness . . . I don’t think it’s fun to hang out with [his friends from childhood] anymore, because they behave in a way that I try to avoid. I want this openmindedness that seasonal workers have, that everything is OK, as long as you like it.

Other respondents, who have met many tourists as part of their jobs in the tourism industry reported that they have improved their skills in terms of interacting with people they do not know through tourism. They described these social interactions as having contributed to increasing the tolerance and open-mindedness in Sälen. In addition, many respondents reported that the high number of tourists passing through during high season also contributes to a feeling of Sälen as less peripheral and deserted, providing a sense that things ‘happen’ in Sälen.

Creative Sälen – a rural community with urban opportunities Many sparsely populated areas in Europe have experienced a withdrawal of public services (e.g. Brandt and Westholm, 2006; Woods, 2006). Several respondents describe a weaker governmental control in Sälen than in urban areas (e.g. police presence) and described a feeling of the necessity to fend for oneself. Some respondents stated that the scarcity of some services has given birth to creativity when it comes to solving situations in which no existing solutions are available. This creativity, combined with the huge flow of people passing through Sälen every season who all require products and services, are described as a good combination which results in a great deal of entrepreneurship. One of the respondents stated that it is easy to start your own business up here. Maybe not in the restaurant business . . . but particularly in the construction industry and cleaning and things like that. You get so spoiled, there are always new customers. If you do a bad job, it doesn’t matter, there will be a new [customer] next week. It’s very easy in that sense.

Some respondents explicitly gave credit to the good conditions of business in Sälen. The different companies operating in Sälen are often competitors, and yet succeed in aiming for common goals to make Sälen attractive. One explanation for that, mentioned by several respondents, is a

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close-knit and open-minded community in Sälen, where it is easy for inmigrants to affiliate. In one interview with a woman in her thirties who was born in Sälen, we discussed the social relations connected to the relatively high number of in-migrants to Sälen: It has always been . . . that we [the inhabitants] help each other. And I think that spirit is still here. Because I mean, you notice, that even those who move here, because they do not have any family here [and so on]. And when they have children, we help out and babysit for each other’s children and take care of each other, because we all work just as much. So I think . . . yes, everyone helps each other.

For those inhabitants that do not wish to start their own business, plenty of job opportunities still exist in Sälen. During high season, there is a high demand for labour, leading to an attractive labour market. Many of the respondents that grew up in Sälen started to work within the tourism industry early on, often in early adolescence, with an extra job on weekends and holidays. In other words, they have had quite an easy start to their working lives.

Seasonality as an advantage Many previous studies have revealed disadvantages with seasonality in the tourism industry, such as environmental congestion, overuse of facilities and difficulties to fill all vacancies during high season and low return on investment, under-utilisation of facilities and unemployment during low season (e.g., Butler, 2001; Jang, 2004; Konstantinos, 2005). Seasonality within the tourism industry also affects the local village through closure of services but also decreased work load, and decreased number of temporary inhabitants, such as seasonal workers and tourists. Hence, many respondents have expressed that this calmer six-month period is appreciated not only in terms of workload, but also social life. One of our interviews took place in May at one of the destinations in the mountain area. We commented on the emptiness during the off season. Our respondent replied: It is very quiet. There is a charm in it. Now we have [a] more social six months when you have time to socialise with neighbours and friends in a different way than you can do in the winter.

Not only do the inhabitants socialise with family and friends in Sälen, but many of them also take the opportunity to visit family and friends elsewhere, as they get more time to do this during the summer. Some of

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the young adult inhabitants stated that during low season they get time to keep in touch with former seasonal workers. Several respondents – from young people in their late teens to adults with family and permanent employment - also mentioned the seasonality, and specifically the mix of seasons itself, as an appreciated part of the life in Sälen: “Well, I enjoy the quietness, and also that there are nightclubs, and plenty of restaurants. You can recover during the summer.” This mix seems to appeal to persons that appreciate both features that are normally found in rural areas, and those more usually typical of urban areas: Well . . . I appreciate tourism, and that it is a mix. Half the year is quiet and half the year is in full swing. That mix is perfect . . . I'm not a city person, even though I am not a nature person either.

These people do not say that they find the quietness of the off-season to be associated with the sense of dullness that is often connected to the way in which younger people talk about rural areas (Garvill et al., 2002; Rye, 2006). Rather, they find the calm periods necessary in relation to having a social life, and find that it gives them time to reload. The village becomes an idyllic rural place during the calmer periods, where they can spend more time with neighbours and in nature.

Urban supply in a rural setting The above-mentioned seasonality was mentioned by many respondents as making a positive contribution to the area. During the winter season, Sälen “becomes more of a city”, not just through “population figures” (including tourists as a temporary population), but also through the supply of services. This is in contrast with an otherwise general trend of a declining number of shops in rural areas (e.g., Smith and Sparks, 2000; Vias, 2004). Even though there have been a declining number of shops in urban areas as well, that decline has been smaller than in rural areas; the effects for the inhabitants are also bigger in rural areas, in which the distance to the next closest shop is usually larger than in urban areas (Amcoff et al., 2011). Some of the respondents described the supply in Sälen as similar to many urban areas: The supply of services is very good to be in such a peripheral village, and that is due to the tourism industry. During the winter peak season Sälen is one of this country’s largest cities and then the supply of services is as good as in Falun/Borlänge [the largest urban areas in the county, with approximately 50,000 inhabitants each], with a range from entertainment and restaurants to high-quality foodstuffs.

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The tourism industry contributes in areas in addition to extended services during the peak season. In recent years, many of these services have started to open all year round for a smaller number of tourists and local inhabitants. The respondents that have grown up in Sälen described a big difference in supply today compared to their childhood 20–30 years ago. For example, the inhabitants had to travel around 80 kilometres to the closest indoor swimming pool until 2009, when the entertainment centre Experium was built. In addition to an indoor swimming pool, Experium offers restaurants, shops, bowling, a movie theatre, spa, adventure pool and indoor surfing. One inhabitant, while describing her everyday mobility, noted that although she lives and works in Sälen village, she often goes up to Sälen Mountains: And then there is the movie theatre and those sorts of things up in the mountain. We love to have a coffee in the [Sälen] Mountains . . . Experium is the common Sunday activity, to go there and have a swim.

Another permanent inhabitant, who has four children, highlighted an appreciation of the supply of leisure services when her children are skiing at the slope next to Experium: It’s nice then, because my youngest kid is so young, he’s only two years old, and they have a [small children’s skiing area] right by Experium. So I’m there with him for a while, until he gets tired, while the others are crisscrossing the slopes. And then in the afternoon we can go swimming for a while.

By extending the variety of services and entertainment, Experium makes it even more attractive for families to spend time there, including both tourists and permanent inhabitants. Another respondent, who does not have children, stated that she and her boyfriend often “go out to eat, and take this opportunity to take advantage of the big supply up here. It’s at least as good as in Stockholm, or elsewhere.” Even though the question of whether the supply in Sälen is as good as in Stockholm may be a matter of debate, the supply of services and leisure amenities is indisputably one of the most important contributions in making Sälen a more vivid place.

Conclusions In this chapter we have examined how a flourishing tourism destination can affect the perception of the local village as either rural or urban. We analysed interviews from different research projects and focused on themes including social interaction, creativity, seasonality and

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supply of services and entertainment. Based on the number of permanent residents and the peripheral location, and some of the features that the respondents described as rural, Sälen can hardly be described as urban. At the same time, the huge flow of people (often from urban areas) and influences from elsewhere are affecting the area’s rurality to such an extent that Sälen can hardly be described as an ordinary rural place, or at least not one that is associated with traditionalism. Consequently, we argue that Sälen can best be described as embodying a modern rurality. With Massey’s (1991) definition of place in mind, it is not relevant to define a place as (statically) rural or urban. There is debate over the relevance of ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ as concepts, due to diminishing differences between rural and urban lifestyles. Knjle (2008) argued that an increasing interaction between rural and urban areas leads to more multidimensional areas (both rural and urban). Instead of using the concepts ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ as binaries by which to define places, Knjle (2008: 15) argued for the use of an “urban–rural continuum, particularly taking into account new life styles emerging and new types and forms of human settlements that are developing.” However, rejecting the relevance of the two concepts is not rational either; this is clearly shown in Eimermann’s (2013) thesis about Dutch lifestyle migrants moving to rural Sweden. The migrants mention nature, wilderness and space among the reasons for leaving Dutch urban areas for the Swedish countryside, and reveal that features connected to the low population density in rural areas are appreciated. The same ‘rural’ features are mentioned when the inhabitants describe Sälen, although there is a varying degree of rurality in both time and space in Sälen (some parts of Sälen are more crowded during certain periods of time), which points out the inconsistency in defining Sälen as purely rural. Similar to the problem of defining places as (statically) rural or urban, there is an issue related to defining places as either (statically) traditional or modern. Despite this, rural areas are often implicitly associated with traditionalism; and, vice versa, urban areas are often associated with modernity. One example of this is the ‘rural idyll’ and the ‘rural dull’. Even though the rural idyll is mainly perceived as something positive and the rural dull as something negative, both represent a traditional rurality. By using these two concepts to describe contradictions in rural areas, they are implicitly defined as traditional places. As with rurality, the respondents in the present study described a varying degree of modernity in Sälen (again in terms of both time and space), but revealed that modern rurality is more dominant than traditional rurality.

Chapter One

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Traditional

Rural

Urban

Modern Figure 1.2: A conceptual model of the ‘two-dimensional’ continuum, with ‘ruralurban’ as one dimension and ‘traditional-modern’ as the other.

We argue for the use of a two-dimensional continuum, with rural– urban on one dimension and traditional–modern as the other, to aid understanding of these concepts (see Figure 1.2). Sälen, which has a high degree of modern rurality, can (usually) be found in the lower left side of this model, but it would not be appropriate to represent Sälen in the model with a point or a circle. According to Massey’s (1991) definition of place, the location would not only vary in relation to time (seasonality) and space (the occurrence of tourism is more frequent in some locations in Sälen than others), but also the inhabitants of Sälen: where some inhabitants choose to be open to new influences in their lives, others do not. Therefore, in order to draw Sälen in a conceptually appropriate way, an animated chart would be necessary. We believe that such a model is explicitly relevant for research in rural areas with a dominant tourism industry, where the interaction between tradition and modernity is often very evident. But the model may also contribute to further rural research aiming at distinguish rural and traditional, as well as urban and modern, and in that way may help avoid an implicit association of both these concept pairs. To conclude, what distinguishes Sälen from many other (rural and urban) places is the wide continuum of both rural–urban and traditional– modern in both time and space, which constitute an extensive range of

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opportunities, such as enjoying the area’s nature and making the most of outdoor life; Sälen’s good supply of services; and the possibilities for making a good living.

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Rye, J.F. (2006) Rural youths’ images of the rural. Journal of Rural Studies. 22 (4): 409–421. Shields, R., 1991. Places on the Margin. London: Routledge. Smith, A. and Sparks, L. (2000) The independent small shop in Scotland: A discussion of roles and problems. Scottish Geographical Journal. 116 (1): 41–58. Thrift, N.J. (1983) On the determination of social action in space and time. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space. 1 (1): 23–57. Thulemark, M. and Hauge, A. (2013) Creativity in the recreational industry: Re-conceptualization of the creative class theory in a tourismdominated rural area. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration. 17 (1): 13–35. Tjallingii, S.P. (2000) Ecology on the edge: Landscape and ecology between town and country. Landscape and Urban Planning. 48: 103– 119. Tuan, Y.-F. (1977) Space and place: The perspective of experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Vias, A.C. (2004) Bigger stores, more stores, or no stores: paths of retail restructuring in rural America. Journal of Rural Studies. 20 (3): 303– 318. Woods, M. (2006) Redefining the ‘rural question’: The new ‘politics of the rural’ and social policy. Social Policy & Administration. 40(6): 579-595.

CHAPTER TWO PRODUCING AND CONSUMING THE GLOBAL MULTIFUNCTIONAL COUNTRYSIDE: RURAL TOURISM IN THE SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND MICHAEL MACKAY, HARVEY C. PERKINS AND C. NICHOLAS TAYLOR

Introduction One of the best things about Middle-Earth is that unlike many of the locations in fantasy films, so much is easy to visit right here in New Zealand. Near Matamata, in the rural hinterland of Waikato, for instance, you’ll find the setting for Bilbo’s home, Hobbiton. The lush green pastures of dairy country are a reminder that Middle-Earth has an idyllic, peaceful side . . . Isengard and Lothlorien. These two magical locations can be found in large measure around the visitor-friendly town of Queenstown and nearby Glenorchy. The location of Saruman’s home and the Elves’ sanctuary are easily accessible with numerous first rate tours to help you get there. As well as being the adventure capital of New Zealand, this part of the country is rich with rivers, lakes, alps and sweeping vistas that have been such a feature of all of Sir Peter’s Middle-earth movies. (KiaOra, Air New Zealand Inflight Magazine, December 2013: 20-21).

The quotation above, taken from the inflight magazine of New Zealand’s national air carrier, neatly illustrates the hybrid and global multifunctional nature of the contemporary New Zealand countryside – a place framed simultaneously, in this instance, as international film set, farmed and idyllic landscape, and accessible global tourism destination. It is an example of the way that in the countryside of developed countries recreation and tourism have responded to, and are in part the result of, broader social and economic changes that have been occurring since the

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middle of the 20th Century (Butler, 1998). Recreation and tourism have “become significant agents of social and economic change in many rural areas” (p.211), reflecting: a general rise in demand for, and participation in, leisure activities; significant agricultural restructuring; new consumer tastes, preferences and social movements (such as the organic movement); increased affluence; greater personal mobility; the increasing use of rural imagery by the media; and new technological developments. This characterisation of ‘the rural’ and its relationship to recreation and tourism shows that it is very important to think holistically when seeking to interpret the social and economic processes which are both creating and changing the countryside. Drawing on such a perspective, our purpose in this chapter is to interpret rural tourism in the South Island of New Zealand using the Cromwell District of Central Otago as a case study, where, since the late 1990s, a significant local transition has taken shape. The South Island of New Zealand is known globally for its spectacular natural scenery, wild environments, adventure activities, eco-tourism and novel cuisine. The Island is also well-known as a producer of agricultural commodities (for local consumption and export), particularly milk, meat, strong wool and arable crops but is also a site for horticulture, forestry, fishing, aquaculture, mining and the production of niche higher value products such as fine merino wool, stone-fruit and wine. So in the South Island of New Zealand, rural tourism is but one element in an assemblage of socio-economic activities comprising an increasingly globalised, diversified, and at times contested, countryside. Central Otago, and the Cromwell District within it, share many of the general characteristics of the South Island and attract both domestic and international tourists and national and international amenity migrants, including second home owners, and associated industries (e.g., hospitality and tourism operators, and rural real estate agencies). Tourism has affected the development trajectories of rural towns and their hinterlands in Central Otago. To illustrate these trajectories we discuss how the vitality and viability of Cromwell District are influenced by emerging and shifting relations and tensions between: tourism, amenity migration, traditional forms of rural commodity production, the use of the conservation estate for outdoor recreation and engagement with cultural heritage, and the development of a new wine region.

Conceptualising rural change A number of theoretical perspectives have been used to interpret rural changes such as those outlined above. Political economic approaches are

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important in this regard and therefore commodification and its role in the diversification of the economies and cultures of rural regions and towns in industrialised countries has been a key theme in the rural change and tourism literature (Cloke, 1993; Taylor et al., 2001; Perkins, 2006; Mackay, et al., 2009). In its most recent manifestation commodification is interpreted as a dominant influence in processes of rural restructuring – working itself out differently in rural places where opportunities for capital accumulation have interacted with diverse regulatory arrangements and production and consumption practices. In this process, interconnected and overlapping rural commodities have been maintained, adapted and created. These rural commodity forms include: well-established and new primary agricultural, horticultural and forest products; a diverse range of rural settlement types, some associated with counter-urbanisation; short and feature-films incorporating rural landscapes made with the support of regional film commissions and place promoters; and a plethora of rural recreational and tourism products and activities (Perkins, 2006). The latter – rural tourism products – are closely linked to rural commodity forms which may best be discussed using the terms attraction and experience. In combination, these rural tourism products are exemplified by the sale of new and ‘boutique’ local foods and beverages, often at the point of production: farm tours, activities and stays; outdoor adventure and thrillseeking experiences; nature and cultural heritage viewing; small town events and festivals; and, the provision of a significant array of passive and active recreation activities based on the re-making of the rural as a set of places which are attractive to those with money to spend on outdoor recreation, consumption goods and fashionable experiences (Warren and Taylor, 1999). Thus the countryside has changed from being a place mainly of primary production to one also arranged for the sale of an increasing array of non-traditional rural commodities, services, lifestyle products and experiences (Cloke, 1993; Hopkins, 1998; Cloke and Perkins, 2002; Slee, 2005; Perkins 2006). A notable research strand has focused on shifting representations of rurality in media and advertising and the commodification of rural culture, places and landscapes for touristic, leisure and recreational purposes (Cloke, 1993; Cloke and Perkins, 1998, 2002; Hopkins, 1998; Moon, 2002). Studies of advertising brochures have been particularly helpful in highlighting how the rural has been commodified for tourism. This material commonly draws attention to the innumerable activities, attractions, accommodations and facilities available (at a cost) to tourists visiting the countryside. Cloke’s (1993) early work used rural tourism brochures to provide insights into the increasing commodification and

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symbolic value of the (British) countryside. He found that the contemporary countryside is commonly marketed to visitors as a zone of pristine natural landscapes, easy living and ideal family types. Hopkins (1998) conducted similar research in Canada finding a wide array of commodified rural ‘things’ marketed to tourists as rural experiences and cultural products including camping in the countryside, crafts, bed and breakfasts and zoos. Warren and Taylor (1999) used brochures to develop a database of over 3000 rural tourism businesses in New Zealand and drew from it a sample for a survey of operators. Their definition of rurality included rural areas and small rural centres as defined by Statistics New Zealand. They concluded that rural tourism enterprises play, and will continue to play, an important part in the overall tourism sector. Cloke and Perkins (2002) also surveyed New Zealand tourist brochures revealing some of the elements of rural adventure which are being incorporated into commodity form for tourists and, by extension, have influenced the way places are imagined and made. These elements include rural place, spectacle, embodied experience, memory and a ‘culture’ of adventure. The authors used Best’s (1989) analysis of commodity, spectacle and simulacrum to establish a framework for the changing nature of commodification in post-modern and ‘post-mass tourist’ times arguing that the rise of adventure tourism in New Zealand is an example of how adventure has been commodified. In an earlier paper, Cloke and Perkins (1998) focused on how the tourist gaze has been presented with ever more spectacular opportunities for challenging participation in rural landscapes of natural grandeur in New Zealand through the provision of adventure tourism attractions. They argued that tourists have augmented their ‘gaze’ by seeking thrills through participation in physically challenging activity conducted in new and established rural landscapes often located in sites of scenic or historic importance, thus presenting participants with the opportunity to ‘tame’ elements of natural wilderness (hence ‘crack the canyon’) in a thrilling way. They discussed how in the commodification of adventure tourism in New Zealand places of historic and aesthetic significance have been used by tourism operators to elaborate the adventure tourism experiences offered in those rural places. Recently, two conceptual developments have occurred in rural studies that advance debates about rural change and the way such change gives rise to different commodity forms of rural attraction and experience. They are ‘the global countryside’ (McCarthy, 2008; Woods, 2007, 2011a) and ‘multifunctional rural space’ (Holmes, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012; Argent, 2011). These ideas speak to different elements of rural change and, when

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combined, show the ways global influences interconnect with local action in the creation of new rural tourism spaces, products and experiences. The ‘global countryside’, a concept developed by European scholars, refers to the ways globalising economic and cultural processes produce differentiated rural areas by linking local and global agency and creating new urban-rural relations. Locally, within nation states, this process affects competition for investment between regions and sub-regions and creates and sharpens divisions within communities. The actors in the global countryside are part of increasingly complex and expansive networks. Some live locally in the countryside but others are often based in distant cities. The activities, ideas and investments of both groups, sometimes singly, and other times in concert, influence and (re)shape rural areas. Multifunctional rural space, an emerging theme in Australian scholarship, and not to be confused with the European literature on multifunctionality in agriculture (Wilson, 2007), has as its basis the idea of transition. Unlike writing on the global countryside with its globalisation emphasis, multifunctional rural space researchers focus mainly on case studies of regional rural change and patterns of rural diversification (Holmes, 2010, 2012). Where once rural spaces were characterised largely as sites of primary production and relatively stable social and cultural relations, they are now conceptualised as being in transition, as becoming places of diverse, dynamic and contested modes of production, consumption and protection (Holmes, 2008). Many of these places are increasingly urbanrural in character and the site of a diversifying variety of people, livelihoods, lifestyles, objects, technologies, animals, plants and landscapes; linked together, the global countryside and multifunctional rural space concepts point to a countryside that is continually globalising and diversifying. We intend to draw on these ideas in the remainder of the chapter but before doing so we will briefly outline the form and trajectory of rural tourism in New Zealand and discuss the methodological underpinnings of our research.

Rural tourism in New Zealand While the New Zealand countryside has hosted domestic and international visitors for more than a century, the beginning of a rural tourism boom in the country is often traced to the mid-1980s (Warren and Taylor, 1999; Hall and Kearsley, 2001). This was a period of significant rural economic restructuring involving the removal of agricultural subsidies and withdrawal of many services (Le Heron and Pawson, 1996). Rural residents therefore found it challenging to make a good living from

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traditional forms of agriculture and started looking for new ways of utilising local opportunities and resources – a process Perkins (2006) refers to as ‘re-resourcing’. Some of them, often in partnership with urban and international investors, began using natural resources and local and imported skills and ideas to create opportunities in tourism, hospitality, commercial recreation, allied rural residential real estate, and the conservation of heritage and nature. Thus, by the end of the 20th century one in five tourism businesses in New Zealand was based in the countryside (Warren and Taylor, 1999). Many were farm stays and/or farm-based activities but other products were being developed to take advantage of the natural and rural landscape. “A thriving retail sector dominated by crafts, garden tours, food outlets, vineyards/wineries, and cultural and historical events and tours” had emerged (Warren and Taylor, 1999: 10). In 2004 the continuing and growing significance of tourism in rural New Zealand was outlined in an article published in the Rural News (Carnachan, 2004) titled: ‘Rural New Zealand cashing in on tourism bonanza’. In the article, tourism was heralded as an important new component of the nation’s rural economy and a valuable tool for rural (re)development: the writer arguing that it was “…an important, if underestimated component of the country’s multibillion tourism industry and … [one that was] diversifying rapidly” (Carnachan, 2004: 16). According to the Ministry of Tourism research manager of the day, the significance of the new industry was not only economic because “tourism [also] . . . maintains social structures, keeping facilities open. It helps maintain the fabric of rural communities” (Carnachan, 2004: 16). The rural tourism bonanza in New Zealand produced a new cultural landscape as communities began promoting themselves through ‘local claims to fame’ – fighting economic marginalisation by putting their towns on the tourist map (Bell and Lyall, 1995). This new cultural landscape was characterised by the proliferation of giant roadside objects and signs displaying some element of local culture with the aim of attracting visitors to towns. Examples include: the rural township of Te Puke and its giant sized kiwifruit, Pokeno and its claim as ‘bacon country’, Dannevirke and its makeover as Viking territory (a theme celebrating its Scandinavian heritage) and Taihape – the Gumboot City as illustrated by Bell and Lyall (1995). Another feature was the proliferation of local festivals and promotional events, usually with the dual purpose of promoting an area to domestic and international tourists and advancing economic development, while at the same time building local solidarity through collective action. Over the last 10 years the attractiveness of the New Zealand countryside, its natural resources and the experiences afforded by them,

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have been an essential part of Tourism New Zealand’s 100% Pure tourism branding campaign targeted at international tourists. This same rural landscape had been captured in international films such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy which has drawn tourists to small towns where the filming took place. These changes over the last decade have coincided with a new wave of boutique wine and food tourism giving rise to regional specialisations such as locally made cheeses and wines which is driving visitation to new rural areas and contributing to social and economic change. This evolution of rural tourism in New Zealand has also coincided with a rise in other notable rural developments, such as the intensification of dairy farming, significant irrigation scheme developments and rural residential subdivisions. So tourism continues to be vitally important in New Zealand’s countryside, but as part of a wider range of resource uses and economic activities (Perkins, 2006).

A methodological note There are methodological implications in a shift from a political economic analysis of rural change and tourism development, with an emphasis on commodification, to one associated with the global multifunctional countryside. Instead of emphasising the somewhat deterministic and uniform drive for capital accumulation as the dominant force behind rural change, these more recent theorisations of rural space allow for a much stronger focus on differentiated and interconnected human and organisational agency in this process. This is consistent with approaches taken by qualitative sociologists and other humanistic social scientists for the last 50 years but only relatively recently adopted by those interested in the space economy. Economic geographers and their allies have therefore begun to emphasise the importance of relationality and practice in the analysis of socio-spatial economic activity (Bathelt, 2006; Jones, 2013). Instead of focusing on regions as if they were actors, a relational approach directs the researcher to study “agents who actively shape their environment” and “the consequences of global interdependencies and their relation to processes of local concentration and specialisation” (Bathelt, 206: 224). These processes are inevitably emergent and contingent and involve paying attention to the agency, roles and practices of individuals, organisations and institutions, set in wider global and structural contexts (Perkins and Thorns, 2012). In this perspective practices may be viewed as “everyday relational processes that constitute economic action and hold communities or firms together within, and in relation to, particular geographic contexts” (Jones, 2013: 9).

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Figure 2.1: Central Otago and Cromwell District

Taking this relational and practice-oriented approach as a guide, we studied economic and social change in Cromwell District using a combination of qualitative social research methods, including observational fieldwork (photographing examples of change in the natural and built landscape), document analysis and in-depth interviews. The bulk of fieldwork was completed over the period 2007-2009 when we completed 26 in-depth interviews with people in the district who identified as being directly connected with aspects of recent local change. Our latest fieldwork took place in 2010, when we reconsidered the change process against the backdrop of the global economic recession. In order to incorporate the practices, experiences and perspectives of the widest possible range of actors the following members of the community were interviewed: District Councillors and Cromwell Promotions Committee

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appointees, planners, a landscape architect, Department of Conservation staff, a surveyor, tourism operators, vineyard owners and managers, hospitality providers, financial consultants, real estate sales consultants, orchardists, council staff, and high country farmers. Their stories present a rich account of local transformation in which (local) people, often in conjunction with partners beyond the district, have been attempting to make Cromwell a global multifunctional rural region. At the centre of this transformation is the way that Cromwell District has grown and developed in relation to its surrounding Central Otago region. Rural tourism is a centrally important part of this story.

Central Otago Pastoral agriculture and horticulture persist as significant land uses in Central Otago (Figure 2.1), and still comprise the basis of much of the region’s landscapes. Farming became the economic mainstay of the region after the relatively short-lived boom caused by the nineteenth century Central Otago gold rush. The rush of miners and those who made an income from servicing them quickly made the capital city of the Otago province, Dunedin, on the east coast, the largest and most prosperous urban centre in New Zealand. As the gold ran out so too did Dunedin’s fortunes, but in the interim, Central Otago became the summer and, later, winter playground for those who were wealthy enough to travel into the interior. These early outdoor recreationists participated in a great variety of activities, some very active like tramping1, mountaineering, skiing, hunting and fishing, others more passive such as boating, swimming, picnicking or simply sitting relaxing in the sun. In time, they were joined by domestic tourists from other parts of the country. A network of local and national service providers from the government and private sectors invested in infrastructure and services to support these recreationists. Thus Queenstown, Wanaka and other Central Otago towns became important domestic tourism destinations set predominantly in spectacular high country agricultural and marginal wilderness landscapes (McClure, 2004). The very significant growth in international tourism in New Zealand since the 1980s has meant that Queenstown, particularly, and the wider Central Otago region more generally, have become important international tourist destinations and the site of active tourist performance (Perkins and Thorns, 2001).

1

Tramping is the New Zealand term for ‘hiking’, ‘trekking’ or ‘backpacking’.

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Three recent developments have been important in this regional transition, providing the basis of tourism growth and diversification in Central Otago. The first relates to the Clutha River/Mata-Au valley which is a centrally important regional landscape feature. The river has high potential for providing water for agricultural irrigation and electricity generation. It was first harnessed by the government’s electricity agency for hydro generation in the late 1950s at Roxborough in the lower valley. Then, between 1982 and 1993 Lake Dunstan was created behind the Clyde high dam leading to the flooding of relic gold mining and orchard landscapes. This produced a water body of high amenity with considerable recreational potential. The second development was a changed approach to agricultural land ownership and management. In a neo-liberal tenure review process, large Crown (government) owned leasehold high country farms covering many thousands of hectares were assessed against a range of conservation and recreation-related criteria. Those parts of the farms deemed to be of high conservation and recreational value were added to the national conservation estate (referred to as public conservation lands) and became accessible for public and commercial recreation, and the remaining, often still very large areas, were freeholded and assigned to the former farmer leaseholders (Brower, 2008) affording the development of diverse new commercial activities. This manifested in extensive real estate development associated with tourism and amenity migration of workers in various sectors, and retirees. In the rural areas bounding Central Otago towns such as Queenstown, Wanaka, Clyde and Alexandra, land holders sub-divided parts of their farms and established rural lifestyle blocks or hobby farms. More intensive suburban housing developments were also built on the margins of these towns and transformed the landscape. These developments have been closely aligned to the rapid expansion of viticulture and wine-making in the region, often on small (4 hectare) lots. Consequently, Central Otago was rated a ‘star economic performer’, with 2006 and 2007 reports ranking the region’s growth as the second fastest in New Zealand (Central Otago District Council, 2008: 6). This transition to a multifunctional countryside was visually dramatic and the cause of a number of conflicts, particularly over what constitutes appropriate land use and how amenity should be defined. One recent development, for example, is a motor park with a high performance racing track. The development is funded by a wealthy individual new to the area and its virtues are extolled by motor racing enthusiasts and those valuing the regional economic impacts, in contrast to

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those concerned about noise and negative effects on lifestyle-property values. The third development which has influenced the trajectory of tourism in the region was a series of place promotional competitions over regional and sub-regional identity, economic investment, population growth and status. Central Otago District and its Council, representing one part of Central Otago, found itself in direct competition with its neighbouring, more prosperous and faster growing Queenstown-Lakes District, centred on Queenstown with its international airport, myriad tourism attractions and experiences, and allied accommodation and service infrastructure. In response, as a way of differentiating Central Otago District from Queenstown-Lakes District, the Central Otago District Council embarked on a destination management and place promotion project entitled A World of Difference. Rosin et al. (2013: 235-236) argue that this can be viewed as an effort to . . . deterritorialise tourism . . . dominated by Queenstown [and to] reterritorialise Central Otago by creating a unifying conception of its distinctiveness as a value creating place and ‘brand’ that attempts to incorporate aspects of diverse projects, including bicycle tourism, community festivals, viticulture and stone fruit orcharding.

Cromwell District Cromwell District, which has been affected by all of these developments, is in an interesting marginal and contingent position in these attempts at de-and re-territorialisation. Like all regions in a globalising world, its boundaries are porous and this allows for the continual flow of people, ideas, capital and influences into and out of the District. In tourism development terms this is particularly the case. The District is on the jurisdictional border of Central Otago District and Queenstown-Lakes District and is therefore both part of the ‘World of Difference’ project which attempts to set it apart from Queenstown and join it to the wider Central Otago District (reterritorialisation), and also significantly influenced by the fact that it is only a 45 minute drive and a very brief helicopter flight from the Queenstown International airport which has the effect of binding it to its wealthier neighbour (deterritorialisation). The boundary between Cromwell District and Queenstown-Lakes District is therefore in many ways a chimera. Adding to this complex picture is the need to think of tourism in Cromwell District in a ‘decentred’ way (Rojek, 1995). This is because tourism development cannot be disentangled from change and diversification in other areas of economic and cultural activity in and beyond the region. These include place promotion, amenity

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migration, traditional and new forms of rural commodity production, and the development of a new viticulture and wine region. In a fundamental and material way Cromwell township and neighbouring Bannockburn, the towns in Cromwell District, were very greatly affected by the building of the Clyde dam and its aftermath. Sitting at the confluence of the Kawarau and Clutha/Mata-Au Rivers, Cromwell was first extensively re-developed as a construction town to house the dam building workforce. The population of the District grew quickly from a pre-dam population of approximately 900 people, reaching 3700 at the time of our fieldwork and now totalling 4896 (Central Otago, n.d.). When Lake Dunstan was filled, most of the nineteenth century centre of the town was drowned, but the filling of the lake and its associated amenity was the catalyst for the development of recreational and tourist activity. The opportunity for tourism and the other economic developments that have occurred in Cromwell since the late 1990s was not immediately recognised. The end of the dam construction period led to significant population decline as dam-workers moved out of the region with flow-on effects for sub-contractors and other businesses (Wilson and Houghton, 1989). The town was infrastructurally well developed, land was available and relatively inexpensive and the District’s location near the resort areas of Central Otago spoke of possibilities: but how to realise them? One of the answers came from a small group of local public and private entrepreneurs who embarked on an active process of place promotion. These entrepreneurs comprised members of the Cromwell and Districts Promotion Group, made up of representatives of local businesses. Their place promotion proved an effective and successful vehicle for transmitting and reinforcing knowledge about the high amenity of the District and its desirability as a place to invest and visit. As a first step, to bolster the local economy, Cromwell’s residents were asked to submit ideas for projects showcasing some element of local culture which might raise the profile of the district as a visitor destination (Breen, 1990). The winning submission was for a giant roadside fruit bowl to be erected in the town, symbolising the area’s summer-fruit industry and numerous roadside fruit stalls (Bell and Lyall, 1995). Once built, Cromwell quickly earned the nickname: ‘The fruit bowl of the South’. More recently the Cromwell Promotion Group has exploited a wider range of rural imagery, attractions and experiences in its publicity material. The approach taken is illustrated below: Cromwell is located in the valley of the Upper Clutha, deep in the heart of the dry interior of Central Otago . . . in a landscape of bare brown hills, of tussock and briar, of purple thyme and tors of schist, of broad basins and

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fertile valleys, of Lake Dunstan's pristine waters and of gorges carved by two great rivers . . . a landscape first trodden by the Maori hunter and trader, opened to European settlement by the sheepmen, exploited and transformed by the gold seekers and later by the dam builders . . . and now home to the merino and deer farmer, to orchards and vineyards, to artists and artisans and to those, tempted by the landscape and history, climate and location and the myriad of pursuits offered on land and water, to visit this 'timeless land' (Cromwell.org, n.d).

As represented by the place promotion text above, Cromwell’s development rests on both new and well-established activities. There has been a good deal of experimentation to create financially sustainable new ventures. It follows therefore that some have been successful and others not. Export-oriented sheep and beef farming has been an economic mainstay in the region for many years but farms are now managed without subsidies and many farmers are actively seeking ways to maintain financial viability through diversification. Pluriactivity has become commonplace and, alongside agriculture, attempts have been made to establish, for example, on-farm holiday accommodation, game bird shooting, big-game hunting, mountain biking and remote high country walking. One relatively new event harks back to Cromwell’s fruit orchard history but takes advantage of the recent growth in export cherry production. The annual Cromwell Cherry Festival incorporates the Famous Cromwell Cherry Spitting Competition and annual Cherry Pie Baking and Eating Challenges. Attempts are currently being made to rebrand Cromwell as the ‘Cherry capital of New Zealand’, a brand which sits along other allied place brands. The place promotion also exploits and promotes the existence of a wide variety of opportunities for outdoor recreation and cultural heritage activity on public conservation lands. As a result, in Cromwell, heritage tourism focused upon the former goldfields is important and a wide variety of recreation and hospitality opportunities has been established, some using the new areas assigned to heritage and nature conservation in the high country tenure review process. Sports events that take advantage of the landscape and topography of the District have been promoted and become popular. A very good example is the Cromwell Promotion Group’s support for the Bannockburn Gutbuster, a 75km mountain bike ride comprising two climbs (up to 1300m) through the Nevis Valley. These attempts at profiling Cromwell’s high landscape amenity and the availability of land for development have had the effect of attracting capital investment from beyond the District and increasing in-migration. The Central Otago District Council and its local agent, the Cromwell

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Community Board, took a significant entrepreneurial role in this process, subdividing and selling land it owned in Cromwell township, upon which was built various retail and service concerns, some supporting the hospitality industry in Queenstown and others more locally focused. This in turn led to a housing boom as long- and short-stay amenity migrants purchased houses in the District. A good example is a new lake-side housing development at Pisa Moorings, a significant proportion of houses in which are holiday homes (Hutching, 1994). Building and service industries have therefore also expanded and a cadre of professionals such as real estate developers and salespeople, surveyors, planners, landscape architects, engineers, and lawyers, based either locally or working from the country’s main centres, have made a good living from the new work generated. Amenity migration to Cromwell District from within New Zealand and overseas is also closely linked to the development of the Central Otago wine region since the completion of the Clyde dam and the creation of Lake Dunstan. One of the key actors early in this process was the New Zealand Government who, as a way of mitigating the loss of land and income from the flooding of the Clutha/Mata Au valley, funded scientific research to identify the potential of the District to grow new crops. Cool climate grape production was seen as being a real possibility and over the intervening years a significant wine region has developed based primarily on wine made from the Pinot Noir grape. Vineyards and wineries are typically owned, managed and staffed by in-migrants to the Cromwell District. Some vineyards are owned by wealthy individuals whose main residence is overseas or in a distant New Zealand city. They visit the region irregularly to inspect their investment and take advantage of the recreational opportunities available in Cromwell and Central Otago. The introduction of grapes in a new environment has created opportunities for the establishment of winery restaurants, wine tours and helicopter flights to winery restaurants from Queenstown, and wine tasting focused on encouraging wine purchases when visitors return home. Viticulture has also allowed some high country farmers to take a strong entrepreneurial role and diversify their operations. An excellent example is Northburn Station, some 12,000 hectares in size. Merino wool is still an important source of income but the Station owner has diversified into Merino lamb meat, contract grape growing, wine-making including cellar door sales, commercial and tourist recreation activities, hospitality based on the provision of a convention centre and tourist accommodation, and has also subdivided and sold residential lifestyle blocks sited on the spectacularly rugged land overlooking Lake Dunstan. The Station also contains gold

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mining heritage sites managed by the Department of Conservation. The emerging multifunctional character of the Station is brought together under the Northburn brand (Mahaffie, 2009).

Conclusion: rural tourism and the South Island of New Zealand’s global multifunctional countryside Cromwell’s story is replicated in many rural areas of the South Island of New Zealand, albeit with local or situated differences also in evidence. In general terms rural New Zealand is a ‘global playground’ (Woods, 2011b). The tourists taking advantage of this playground are from within New Zealand and from overseas and visit the countryside for varying periods of time. These tourists represent a wide range of tastes, incomes and recreational aspirations and so rural tourism products are diverse in form and price. This diversity demands that a number of linked and constantly developing stories are being created to promote rural tourism which in turn has led to the development of a plethora of new and diverse rural places in which to perform. Tourism growth in these places is allied to, and often dependent on, other economic and cultural activities, and thus rural activities, and the spaces in which they occur, are co-dependent and complex: and sites of both cooperation and conflict. These activities and spaces and their associated place promotional images are always in a process of ‘becoming’ as local and global entrepreneurs, sometimes singly, and at other times collaboratively, explore and invest time, capital and creative energy in new economic and cultural opportunities. The result of this emergent and contingent local and global agency and practice is a global multifunctional countryside.

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Best, S. (1989) The commodification of reality and the reality of commodification: Jean Baudrillard and post-modernism. Current Perspectives in Social Theory. 19: 23-51. Breen, M. (1990) Cromwell promotes its fruit Production. Rotary Downunder. (online) Available from (www.f2bbulk.com/cromwell/pdf/CromwellFruitSculpture.pdf [Accessed December 24, 2013). Brower, A. (2008) Who owns the high country? Nelson, NZ: Craig Potton Publishing. Butler, R. (1998) Rural recreation and tourism. In B. Ilbery (Ed.), The Geography of Rural Change. United Kingdom: Addison Wesley Longman Limited, 211-232. Carnachan, H. (2004, 27 April) Rural New Zealand Cashing in on Tourism Bonanza. Rural News, 16-17. Central Otago (n.d.) Population. [online] Available from www.centralotagonz.com/central-otago-population [Accessed November 27, 2013]. Central Otago District Council (2008) Economic and business development strategy, 2008-2011. October, Alexandra. Cloke, P. (1993) The countryside as commodity: New spaces for rural leisure. In S. Glyptis (ed.), Leisure and the environment: Essays in honour of Professor J. A. Patmore. London and New York: Belhaven Press, 53-67. Cloke, P. and Perkins, H. C. (1998) ’Cracking the Canyon with the awesome foursome’: Representations of adventure tourism in New Zealand. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space. 16: 185218. Cloke, P. and Perkins, H. (2002) Commodification and adventure in New Zealand tourism. Current Issues in Tourism. 5(6): 521-549. Cromwell.org (n.d.) Discover Cromwell (online) Available from www.cromwell.org.nz [Accessed November 22, 2013). Hall, C. M. and Kearsley, G. W. (2001) Tourism in New Zealand: An introduction. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Holmes, J. (2006) Impulses towards a multifunctional transition in rural Australia: gaps in the research agenda. Journal of Rural Studies. 22: 142-160. —. (2008) Impulses towards a multifunctional transition in rural Australia: interpreting regional dynamics in landscapes, lifestyles and livelihoods. Landscape Research. 32(2): 211-223.

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—. (2010) The multifunctional transition in Australia’s tropical savannas: the emergence of consumption, protection and indigenous values. Geographical Research. 48(3): 265-280. —. (2012) Cape York Peninsula, Australia: A frontier region undergoing a multifunctional transition with indigenous engagement. Journal of Rural Studies. 28: 252-265. Hopkins, J. (1998) Signs of the post-rural: marketing myths of a symbolic countryside. Geografiska Annaler Series B: Human Geography. 80(2): 65-81. Hutching, C. (1994) Lake Dunstan sections snapped up. The National Business Review. 28, January: 36. Jones, A. (2013) Geographies of production 1: Relationality revisited and the ‘practice shift’ in economic geography. Progress in Human Geography. DOI:10.1177/0309132513502151. Le Heron, R. and Pawson E. (eds) (1996) Changing places: New Zealand in the nineties. Auckland: Longman Paul. Mackay, M., Perkins, H. C and Espiner, S. (2009) The study of rural change from a social scientific perspective: A literature review and annotated bibliography. Lincoln University, New Zealand. Mahaffie, S. (2009) Otago’s hotspot. NZ Life and Leisure, 26. (online) Available from www.nzlifeandleisure.co.nz/node/1152 [Accessed October 28, 2009]. McCarthy, J. (2008) Rural geography: globalizing the countryside. Progress in Human Geography. 32(1): 129-137. McClure, M. (2004) The wonder country: Making New Zealand tourism. Auckland: The University of Auckland Press. Moon, O. (2002) The countryside reinvented for urban tourists: rural transformation in the Japanese muraokoshi movement. In J. Hendry and M. Raveri (eds) Japan at Play: The Ludic and the Logic of Power. London: Routledge, 228-244. Perkins, H. C. (2006) Commodification: re-resourcing rural areas. In P. Clarke, T. Marsden and P. H. Mooney (eds) Handbook of Rural Studies. London: Sage, 243-257. Perkins, H. C. and Thorns, D. C. (2001) Gazing or performing? Reflections on Urry’s tourist gaze in the context of contemporary experience in the Antipodes. International Sociology. 16(2): 185-204. Perkins, H. C. and Thorns, D. C. (2012) Place, identity and everyday life in a globalizing world. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Rojek, C. (1995) Decentring leisure: Rethinking leisure theory. London: Sage.

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Rosin, C., Dwiartama, A., Grant, D. and Hopkins, D. (2013) Using provenance to create stability: State-led territorialisation of Central Otago as assemblage. New Zealand Geographer. 69: 235-248. Slee, B. (2005) From countrysides of production to countrysides of consumption? The Journal of Agricultural Science. 143(4): 255-265. Taylor, N., Fitzgerald, G. and McClintock, W. (2001) Resource communities in New Zealand: perspectives on community formation and change. In G. Lawrence, V. Higgins and S. Lockie (eds), Environment, society and natural resource management: Theoretical perspectives from Australasia and the Americas. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Warren, J. and Taylor, N. (1999) Developing rural tourism in New Zealand. Wellington: CRESA. Wilson, A. G. and Houghton, R. M. (1989) Clutha Valley Development wind down social impact monitoring, Report Three, August. Prepared for the State Services Commission, The Cromwell Social Task Force and the Alexanda, Clyde and District Social Task Force. Wilson, G. A. (2007) Multifunctional agriculture: A transition theory perspective. Wallingford, UK: CABI International. Woods, M. (2007) Engaging the global countryside: globalization, hybridity and the reconstitution of rural place. Progress in Human Geography. 31(4): 485-507. —. (2011a) The local politics of the global countryside: boosterism, aspirational ruralism and the contested reconstitution of Queenstown New Zealand. GeoJournal. 76(4): 365-381. —. (2011b) Regions Engaging Globalization: A typology of regional responses in rural Europe. Paper presented to the Anglo-AmericanCanadian Rural Geographers Quadrennial Conference, Manitoba, July 2011.

CHAPTER THREE PROTECT, PROMOTE, DEVELOP: RURAL TOURISM AND VILLAGE PATRIMONIALISATION IN FRANCE HÉLÈNE DUCROS

Introduction: The ‘heritage turn’ in the French countryside ‘Campagne’, ‘pays’, ‘terroir’ are words with a strong evocative power in the French collective imaginary. They encompass a romanticised rural past and recall idealised memories of glorious times in which life is reimagined as simpler, humbler, and more communal, where nature and culture enjoyed a harmonious relationship based on ancestral knowledge and local stewardship. As in many places around the world, rural landscapes and agricultural livelihoods in France have been transformed over the last two centuries. Devastating wars, agricultural mechanisation, urbanisation and industrialisation, and the European Union’s agricultural policies resulted in a rural exodus, the desertification of the countryside, and the decline of rural communities. This has changed the relationship between the French and the countryside. The bond between the French and their pays now often comes to be expressed through the patrimonialisation1 of rural spaces as historical objects worthy of protection, as symbolic collective riches rather than individual land possessions intended solely for tangible production (Hervieu, 2012). The new preservation impulse for rural landscapes triggers a renewed gaze 1

“Patrimonialisation” (Chastel 1997; Nora 1997; Hervieu 2012), or “heritagisation” (Walsh 1992; Harvey, 2001; Smith 2006; Poria, 2010; RogerioCandelera, Lazzari, and Cano, 2013) denotes the transformation of the past into cultural heritage, a process described as “a defining feature of postmodern societies” (Wood 1999: 31) and a “very French notion” (Hervieu 2012: 10) that renders something communal, public and intergenerational while sacralising it.

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onto degraded territories. Development schemes emerge based on the recognition of their cultural value rather than extractive and agricultural potential. One such development strategy lies in the booming heritage tourism industry, which redefines ‘the rural’ in terms of touristic attractiveness. In this context, the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of France (MBVF) was founded. Since 1982, it has granted its coveted ‘label’2 to 156 villages. Rural areas in France have faced depopulation, aging populations, lower than average incomes and lack of access to basic services. In joining the network, localities choose heritage tourism as a lever for re-birth and enhanced socio-economic prospects. Fostering rural heritage preservation as a basis for hospitality-led local economic development, the Association uses specific criteria to recognise municipalities’ commitment to maintaining landscape ‘quality’ and supports their efforts to valorise heritage and make it accessible and legible to visitors. Although the evaluation criteria by which villages are assessed are rooted in French intellectual, social, and artistic legacies of the 19th and early 20th centuries, this has not prevented the label from being exported beyond the confines of France. In fact, the French theming model has been adopted in eight nations on three continents. The Association’s Charte de Qualité has been adapted to local rural specificities, indicating that the reproduction and re-invention of the rural through heritage labelisation is not an isolated case in a nation obsessed with its cultural heritage, but a global response to challenging trends the rural world faces everywhere. It reflects a desire of the rural world to connect through international networks of similar localities and people across the globe, beyond old nationalistic rivalries. This chapter focuses on this case-study to examine how development in rural areas in France is shaped by contemporary understandings of rural heritage, or patrimony, when opportunities for a sustainable future are envisaged in the touristic exchange. The chapter discusses how the project was launched and the goals designed in a specific social, economic, and cultural understanding of the rural by founders devoted to making the rural significant again. Instead of being nostalgically turned towards the past, the Association seeks to revitalise villages to make them places of living again.

2

‘Label’, meaning ‘certification’, is the word used by actors. ‘Labelisation’ designates the processes by which the label is attributed. In urban contexts, labelisation is sometimes termed ‘theming’ or ‘branding’.

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The Most Beautiful Villages of France, it’s first and foremost for the inhabitants. In a village, can you buy a baguette? A piece of meat? If there are services for residents, they will also serve tourists. The living environment must be enhanced for inhabitants, and if it is adapted to them, it will be so for visitors as well. (MBVF Officer, 2012)

The chapter then concentrates on how objectives are implemented through the labelisation process. Finally, the improbable global-scale diffusion of a model designed for the French context is described. This research is based on fieldwork and partially funded by the National Science Foundation (DDRI BCS-1202703). Participation-observation in Association’s activities over two years, and interviews with Association’s officers and 22 member-village mayors support the findings.

The village and the myth of the rural The ways in which people relate to the landscape around them are historically and culturally specific. To understand the case study, the relationship between heritage and cultural landscape must be highlighted. J.B. Jackson (1980) cautions that our interest in historic artefacts stems from nostalgia for our past rather than admiration; and for David Lowenthal (1985: 14), nostalgia is a modern malaise fuelled by our inability to make a coherent connection between past, present, and future: A past beyond recovery seems to many unbearable. We know the future is inaccessible; but is the past irrevocably lost? Is there no way to recapture, re-experience, relive it? We crave evidence that the past endures in recoverable form. Some agency, some mechanism, some faith will enable us not just to know it, but to see and feel it.

In rural France, one such mechanism is the village. According to scholars, temporal disjuncture produces the basis for preservation fervour, which others have called Noah syndrome (Choay, 1999), patrimonial hypertrophy (Drouain, 2006), or patrimonial obsession (Jeudy, 2008). This disjuncture has been observed in rural France since the 1970s (Dibie, 1979). Not only does nostalgia alienate people from the present and is fuelled by distrust for the future, but it also “reaffirms bruised identities” (Lowenthal, 1985). As identities get pressured in today’s globalised and urbanised context and lives are increasingly controlled by technologies and exogenous forces, the countryside becomes object of rêverie and desire. It is sublimated as a refuge from all anxieties of urban life. The development of the heritage tourism sector in the French countryside is symptomatic of this modern malady. While cultural tourism is not new,

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since the 1980s new consumption modes have conferred heritage new economic functions and made it a key element in the rapid development of localised cultural tourism (Patin, 2005). At a time in which anything past becomes ‘heritage’, rural heritage is particularly significant for tourism because it constitutes a node where several supply and demand dimensions of tourism meet: cultural and historic landscapes, regional architecture, gastronomy, folkloric and thematic festivals, ecomuseums, sports and nature, war and religious tourism. The intellectual basis for the myth of the rural lies in the legacy of the humanistic French School of Geography and the concepts of pays and genres de vie elaborated by geographer Vidal de la Blache and his disciples from the 19th century to the 1960s. In this tradition, rural livelihoods associated with particular local milieus are central to landscape analysis. The Vidalian tradition is significant in the ways in which the French approach the rural as a milieu where nature and culture come together holistically as pays. Many in that intellectual lineage focused on the history of rural-agricultural settlements (Buttimer, 1971). Rural landscapes are shaped by societies who depend on them and at the same time inscribe their lifestyles onto the landscape, in a two-way relationship over time (Bloch, 1931; Dion, 1934; Buttimer, 1971). Still influential today, this approach to the rural laid the conceptual vocabulary by which the French apprehend rural landscapes and communities. Equally meaningful is the notion of terroir, which, echoing the pays, translates the unique symbiotic relationship between places and livelihoods, between nature and culture, connecting agricultural production, soil, climate, savoir-faire, and local milieu (Lévy and Lussault, 2003; Cartier, 2004). Together, terroir and heritage represent important components of placedevelopment, particularly for tourism. Terroirs become patrimonialised through product labelisation (such as Protected Designation of Origin). Rural places become patrimony through labelisation. The label perpetuates the idea of exceptionalism in the French countryside, and sustains sentiments of local endurance and pride (Ducros, 2014). The myth of the rural also rests on a strong imagery nurtured by centuries of literary and artistic production. Classic literary works such as George Sand’s and Jean Giono’s rural novels have been woven into the fabric of popular culture. Both authors shaped ideas about the stakes of rural life, as has the French regionalist literary movement (Thiesse, 1988). Numerous cinema and TV adaptations of these works have further popularised rural themes for generations of French citizens. Artistic movements also contributed to shaping national sensibilities and fed the nostalgic imagination of generations over rustic themes, particularly

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through the 19th century bucolic scenes of the realist Barbizon School (Bernard, 1990). Millet and Courbet’s paintings have become manifestos for a social ideal threatened by industrialisation and urbanisation (Laclotte and Cuzin, 1987; Bernard, 1990), sustaining nostalgia for themes alluding to life before industrialisation, often with disregard for the harsh reality of peasant life. Also in the late 19th century, tourist guides first appeared and illustrated postcards became widely used. Both produced, transmitted, and maintained stereotypical imagery of the rural (Gasnier, 1997; Ripert and Frère, 2001). The first urban mass tourists developed sensibilities, tastes, and expectations about what the countryside ‘should’ look and feel like, often resulting in the folklorisation of the rural, a process captured in Urry’s (2002) ‘tourist gaze’. The exaltation for rural folklore culminated in 1937 with the Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires in Paris, which highlighted regional agrarian and cultural diversity, at the centre of which lies the village.

The end of the village? France’s rural history has been well-documented and celebrated since the Revolution for its peasants’ merits and local know-how as the backbone of the Nation (Bloch, 1931; Duby, 1975; Weber, 1976). Since the new Millennium, France has become infatuated with its rural landscapes specifically its villages - as conceptual instruments to examine the disjuncture between past, present and future at a time when ‘being French’ is tested by global forces such as immigration and the cultural hybridity of a globalised world. The historiography of the village as a socio-geographic concept is long and complex. A few scholars stand out to exemplify the legacy through which the Association emerged and continues to evolve. For Roupnel (1932: 203) the village is “the expression, materially produced by human means, of the soil, relief, waters and fields; encompassing all human values and characters inscribed in soil and places.” The village epitomise pays, described as an impossible concept to translate into English: ‘native land’, mythicised through legend, habits, languages, customs, and singularities, a place grounded in local territory, withdrawn into its specificities, and beyond which everything is ‘other’ (Weber, 1976: 45). Central to today’s French nostalgic cravings for the campagne appears the quaint imagery of the village: its winding road leading to a steeple, plaza, fountains and Daedalian cobble-stoned paths. From television programmes or lay audience books to scholarly works, the village is omnipresent in the French cultural imagination, energetically resurging into mainstream media that has capitalised on this craze and

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further contributed to making the village an object of longing (Ducros, 2014). The village catalyses an intangible ideal deeply engrained in the French imaginary of the nation as a mosaic of pays. Amid the village mania, debates have emerged about what constitutes a village, the sustainability of rural lifestyles and communities under pressure from the modern world, and whether the village in fact still exists as the expression of rurality in France (Morin, 1967; Wylie, 1968; Dibie, 1979, 2006; Lévy, 1994; Le Goff, 2012; Ducros 2014). Such debates are not new. Rural ethnographer Pascal Dibie (1979) noted the waning of the village in the 1970s, as the village opened up to the outside world and consequently relinquished its originality and eclipsed its social function. “The village first uncovered its shoulders, a few rooftops, then it showed its arms, and finally exposed itself to the gaze of hurried passersby” (Dibie 2006: 29)3. Dibie’s thesis that increased visibility triggered the vulnerability of the village is challenged by today’s effort to bring villages out of oblivion by making them attractive and accessible to tourists. It is precisely visibility which villages seek for survival. Far from being considered a weakness leading to vulnerability, rural mayors often suggest that staying on the tourist’s map has become essential for place resilience (Ducros, 2014). However, a recent wellmediatised volume, the ‘End of the Village’ (Le Goff, 2012), corroborates Dibie’s conclusions that openness killed the village, as it highlights the divide between myth and reality in the globalised context of modern France. Transformed by tourism, television, peri-urbanism, cars, and wellmeaning neo-rurals, the village no longer fosters social cohesion, but has become a place where people are disconnected from each other and from the place itself, in a double alienation process. These processes relate to agricultural transformation. The correlation between the decline of the village and that of the peasantry has been substantiated since the 1960s4, as the visceral connection between the two entities is central to the rural world (Mendras, 1967; Weber, 1976). Converting local economies from agriculture to tourism has resulted in degraded social structures and loss of meaningful relationships between rural inhabitants (Pringle and Schaeffer, 2010; Ducros, 2014). The success of television programmes glorifying the village, such as Le village préféré des Français (France2 2012, 2013, 2014), reinforces the importance of rural territories not only economically but also as constituting a very personal connection with a past perceived as lost. National surveys 3

Translation by author The French population involved in agriculture was 30% in 1945 and 4% in 2003 (Jean and Périgord, 2009).

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revealed that two thirds of French people had social ties to the rural, mostly through family, and a sense of belonging to a pays or region (IPSOS, 2002). 95% valued preserving and valorising rural patrimony to transmit a sense of identity to future generations and promote economic development. Surveys also showed that a majority conceived of ‘rural heritage’ as vernacular artefacts, which have become important assets for tourism.

Rural tourism As local epicentres of past rural life, today’s deserted villages have kept their significance as the antithesis to the hybridity, complexity, and uncontrollable scale of the city. Remembered or imagined as homogeneous and socially cohesive places, they are rearticulated as heritage sites, giving them the opportunity to reshape themselves through the choices local decision-makers make in interpreting their past and representing their rural character to an ever growing number of heritage tourists, as mobility and leisure increasingly characterise modern societies. “If the past is a foreign country, nostalgia has made it ‘the foreign country with the healthiest tourist trade of all’” (Lowenthal, 1985:4). Today, France is at an identity crossroad, faced with the destabilising economic and social forces of globalisation. Whereas social scientists worry about the end of the village, it clearly appears that the village is not dead in the tourist’s fantasy. More than ever, the village and countryside constitute a refuge from anchorless modern and urban lifestyles. Second home ownership in France is the highest in Europe, and 60% of these homes are located in rural settings, a distinctly French phenomenon (Dibie, 2006; Robin, 2011; DATAR, 2012). This number, steadily increasing over the last decade, is an important component of tourism-based development plans in rural zones (with regional variations). Rural tourism has increased by 5.4% since 2007, as gauged by the number of paid-for accommodation nights, and covers 85% of the national territory, accounting for 35% of all touristic visits (DATAR, 2012). However, this number may underestimate the share of the rural in tourism statistics as many rural localities lack effective measures. Assessment tools are inconsistent and often inaccurate when accounting for a tourist population that varies widely in terms of practices (Ducros, 2014). Furthermore, rural tourism represents 20% of all tourism commercial consumption in France, as measured by the number of nights purchased in local inns, but 70% of tourism nights in rural areas are not considered since the figure does not account for visitors staying in second homes, with family or friends outside commercial transactions

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(DATAR, 2012). Definite numbers are hard to obtain, but the upward trend suggests great potential for rural tourism in France. The UN World Tourism Organization (2014) ranked France the number one international tourist destination in the world. The fact that France is also the chosen destination for 80% of French domestic tourists is revealing (Ministère de l’Artisanat, du Commerce et du Tourisme, 2012) - a trend that has increased as the economic crisis has changed vacationing habits, to the benefit of shorter stays and destinations closer to home. As they have internalised the imaginary of the village through rural novels, glorification of the peasant and rural landscapes in artistic production, modern media, and ancestral attachment, domestic tourists bring their expectations about how the countryside should make them feel, creating promising possibilities for localities that choose rural heritage preservation as a development path. Creating ‘places of emotion’ is precisely a key dimension of the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of France’s mission.

The Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of France The Association’s original mission was primarily to save French villages from oblivion. “We wanted visibility” (village mayor, 2012) and “we want national recognition” (another mayor, 2012). In 1982, the countryside had suffered decades of crisis resulting from a range of interlocking dynamics: changes in rural population composition, consolidation of regional urban and industrial hubs, and the impact of supra-national economic and agricultural European Union policies on local communities (Jean and Périgord, 2009). France’s villages, the back-bone of its rural past, were dying. In spite of the large number of rural communes5, their mayors felt neglected in the national political process and development plans. Not coincidentally, this was the time when the term globalisation was first uttered and when all eyes turned to the global. It is in this bleak conjuncture that the Association emerged out of a coffee-table book encountered by chance in a Parisian bookstore by the mayor of Collongesla-Rouge, a striking red-stoned village in Corrèze. Today, Association officers relate how Mayor Ceyrac, now deceased, was intrigued to find his village included in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, a Readers’ Digest 5

Smallest administrative unit in France. A rural commune may include an urban core (a village), scattered hamlets, and surrounding agricultural land. Over 2000 inhabitants, a locality is considered urban. Rural space represents over 70% of the French territory, 31,590 of 36,681 communes, and 25.2% of total population. Rural communes population median is 423 inhabitants (INSEE, 2013).

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Selection (1977) and sensed an opportunity to revive villages. Committed to the rural cause, he contacted the mayors of the 100 villages featured in the book, in order to gauge their interest for developing a collaborative project (Ceyrac, 1981). Sixty-six responded and the Association was launched. The first generation of member-villages was chosen out of mayors’ willingness to join forces in an endeavour for which the contours were still to be precisely determined. To this day, Readers’ Digest remains the Association’s publisher and a core partner. The founders would spend years designing and fine-tuning the development model based on heritage protection and rehabilitation, always remaining aware that the character of the ‘rural’, as they understood it, was not altered. The Association’s motto is to “know ourselves, to make ourselves known, to make ourselves be acknowledged” (“se connaître, se faire connaître, se faire reconnaître”). Since its beginning, the Association has had a dual and sometimes ambiguous agenda: retain the character of the rural (and protect the richness of the French pays with all the permanence and cultural anchoring it provides), while making it accessible and desirable to the visitor, most likely urban and transient. Today, the Association has been professionalised, with a permanent staff of four. One result of this effort was to legitimise the organisation as a selective institution that labelises deserving candidates around the ‘protect-promote-develop’ tripod. The Charte de Qualité (charter listing assessment criteria) has been applied to candidate-villages since 1991, when the Association became a legal brand, with registered statutes, logo, and control over the use of its name. The Association’s three-fold mission centres around questions of heritage conservation, promotion and valorisation, policy implementation enhancing visibility of the village and its patrimony, and concrete economic development projects. Currently, 156 villages embody the Association’s aspirations, directly affecting around 110,000 inhabitants, and many more indirectly in the wider regions. Member-villages aspire to remain relevant (“to be acknowledged”) by attracting visitors (“to make ourselves known”) while also reinforcing pride in local heritage and identity (“to know ourselves”). Negotiating the line between preservation and promotion can prove challenging. Mindful of the dangers of excessive touristification, caricatural quaintness, and the soullessness of museum-villages, the Association remains vigilant in advising mayors on development ventures, for example over types of commercial offerings, treatment of public spaces – from flowers to café terraces -, and encourages quality over quantity. “Part of what we do is educate” (MBVF Officer, 2012). It strives to recreate living villages where livelihoods are possible again, where

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young people raise children, where village residents become aware of where they live. The expert-qualité (who assesses candidates) concedes that more is not necessarily better in tourism-driven place conversions. Members aim for balance between attracting enough people to foster an economic impetus and not losing the very character that attracted people in the first place. Rural heritage value and tourism are narrowly connected in the Association’s project. Interviews reveal that patrimonialisation plays the dual role of renewing interest in local heritage and jolting the local economy (Ducros, 2014).

‘Protect, promote, develop’ The economic and cultural duality of the project is encompassed in the Charte de Qualité. Its criteria assess both concrete heritage features and the adequacy of the municipality’s heritage resource management plan. Heritage quality is measured according to urbanistic (villages constitute small urban centres for planners and architects) and architectural attributes, while the commitment to heritage development is measured in terms of enhancement, promotion, and implementation, as well as tourism infrastructure development. The evaluation of urbanistic components translates a preference for well-groomed village surroundings (avoiding ‘village sprawl’), placing particular attention on village entrances, and a built core that is compact in size and homogenous in style and volume, and which proposes a variety of in-ways. Architectural quality is assessed in terms of harmony and homogeneity of built volumes, openings, colour palettes, façades and rooftop materials. The Association also values the presence of symbolic urban décor elements (medallions on façades, unusual windows or balconies, etc.). Although value is attributed to petit patrimoine, - common heritage artefacts such as washpits, mangers, or water-wells- member-villages must show a minimum of two heritage perimètres (zones) that are registered or listed on the National Registry (whether architectural or natural heritage). Heritage management and enhancement policies are evaluated in relation to control over traffic and parking, aesthetic treatment of electrical and phone lines (preference that they be buried), nocturnal illumination of key architectural features, appropriately decorative vegetation, and efforts at façade renovations. Additionally, the Association is likely to require that a planning document exist (a costly endeavour for small communes) to indicate the candidate’s willingness to commit to the project lastingly. Another set of criteria evaluates concrete measures taken towards development (acquiring

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knowledge about tourist flows, increasing the hospitality capacity and encouraging commercial enterprises). Participation in regional activities beyond the commune, the presence of an information centre, availability of guided tours and promotional literature and pamphlets, and the installation of interpretive signage throughout the village (explaining the cultural landscape to visitors) are also appraised. Finally, the last set of criteria evaluates the organisation of various performance-based cultural activities, such as festivals and fairs and the availability of adequate spaces for them (for example, the yearly Fête de la Confiture In Candes-Saint-Martin or Charroux’s Fête de la Soupe). The Charte de Qualité is used when initial application for membership is submitted, and again every six years when member-villages are reevaluated. The Association has always maintained a consistent vision for the project and a coherent implementation, which has contributed to its success and endurance. The label embodies a triple promise: that made by municipalities to the Association’s mission, that made by the Association to municipalities in terms of advice and information, and the promise of quality the Association’s label makes to tourists. The network remains meaningful and successful as long as a relationship of trust is maintained between the label and visitors. The label, acting as a brand, becomes a guarantee of what tourists can expect. However, while it is shaped by these expectations, it also re-shapes visitors’ expectations about the rural. Practically, the triple promise is enabled by a demanding labelisation process that includes several steps: the request by a village to become a member, the evaluation by the expert-qualité, and the decision by the Commission Qualité. About ten percent of candidate-villages are granted accession every year (there are no quotas) and the decision is rarely a straight oui/non decision. Frequently, villages are admitted with contingencies and expectation that a number of projects should be undertaken before re-inspection. In this case, the label is useful for mayors to convince residents of the necessity for specific enhancements. A village is categorically denied membership in the event of some permanent and unacceptable feature such as contemporary structures, village sprawl, or insufficient ‘heritage value’. However, when the Association sees potential for improvement, denial is mediated by an indication that a later application would be considered when the municipality presents a stronger dossier, and recommendations are made to that effect. Hence, the Association influences how rural communes develop. If granted the label, the village, municipal team, Mayor, and inhabitants become stewards of local heritage and responsible for upholding the Charte de Qualité in public spaces and those private spaces visible from public vantage points.

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Membership fees are 3€/inhabitant and panels displaying the Association’s logo must be purchased and placed at village entrances. In exchange, the Association features the member-villages in its guide and website. In 2012, the Association turned thirty. It was an opportune time for the mature organisation to re-examine motives and rethink practices in a changed context: intensification of mass tourism6, hyper-mobility, new means of communication, emergence of rurbans, and the network’s unforeseen internationalisation.

Rural to global One unexpected success of the Association is the adoption of the model by other nations. Eight nations have created their respective associations and Charte de Qualité after consultation with the French organisation. The French association never planned on expanding. Rather, other nations came to it to seek guidance on how to create their own national network, moreover expressing their desire to create an international network on the French model’s core concept. In July 2012, the Association met associations from other countries in Gordes, France, to formally discuss the legal formation of the Federation of the Most Beautiful Villages of the World and finalise its by-laws. Delegations from Japan, Wallonia, Québec, and Italy were present as well as representatives for nascent Spanish and Saxon associations. Over several days of discussion about common goals and motivations, and sharing best practice, it became clear that the rural plays a key role in those nations in fostering identity resilience. Interviews with all representatives present revealed that the rural is envisaged not only as a place that encapsulates the past but also as one that makes the future possible. This becomes feasible through the development of heritage tourism and conversion from an agriculture-based local economy to an economy of hospitality. Through rural landscape preservation, socio-economic aspects of the rural may be saved. The French Association model has been adopted in nations as distinct and geographically distant as Japan and Québec because the challenges faced by rural areas are global. In each case, the French criteria were adapted to local specificities. For example, in Romania, the focus is on human capital and folklore rather than architectural patrimony. It is accepted by both the French and Walloon associations’ officers that most Walloon villages would not ‘pass’ French standards, but the criteria were

6

Sometimes over a million summer visitors.

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adjusted to create a Charte de Qualité consistent with the reality of Walloon rurality. Table 3.1 summarises the diffusion pattern of the French model and the movement from a national to international network. Diffusion followed trajectories of geographic proximity, cultural, and linguistic affinities. Interviews with representatives of seven national associations (all but South Korea, absent at the meeting) revealed the way the concept circulated from France to other parts of the world. The Francophone link was first to operate (Wallonia, Québec). Other links emerged through cultural affinities, proximity, and personal or business/education voyages. France and Italy being among the top international destinations for Japanese tourists (UN World Tourism, 2013), the Japanese brought the idea home. In 2013, under Japan’s guidance, South Korea formed its own network, suggesting the emergence of a new diffusion centre in Asia. In all these countries, the combination of difficult economic conditions in rural areas and the richness of local history and architectural heritage led to the identification of ‘historic’ towns where heritage interpretation and its communication to the public have become crucial activities. The Association sees the internationalisation of the network as an opportunity for further development and legitimation: For us, certainly, this marks our success and provides us even more visibility. When other labels are struggling to go national, we are instead going international (Association Officer, 2012).

In 2013, to this end, the Association teamed up with Atout France Agency for Tourism Development under the Ministry of Artisanship, Commerce and Tourism - to publish a bi-lingual ‘how-to’ guide for nations wanting to create their own national associations (Atout France, 2013). The French Association is thus in a strong position to face critiques and competitors in that it represents the only place-quality label in France able to export its values and practices. Far from looking inward and pastgazing, it shows instead that it aspires to be an organisation of its time, embracing what globalisation offers to foster a sustainable future for rural communities everywhere; in effect conjuring the twilight of the village and resolving the disjuncture between past, present and future through transnational local-to-local relationships.

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Table 3.1: Global diffusion

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Conclusions: From personal attachment to a pays to collective cult of the village The Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of France has themed rural spaces since 1982 in an attempt to integrate heritage preservation, place-making, and economic development. It developed as the result of the social and economic decline of rural areas and the ensuing nostalgia about re-imagined lost times and lost places. It exemplifies an initiative built on an interpretation of the rural where local tourism is the means to link economic, cultural, and social factors. Its success was enabled by the expansion of heritage tourism and facilitated by the intensification of tensions between local and global leading to the revalorising of pays and terroirs. The model of place-making through heritage preservation rests on the collective imaginary in French culture which places the rural at the centre of a past to which people long to reconnect. The village has become the mechanism by which the temporal disjuncture gets resolved. The Association’s mission seeks to incorporate a holistic understanding of place in its selection of member-villages, resting on the notions of milieu de vie where societies produce place-specific genres de vie. While the Association’s mission was built on this common idealisation of the rural and village yearning, in turn it creates a new paradigm. By instituting and enforcing criteria by which to assess rural communes for the purpose of its label, the Association not only validates but also prescribes norms in rural landscapes according to certain aesthetic sensibilities about the ‘ideal’ French village and countryside. Even though only 156 villages are directly involved, by epitomising the concept of the village the Association not only typifies it but constructs a new imaginary and creates a new rural reality. Member-villages must maintain that reality. If a member-village were to fall short of the criteria upon reinspection, it would lose the label (after having a chance to address shortcomings) or have the opportunity to voluntarily relinquish it. Recently, Saint-Lizier’s Mayor decided to leave the Association because the development constraints of membership ceased to be socially and economically feasible for his commune (Le Figaro, La Dépêche, FranceInfo, 2013). By standardising the ideal and cementing it into implementation projects, the Charte de Qualité acts as a normative discourse about the village as it prescribes practices around local heritage legitimacy and cultural significance that in turn generate new desires and re-shape the ‘gaze’. Producing places which elicit tourists’ emotional response is central to the label’s strategy. As a contract of trust between the Association and visitors, the label not only affirms their aesthetic

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sensibilities, but also mediates the tourist gaze by creating new expectations about the rural, in a feedback effect. From attachment to specific villages and pays described by Weber (1976), the village emerges as a singular ideal. The rural is re-constructed as a social representation through two processes: the effort at self-representation (from the inside – what is put forward for outsiders to experience) and the ethnographic gaze of the tourist (from the outside – what visitors expect to experience and in fact do experience): We use social representations in two ways. First, they enable us to conventionalize the objects, persons and events encountered. Secondly, they help us to prescribe and organize our subsequent behaviors and responses . . . they are both referential and anticipatory. Prescription/anticipation makes social representations not merely neutral and reactive but also creative and transformative, through their usage by people trying to go about their everyday lives (Halfacree 1993: 25, citing Shields and Brewer).

The media is one agent in this transformation. For the last three years, France 2 has organised nation-wide interactive programmes to determine Le Village Préféré des Français, in a competition in which viewers mobilise to vote for their ‘favourite village’ out of a selection generated by the network. It was telling that almost all villages chosen were members of the Association. In 2013, the show broke audience records (20% of viewers), outdoing other popular programs with 5.5 million viewers tuning in (Télé Première, 2013) and creating an intense buzz on public forums and social media. The French cannot get enough images and stories from the countryside, and they do not hesitate to rush and see for themselves. The 2012 winning village recorded an 87% increase in tourism numbers that summer, a trend which the Tourist Office Director described as ‘formidable’ in that it shielded the tourist season from the economic crisis, even if the increase was not sustained in the following year (La Dépêche, August 2012, 2013). Both 2012 and 2013 winners have been swamped with unprecedented tourist flows as a consequence of the show, sometimes as early as the very next day, to the point that some mayors of selected villages voiced their anxiety about not being able to absorb the steep spike in visitor numbers. “It will attract so many people that we won’t be able to welcome them all. It will be a problem” confided one unenthusiastic Mayor after his village made the 2013 list (La Dépêche, May 2013). The success of the interactive TV programme reveals that audiences care, feel strongly about national rural heritage, and have a strong personal attachment or first-hand experience in a specific region. The trend continues. In 2013, France 5 proposed a report on La France des Villages,

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while private TV network M6 investigated the Association in a broadcast highlighting selection process and development outcomes in labelised villages in terms of tourists’ spending. Beyond national TV, the village and rurality have been a recurrent reflection theme for social scientists and philosophers on radio shows, and village photo books and calendars abound in French bookstores. An inventory of village-centred volumes in a popular Aix-en-Provence bookstore in 2012 revealed over 15 titles featuring the village as the main object. The village is well in evidence as a consumption item. It is paradoxical that in spite of an increasing number of domains becoming the target of supra-national policies in Europe, the local is strengthening its presence in the media. One effect the European Union has had is that, in promoting integration, it also decentralised national power to regional policies, increasing localities’ capacity to utilise endogenous resources for place-based development and rehabilitation, especially in rural areas. Moreover, the multiplication of cultural and nature-based touristic ‘products’ in rural areas prompts the diversification of actors, shifting authority from top-down state institutions to local governance, foundations, associations, NGOs, and private operators, as observed in the field. These actors’ motivations and vocations are varied and multifaceted: cultural resource management, commercial endeavours, promotion of the local, communication, pedagogy, and identity construction and reinforcement. Although regional variations exist, the rural exodus may have ended in France, giving way to a measurable ‘return’ to the countryside (the 2009 national census recorded a 5% increase in rural population), and the creation of neologisms to translate new types of rural residents such as rurbans7 who, like tourists, are changing the physiognomy and function of the countryside. Although numerous villages are still waning and losing key infrastructure, it is now in rural areas that demographic increase is most pronounced, exhibiting positive net migration and more births than deaths (INSEE, 2013). Furthermore, the international diffusion of the French Association model indicates that in the tug between the local and the global, the rural represents a crucial constituent in the development of economic strategies beyond France. Reminiscent of the resistance to Romanisation of the indomitable village of the world’s favourite Gaul, Astérix, today’s rural resilience in the face of globalisation lies in the fate of the village.

7

People living in rural communes but working in nearby cities.

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References Atout France (2013) “Most Beautiful Villages”: The French Experience and Other Foreign Developments, Key factors of a Successful National Network. Bernard, H. (1990) La terre toujours réinventée, la France rurale et les peintres 1920-1955, une histoire de l’imaginaire. Lyon: Presses Universitaires de Lyon. Bloch, M. (1931, 1999) Les caractères originaux de l’histoire rurale française. Paris: Armand Colin. Bommelaer, C. (2013). Saint-Lizier abandonne les rangs des «Plus beaux villages de France . Le Figaro, 10/25/2013. Buttimer, A. (1971) Society and milieu in the French geographic tradition. Chicago: AAG. Cartier, S. (2004) Terroirs en nuances. Strates [Online] Available from http://strates.revues.org/396 [Accessed June 16, 2014]. Ceyrac, C. (1981) Letter to mayors. Archives of the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of France. Chastel, A. (1997) La notion de patrimoine. In P. Nora (ed.) Les Lieux de mémoire. Tome 1. Pairs : Gallimard, 1433-1469. Choay, F. (1992) L’Allégorie du Patrimoine. Paris : Seuil. DATAR (2012) Territoires en Mouvement, n°9. Dibie, P. (1979) Le Village Retrouvé, Essai d’Ethnologie de l’Intérieur. Paris: Grasset. —. (2006) Le Village Métamorphosé, Révolution dans la France Profonde. Paris: Plon. Dion, R. (1934, 1991) Essai sur la formation du paysage rural français. Pairs: Réédition Flammarion. Drouain, M. (2006) Patrimoine et Patrimonialisation : du Québec et d’Ailleurs. Montréal: MultiMondes. Duby, G. (ed.) (1975) Histoire de la France rurale. Vol I. La Formation des campagnes françaises des origines au XIVe siècle. Paris: Seuil. Ducros, H. (2014) Localizing the new rural in France’s countryside: Heritage preservation, promotion, and valorization in the postagricultural village (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. France2 (2012, 2013, 2014). Le Village préféré des Français. Gasnier, T. (1997) Le Local, Une et Divisible. In P. Nora (ed.) Les Lieux de mémoire. Tome 1. Pairs : Gallimard, 3423-3477.

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Halfacree, K.H. (1993) Locality and social representation: Space, discourse and alternative definitions of the rural. Journal of Rural Studies. 9(1): 23-37. Harvey, D. (2001) Heritage pasts and heritage presents: Temporality, meaning and the scope of heritage studies. International Journal of Heritage Studies. 7(4): 319-338. Hervieu, B. (2012). Préface. In F. Papy, N. Mathieu and C. Ferault (eds.) Nouveaux Rapports à la Nature dans les Campagnes. Quप, 7-12. INSEE (2013) Data [Online] Available from http://www.insee.fr/fr/methodes/nomenclatures/cog/telechargement.asp [Accessed June 16, 2014]. IPSOS (2002). Survey [Online] Available from http://www.ipsos.fr/ipsosmarketing/actualites/2002-01-31-francais-veulent-s-investir-pourpreserver-patrimoine-rural [Accessed June 16, 2014]. Jackson, J.B. (1980) The necessity for ruins, and other topics. University of Massachusetts Press. Jean, Y. and Périgord, M. (2009) Géographie rurale: La ruralité en France. Paris: Armand Colin. Jeudy, H.P. (2008) La machine patrimoniale. Paris : Circé. Laclotte, M. and Cuzin, J.P. (1987) Dictionnaire de la peinture: La peinture occidentale du Moyen-Age à nos jours. Paris : Larousse. Le Goff, J.P. (2012) La fin du village: Une histoire Française. Paris : Gallimard. Lévy, J. (1994).Oser le désert ? Des pays sans paysans,.Sciences Humaines, Hors-Série, N°4, Février-Mars. Lévy, J. and Lussault, M. (2003) Dictionnaire de la géographie et de l’espace des sociétés. Paris :Belin. Lowenthal, D. (1985) The past is a foreign country. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mendras, H. (1967) La fin des paysans : Changements et innovations dans les sociétés rurales Françaises. S.E.D.E.I.S. Ministère de l’Artisanat, du Commerce et du Tourisme, Direction Générale de la Compétitivité de l’Industrie et des Services (2012) Mémento du Tourisme. Morin, E. (1967) Commune en France : La métamorphose de Plozevet. Paris : Fayard. Nora, P. (1997) Les lieux de mémoire. Paris : Gallimard. Patin, V. (2005) Tourisme et patrimoine. Paris : La Documentation Française. Poria, Y. (2010) The story behind the picture: Preferences for the visual display at heritage sites. In E. Waterton and S. Matson (eds) Culture,

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heritage and representation: Perspectives on visuality and the past. Farnham: Ashgate, 217-228. Pringle, G. and Schaefer, H. (2010) From rocks to riches: Roussillon, time, change and ochre in a village in Provence. Middlebury, VT: Rural Society Press. Ripert, A. and Frère, C. (2001) La carte postale: Son histoire, sa fonction sociale., Paris : CNRS. Robin, J.P. (2011) Les Français sont les rois de la résidence secondaire. Le Figaro 05/29/2011. Rogerio-Candelera, L. A., Lazzari, M. and Cano, E. (eds.) (2013). Science and technology for the conservation of cultural heritage. Leiden: CRC Press. Roupnel, G. (1932, 1989) Histoire de la campagne Française. Paris : Grasset. Sélection du Readers’ Digest (1977) Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. Smith, L. (2006) Uses of heritage. London: Routledge. Thiesse, A-M. (1988) Le mouvement littéraire régionaliste. Ethnologie Française. XVIII, n°3. Télé Première.fr (2013).Le Village préféré des Français : record d’audience, 06/05/2013. UN World Tourism Organization (2014). Tourism Highlights. [Online] Available from http://www2.unwto.org/ [Accessed June 16, 2014]. —. (2013) World Tourism. [Online] Available from http://www2.unwto.org/ [Accessed June 16, 2014]. Urry, J. (2002) The tourist gaze. London: Sage. Vidal de la Blache, P. (1903, 2009) Tableau de la géographie de la France. Paris : Editions des Equateurs. Walsh, K. (1992) The representation of the past: Museums and heritage in the post-modern world. London: Routledge. Weber, E. (1976) Peasants into Frenchmen: The modernization of rural France 1870-1914. Stanford University Press. Wood, N. (1999) Vectors of memory: Legacies of trauma in postwar Europe. Berg. Wylie, L. (1974) A village in the Vaucluse. 3rd Edition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

CHAPTER FOUR “THERE’S NOT A HOT-DOG VAN IN SIGHT”: CONSTRUCTING RURALITIES THROUGH SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL FESTIVALS ROSIE ROBERTS, JODIE GEORGE AND JESS PACELLA

Introduction The contribution of festivals to regional cultural identities and economic sustainability has gained increasing attention over the past decade (Brennan-Horley et al., 2007; Gorman-Murray et al., 2008; Bell and Jayne, 2010). This body of research has expanded upon demographic studies of regional areas to include an exploration of the everyday social and cultural worlds of rural community members and in particular, the representation and construction of place-based identities through festival practices. The data presented in this chapter draws upon findings from a research project in which three regional festivals in South Australia were used to explore constructions of rurality and belonging. The festivals included the Port Lincoln Tunarama Festival, the Kangaroo Island (KI) Art Feast, and Gorgeous Festival situated in McLaren Vale. While the government has branded South Australia as the Festival State, little research has been undertaken on the significance of festivals in terms of tourism and the construction of place based identities – a gap that this chapter seeks to begin to address. A qualitative research approach informs this chapter which includes interviews with festival organisers, local community members and tourists who attended each festival as well as the researchers’ participant observations of the festivals. Interviews asked participants to describe what kind of engagement, practices, expectations and levels of enjoyment they were experiencing; who they thought was a typical ‘festival goer’;

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and what impact the festival had on the local community. Interviews were conducted with approximately 15 visitors at each of the three festivals. Event organisers were interviewed before the festival and asked similar questions to festival visitors, in addition to questions about the development of the festival; whether the festival is staged independently or in collaboration with local councils or other agencies; and what elements of local culture they showcase and why. Each of the festivals was a cultural celebration of local industries and identities that largely involved music, art and food. However, beyond these unifying characteristics, the festivals were diverse in terms of proximity to urban centres, longevity of the festival, target audience, structure and venue, duration of the festival and mix of public and private interests and volunteer support. The diverse selection criteria encouraged an exploration of the different ways ruralities are constructed in different locations through different festival approaches. This research reveals some of the ways festivals construct local cultures for visitors while visitors, both local and external to these regions, also contribute to shaping festivals through their own participatory and representational practices. In the next section we provide an overview of the three festivals and their surrounding regions, before discussing the different constructions of rurality that are developed through these festivals.

Port Lincoln Tunarama: “this town wouldn’t survive if we didn’t get the tourists” Port Lincoln is a locale of contradictions. It is a remote coastal town on the shores of Boston Bay at the southern end of the Eyre Peninsula, 650km by road from Adelaide, which is the capital of South Australia. Visitors travel through miles of wheat fields between Port Lincoln airport and the town. As in most rural towns, the tallest building on the skyline is a wheat silo. However, in Boston Bay multimillion dollar yachts (the result of the high profit local tuna fishing industry) bob in the sparkling, aquamarine ocean and gracing the cliffs that border the town are huge salmon pink mansions whose front yards are filled with Italian renaissance garden statues. Port Lincoln is a mysterious blend of the archetypal small rural colonial settler town, a more cosmopolitan and gentrified urban coastal suburb, and a rural idyll that is trying to capitalise on the gourmet food and wine tourism dollar. As many researchers have now argued (Creed and Ching, 1997; Cocklin and Dibden, 2005; Hillyard, 2007), rural research tends to under-represent the diversity of the rural. Port Lincoln rurality, represented through the Tunarama Festival, encourages us to expand our

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Figure 4.1: the “Keg Roll” competition [image provided by researchers]

understanding of what it is to be rural, which must now encapsulate a diverse range of ‘landscapes, livelihoods and industries’ (Gorman-Murray et al., 2008). While heralded as the ‘Seafood Capital of Australia’, Port Lincoln is actually a mixture of ‘farmscape’ as a region for primary industries such as wheat production and aquaculture, a remote ‘wildscape’ with vast stretches of uninhabited coastline, as well as an ‘adventurescape’ where tourists participate in activities such as shark and seal diving (Gorman-Murray et al., 2008). Every January Port Lincoln celebrates the Bluefin Tuna industry with a four day Tunarama Festival. The festival has been running for 53 years and is the longest running free festival in South Australia. It is primarily aimed at the family market with entertainment for all ages. The Tunarama programme includes a mixture of free events such as a street procession, the iconic Tuna Toss, the Keg Roll (see Figure 4.1), boat building competitions, and fireworks as well as events aimed at people with more disposable income such as the Gala Ball, Long Lunch and the Jazz and Shiraz night. There is also a Tunarama Ambassador Quest similar to Miss Showgirl competitions that have historically been a part of rural

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agricultural shows around Australia. The festival has two paid staff members and a large volunteer organising committee.

Gorgeous Festival in McLaren Vale: “there’s not a hotdog van in sight” In the Australian context, a tree change destination has been described as a location that is close to a capital city; with rolling green hills; a heritage listed main street; and has recently enticed “city sophisticates” who are establishing a local gourmet food and wine industry (Salt, 2009: 4). McLaren Vale is such a location; an internationally renowned sea-side wine region located approximately 40km south of Adelaide. Gorgeous Festival is run by two operators who describe the development of the festival as “a lifestyle choice” because they wanted to live and work in McLaren Vale. They also wanted to develop an event that would showcase the food and wine of the region and to combine that with their love of Australian music. Gorgeous Festival began as a one day event in 2011 and in 2013 expanded to two days and showcases high profile musical acts as well as emerging artists. The wine is boutique and the food gourmet, as proclaimed on their website: “the food is lovingly hand picked to showcase the talent of local and notable McLaren Vale eateries, that utilise fresh regional produce . . . at the festival there’s not a hot dog van in sight!” (gorgeousfestival.com, 2013). Capitalising on the slow food movement, festival eateries utilise local ingredients and promote local small businesses. In this way the festival promotes and reinstates the localness of regional food and wine in contrast to the mass globalisation of fast food and other agricultural products.

Kangaroo Island Art Feast: “small enough that you feel it’s really community based” Kangaroo Island is Australia’s third largest island and a popular international tourist destination accessed via a forty-minute ferry ride across Backstairs Passage from Cape Jervis (a one hour drive south west from Adelaide). The KI Art Feast happens annually in early October and lasts for ten days. It is a venue-based festival that celebrates the art and produce of Kangaroo Island. Each venue must exhibit art and is encouraged to also offer food and local wine. The festival, which began in 2003 as a weekend event, now involves 34 venues from east to west across the island, approximately 150 artists and many chefs and wine makers. Some of the activities and attractions that are part of the festival include

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Figure 4.2: ‘Yarn Bombed’ car [image provided by researchers]

yarn bombing (see Figure 4.2), picnics, roadside characters, poetry pouches for visitors to write their thoughts, exhibitions, and organized bike rides visiting venues along the festival route. KI Art Feast is managed and organised by a volunteer based incorporated association and each venue organises and promotes its own event.

Discussion One of the myths of rural towns is their supposed homogeneity. However, with the changing composition of Australia’s non-metropolitan population, the rural is becoming much more diversified (Hugo, 2005: 79). Within the context of debates around Native Title, immigration, outward migration, climate change and the reform of primary industries, issues of belonging and what it means to be local are critical to rural contexts (Duffy and Waitt, 2011: 45). This section examines what rural cultural festivals can tell us about how we come to know and inhabit places that we claim as our own as well as those we visit as outsiders. Two key themes are explored including: (1) how the structure and organisation of the festival contributes to the ‘feel’ of festival spaces and how this reflects and constructs a feeling of the broader region; and (2) who participates in the

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festival and what aspects of ‘local’ culture and rurality are represented for residents and visitors.

Festivals of feeling In Australia there is significant growth occurring in towns just beyond the commuting limits of major cities (Hugo, 2005: 78). In many ways McLaren Vale is an exemplar of such shifts with the tourist information website describing the region through phrases such as “idyllic”, “Mediterranean-style”, “food, wine and hospitality experience”, “quick get away” and a “luxurious weekend away”. The marketing of regions such as McLaren Vale positions them as spaces to be consumed and enjoyed. There is a reconceptualisation of the rural where wine and gourmet food regions are relatively new constructions in the post-productivist countryside, bringing a more diverse range of residents and industries to rural areas (Boyle and Halfacree, 1998; Argent, 2002). Discursively, the descriptions listed here position McLaren Vale as a “rural idyll” (GormanMurray et al., 2007: 1) that will provide the visitor with a restorative and indulgent experience. The proximity of McLaren Vale to the state’s capital is important here, as city visitors get to experience a version of rurality not far from their urban homes. McLaren Vale hybridises aspects of rurality and urbanity (Gorman-Murray et al., 2007) where the region is characterised as rustic but not too rustic, maintaining a level of comfort and luxury often associated with an urban sensitivity. McLaren Vale is also described as having the “warmth and feel of a country town” indicating that the town is not positioned as a country town but being like a country town. The town also has the advantage, as the tourist website describes, of not being far from the city so that visitors can easily “check out” for a quick rural experience without leaving the comfort of their metropolitan lives for too long. This feel of the region was also conveyed through Gorgeous Festival. The structure and organisation of festivals has a significant influence on the way they are emotionally experienced and consumed. Gorgeous Festival was a one-day event held in a centralised location that was developed to expose the “premium end” of the region. The entry fee is higher than average and the food and wine prices are also high to reflect the quality of the produce and calibre of musical acts. As one festival participant stated in relation to who they thought was the primary target audience: “I think the baby boomers are taking over everything. It’s the fifty-five plus, cashed up, plenty of time, kids are gone, as well as the music followers too”. The higher price contributed to the feeling that you

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were experiencing something exclusive. One of the Gorgeous Festival operators described how they felt it was important that people coming to the festival should be able to drink “premium wines”. They believed there was often a temptation for wineries to supply “their cheapest and nastiest wine” to events as an opportunity to move bulk stock. However, at Gorgeous Festival the concept is that each winery provides only one variety to showcase their wine: I was worried about what wineries would say, like ‘oh only the cheap one’s sold’ but the one that sold out first was the second most expensive red. Apparently the second most expensive always sells out first. People are in a premium environment, they think ‘I’m going to drink premium wine, I’m not going to get the most expensive but I still want premium’. (Gorgeous Festival operator)

Similarly, in relation to food the festival operators wanted to highlight the already strong food culture of the region. They described how they “didn’t want to have hot dog and donut vans” but “food done by local restaurants using largely local produce”. They also ensured that there were more toilets than legally required for the number of patrons, spent a lot of money on lighting so that all the trees were lit up to provide atmosphere, and they had white picket fences surrounding the VIP areas to make it look like an “exclusive outdoor picnic”. The festival site was described by festival operators as “more dressed up and formal than a lot of rural festivals would be”. This statement highlights the extent to which rural festivals, and constructions of rurality more generally, are traditionally associated with being quaint, informal and casual. However, Gorgeous Festival attempts to construct a different representation of rural life as a site of exclusivity, sophistication and decadence: This is our community and we want to show it off at its best. It’s that sense of pride about where we live and wanting people to see the best elements of it. (Gorgeous Festival operator)

The physical layout of the festival also meant that there was a concentration of people and festival activities in a limited space, which facilitated a carnival-like atmosphere. While there were some young children at the event, the crowd was largely aged between 30 and 60 years of age. The festival also had a crèche facility so that parents could leave their children to play under supervision while they could “enjoy some grown-up time” at the festival (Gorgeous Festival website). While the crèche facility made it possible for more families to attend, it may be that only those with higher disposable incomes could take advantage of this

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service ($5/child/2 hour session) and entrance to the festival in the first place. By contrast, the organisation of space and events at Tunarama produced a very different festival feel. At Tunarama, there are large crowds and children running excitedly from one activity to the next. There is the distinct smell of sunscreen and the feeling of grass underfoot. Aromas of barbeques, cinnamon doughnuts and the sulphur smell of fireworks fill the air on the Saturday evening. Participants commented that their approach to the festival was very relaxed as it went on for four days and they had time to wander around between events. They also felt the festival had a particularly “country looking” feel about it and when asked what they meant by this they used phrases such as “laid back”, “comfortable”, “has a community feel” and was very “relaxing”. This is a very different understanding of rural life than that conveyed through Gorgeous Festival where rurality was viewed as a site for indulgence and quality. Tunarama also blurred the boundaries between performers and spectators, where everyone could participate in the activities. For example, the largest competition – the Tuna Toss where people throw giant tuna like hammer throwers at the Olympics – attracts anyone from local children to international sports competitors. Entry to the festival was free and families took part in activities that encouraged children to also participate. One of the activities is an official and supervised stand up paddleboard race in front of the main festival foreshore precinct. A participant described how young children were using their paddleboards to get to the yachts moored in the bay, where the people on board would pay the children to return to the festival site and bring them back cinnamon doughnuts and other festival foods. Even when a festival experience is highly constructed through planned activities, this example demonstrates that there are always opportunities for people to subvert the intentions of organisers (de Certeau, 1984). At Tunarama there is a surge of visitors into the town and sometimes a clash of different rituals and rhythms of inhabitants, with some local residents telling us it’s the one time of year they struggle to find a car park space in town. Some also said in previous years they had used the long weekend of the festival as a time to get away and escape the influx of crowds: Heaps of my girlfriends have left town for the weekend… People that have been around for years and years probably leave. You either love Tunarama or you don’t, it’s kind of dividing the town. (Tunarama local visitor)

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There’s more tourists than locals. I probably couldn’t tell you the name of one person who walks past and I know most of the people in Port Lincoln. (Tunarama local visitor)

Similar sentiments were expressed by other local residents who suggested that it didn’t feel like a country festival anymore because the event had grown significantly in size and attracts large numbers of tourists to the town. KI Art Feast offers an entirely different festival feeling. The festival uses venues that are dispersed across the Island and it was also held over ten days. It didn’t feel like we were at a festival and several participants commented that they were unaware there was a festival on: People coming here from the mainland on holiday, many don’t realise there is a festival on. I mean it’s advertised but I don’t think that many people are coming for Art Feast. That stretch of water is a bit difficult in situations like that. (KI Art Feast local visitor) A lot of visitors say, ‘we didn’t know this was happening’. (KI Art Feast local visitor)

Time and space play an important role in constructing the “feel” of festivals. Gorgeous Festival and Tunarama were held in concentrated locations and over a short period of time. You could visually consume the festival site standing in one spot. You were hyper-aware of being a festival-goer and experiencing something different, or at least intensified, to that experienced in everyday life within these regions. By contrast, KI Art Feast was spread out physically in terms of the location of venues and the time provided to visit them. The festival was also different in that visitors were not engaged in activities to the same extent as Tunarama but were largely spectators at galleries. One participant suggested that the activities that were part of the festival weren’t so different to activities you could experience on any day of the year on KI. Locals describe how the festival has “a different kind of pace” to most other urban and regional festivals where the aim is to “slowly absorb it” over time rather than be in a “concentrated” space. Visitors find out where to go by “talking to the locals” rather than following an event schedule. One of the visitors to the KI festival said that it’s great because “there’s flexibility in that you can participate how you want”. In addition, the festival was described as being “small enough that you feel it’s really community based”. The small scale is viewed as being synonymous with an “authentic” rurality – a “small town feel with a small town festival”. This raises interesting questions

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around what constitutes festival success. If a festival grows in size and is economically sustainable it may be seen as losing some of its country feel.

Constructing diverse ruralities through festival spaces: whose festival, whose region? Rural festivals play an important role in developing a sense of belonging, providing a means for fostering feelings of inclusion as part of an imagined and collective group. However, festivals are also complex and paradoxical places that animate considerations of who is included and excluded from particular places, and often highlight the tensions implicit in local festivals between local community identity affirmation and the desire to attract (money-spending) in-comers. Location is an important determinant in terms of regional festival attendance. Both Gorgeous Festival and KI Art Feast are relatively close in proximity to South Australia’s capital city. Gorgeous Festival is less than an hour’s drive from Adelaide and Kangaroo Island is an hour’s drive to the ferry and then a forty minute ferry trip to the Island. However, locals say the high price of the ferry between Cape Jervis and Kangaroo Island deters a lot of national visitors. While the Island does receive large numbers of international tourists every year, locals feel tourists don’t spend much time or money in the townships, instead visiting attractions such as Remarkable Rocks and the seal colonies. While Gorgeous Festival and Tunarama Festival are clearly trying to attract outsiders into the region and to encourage tourism spending, KI Art Feast appears to be a festival largely for locals. The festival provides local artists with “something to work towards rather than putting all the paintings under [their] bed”. However, this raises questions about the sustainability of the festival as one artist highlights in the following statement: One thing that worries me about this festival is that islanders love it but it’s got to be for mainlanders too and it’s an expensive little exercise for them to come over here. I don’t think people think ‘I’ll go to Kangaroo Island Art Feast’, because it’s really expensive. So it’s dependent on how much the locals can spend. (KI Art Feast local artist)

By contrast, other participants in the festival felt that what was really nice about the festival is how “low key” it was and that it relied heavily on community involvement: That’s what’s nice about living in the country. If you did it in the city it would have to be bigger and better and more sophisticated. I think it would be a shame to lose that because that’s what’s special about Kangaroo

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Island. It’s like stepping back 40 years. It’s a nice place to live and I think that fact that it is hard to get here, it’s expensive to get here, is what saves it, otherwise it will be loved to death like the rest of the Australian coastline. (KI Art Feast local artist)

This representation of Kangaroo Island rurality stands in opposition to the rurality that is constructed through Gorgeous Festival and to some extent, Tunarama. Here, part of the attraction of KI, as exemplified in its festival, is the feeling that you’re “stepping back” in time, which is presumed to be a more “authentic” rurality where country life is not encapsulated in terms like “sophistication”. KI Art Feast is an interesting example of the ways festivals function as sites of social inclusion as well as exclusion, producing divided opinions from local artists about the value of the festival. Two artists on the island described how the venues involved in the festival charge a large commission to artists in order to show their work. They said that because many artists “are desperate to have their work sold they will sign any contract”. As a consequence, some artists on the island have chosen to remain independent. Some of the artists have formed an alliance in opposition to the festival and the high commission that the galleries charge to have their work displayed and have created a sign declaring their independence. Creed and Ching (1997: 1) suggest that “secrets of power often lurk in the last place where you would think to look” and while a cultural festival may seem innocuous enough, they often reflect and distill broader community relations. During the time we visited the festival we met some local artists who would like to be involved but who could not afford to be. However, it is interesting that the exclusion of some local artists from the festival has created a sub-group of residents, who, united by their desire to have affordable arts initiatives on the island have engaged tactical practices to claim their own space (de Certeau,1984). This small example highlights that festivals, which on the surface seem unproblematic in their celebration of local communities, can also operate as sites for exclusion. It is this contradictory character of festival spaces that produces interesting socio-spatial and political tensions in relation to community and belonging (Duffy and Waitt, 2011: 56). Cultural festivals are always simultaneously cultural and economic. Gorgeous Festival in particular acts as a mechanism to encourage regional economic revitalisation. Many participants discussed the benefits of visiting the festival as a gateway experience to fostering future visitation to the region. Participants suggested that the festival would “bring dollars in” and “provide important exposure for the local community”. They also stated that you “inevitably spend money on other things because people

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won’t just necessarily come for the festival” and that “the more of those experiences you have the more you’ll come down for future events”. This kind of strategic planning underscores the importance of developing quality affective and place based connections between the festival, its activities and the broader region. Gorgeous Festival also contributes beyond the immediate locality by fostering musical talent for a broader national and international stage. The festival has main headline acts as well as “petit” stages for local emerging artists, giving them a chance to develop performance skills. The festival generates local employment opportunities through staffing, catering and PA equipment as well as opportunities for local stallholders and musicians. Gorgeous Festival operators commented that what “feels really nice” about the festival is that “at one level [they’re] operating really locally within the community and at another level [they’re] engaging with corporates nationally” highlighting the different scales at which the rural operates and is constructed. They also discuss how living within the town and drawing upon the town’s creative resources in the development of the festival, brings with it a need for ethical responsibility towards the region: We’re slowly becoming part of that community and it became apparent to us that people in the community felt like the festivals that travelled through really just used the community to make money and then disappear again. I thought I’d always be a big city girl forever. But it’s so funny, the wine delivery guy is our neighbour Ron, there’s the butcher in the main street Ian, and everyday you walk past and say g’day. You go to the baker and you know them. This is like a movie (laughs). My dad makes fun of me going, you must have fallen off some drunken tables to be known by all these bar people. Doing this festival we now have a responsibility to the community because we know them and want their support. (Gorgeous Festival operator)

When working at different scales in the organisation of events such as rural festivals, organisers of these festivals emphasise the importance and difficulty of balancing interests of sustainability, through the attraction of outside visitors and external funding sources, with that of protecting local residents and their perceptions of place. This protection is not only ensuring local residents are involved in decisions about the festival and have opportunities to benefit economically from the events but also that the representations of how they see their place remain intact. KI Art Feast and Tunarama also rely heavily on volunteer support from the local community. Many local respondents describe how, even when economic benefits weren’t achieved, the festival brought the community together for a shared goal. At Tunarama, a local respondent commented

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that they felt not much happened in Port Lincoln and so when there was a community event “everybody comes out” to participate. They said that with the street parade, “sometimes it seems like there’s more people in the parade than watching it, it’s like the whole town wants to participate’. Another visitor from outside the region who came to participate in Tunarama said “you see people relating and being together, and not necessarily needing to talk or be best friends, but kind of co-existing and just enjoying getting out and doing something”. There is also a sense that because Port Lincoln is situated a long distance from the capital city of South Australia, “no one in Adelaide is going to look after [them]” and they have to “fend for [themselves] and be independent and selfsufficient”. They felt that community pride is reflected through the running of the festival where Ambassador contestants and festival organisers connect with local workplaces and organisations throughout the year to support their town through the charity function that the festival provides. These participants’ responses reinforce a long held view of rural communities as locations of support, tight-knit relations, community mindedness and of “pulling together” in times of need. This is a space of inclusion that can result from regional festivals. Socio-economic status, and to some extent class, are dimensions of contemporary identity politics that are often explicitly connected to rural identities. There are often assumptions about, and a cultural devaluation of, rural people that reflects their perceived economic marginality in relation to urban economies (Creed and Ching, 1997: 27). In many towns a declining agricultural sector is a reality. Yet Port Lincoln has the highest number of millionaires per capita in the country as a result of the Southern Bluefin Tuna fishing industry and is Australia’s wealthiest fishing port. Much of the festival relies on donations from the fishing industry. Similarly, Gorgeous Festival represents the local region as one of sophistication, gourmet food and wine. The region has become a sought after location in which to live, which has increased the cost of housing in the area. Some local respondents commented they increasingly observed that McLaren Vale was being encroached upon by urban sprawl and that they were glad the government had recently approved a McLaren Vale protection bill that limits the size of the town and puts a ring around it to separate it from the outskirts of Adelaide. This has been done, partly, to ensure the region maintains a ‘rural feel’. Kangaroo Island is also an expensive destination for tourists to make the ferry trip over. The high cost of the ferry has also increased the cost of living on the island as all goods need to be shipped over (e.g. fuel, food etc.). The three regions that these festivals are located within appeal, to some extent, to a higher socio-

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economic-status demographic. However, rural communities are of course cut across by a myriad of complex socio-structural conditions that influence groups within the community differently. Is it always worth questioning which social groups such festivals serve and what parts of the rural community are excluded. Festivals often represent the ‘preferred’ or normative community. Gorgeous Festival operators deliberately attached a sophistication to the festival and the region that is usually attached to urbanity and while they capitalised on community assets around food and wine production, the festival was not shaped or owned by community members themselves on a large scale. By contrast, Tunarama built a festival distinctiveness that is deliberately based on local vernacular tradition (e.g. Ambassador Quest, Tuna Toss, Keg Roll) as well as integrating more progressive events often associated with urban life (e.g. Jazz and Shiraz night, Gala Ball, Port Lincoln’s Got Talent). The community is heavily involved in shaping the events on offer through contributions towards and participation in the organising committee. Tunarama appears to draw upon a mixture of pastiche or “traditional” activities which conjure small town nostalgia (e.g. Tuna Toss, Keg Roll, boat building) while also including activities that provide contemporary possibilities for exclusivity, attracting people with high disposable incomes and enabling the sampling of boutique wine and gourmet food. This is usually, as in the case of Gorgeous Festival, a cosmopolitan tourism and rurality where urban dwellers escape to the country. However, in the case of Tunarama, these “gourmet” kinds of events are for the locals and ironically the archetypal “rural” identity is cultivated/produced for the tourists. For locals, Tunarama is also a space for revising and developing different place-based identities around food and wine. A local visitor to the festival commented that in the past few years the organising committee has tried to offer events “at the other end of the spectrum” for local visitors who are looking for something different (urbane) to participate in. This respondent felt it was a “high-end part of the market they are pitching” these new events to. Ironically a local visitor to Tunarama also made the comment that broadening the range of events on offer means that “the loss of localness is a risk”, albeit this localness is a performative simulacra. Perhaps for tourists, those living in these towns are viewed more as reminders of a nation’s past rather than representing the contemporary nation, thereby further homogenizing distinctive regional cultures. For travellers, Port Lincoln is a place for archetypal small town activities encapsulated in the festival such as the Keg Roll and the Ambassador Quest. This example highlights the diversity of constructions around what constitutes rurality. There are different kinds of

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social hierarchies of competing ruralities that are favoured depending on who you are (e.g. local, Australian tourist, international visitor) and who is doing the representing (e.g. locals, festival organisers, or state/national tourism bodies). In all three festivals, it was apparent that the local Aboriginal cultures, experiences and perspectives were not explicitly included in the events and in this way were missing from the narrative of place that was developed through these festivals. However, regions are always shaped by their colonial histories, which too often silence Australia’s First Peoples. Gorgeous Festival was the only one of the three examined that included in conceptions of place the local Aboriginal history. Operators of this festival talked about how they spent time with local Kaurna Elders to learn the history of the region. They also undertook a dual naming project where they use the current name of McLaren Vale alongside the Kaurna name for the region, which is Taringga. On the Gorgeous Festival website there is a section that acknowledges that the festival takes place on Kaurna land and they pay respect to the original owners of the land both at their festival (via a Kaurna Welcome to Country conducted by local Kaurna Elder) and on their website. The operator of the festival retells an Elder’s story about the region, and how historically, Taringga means ‘place of trade’ and in this region coastal Aboriginal communities and the hills Aboriginal communities used to meet at a billabong in what is now called McLaren Vale to conduct trade. The idea of the region as a place of trade has been picked up, in a contemporary sense, through the ethos of this festival, bringing together local food and wine producers. The festival programme also includes at least one Indigenous act every year, intentionally involving Aboriginal performers in the festival. While they’re included in a performative capacity, this does not give us evidence that people of Aboriginal heritage actually take part in the festival as audience members. This reminds us that conceptions of who is local are often problematic. Garbutt’s (2011: 3) work, in particular, talks about Australia’s “postcolonial amnesia” towards Indigenous people in Australia. He is concerned with the unstable subject position of “being a local” that is “stabilised” through the severing of relations between those constructed as “local” and those constructed as “other”. “Settler locals” develop a narrative of belonging as though we and our culture have naturally arisen within this place.

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Conclusion The scope of this research was small and not intended to be representative but the personal insights of festival visitors and organisers bring to the surface the often contradictory and diverse representations of what it means to be ‘rural’. This research prompts us to ask further questions about rurality and the role of regional festivals and creative industries in the sustainability and vibrancy of rural areas in contemporary Australia. The three festivals examined take very different approaches to constructing participants’ experiences. Gorgeous Festival carefully choreographed the experience for festival-goers producing a relatively bounded festival experience; Tunarama included planned activities but there was an element of flexibility for people to make of the festival what they wanted; and KI Art Feast was more of an excursion where participants fully directed their festival experience. Festival spaces are shown to shape and promote a kaleidoscope of rural identities. While some festivals draw upon pastiche and traditional activities that conjure small town nostalgia, others provide contemporary possibilities for exclusivity and attract people with high disposable incomes, enabling the sampling of boutique wine and gourmet food. These processes signal broader national changes towards post-productivist regional economic development and sea-change / tree-change community shifts (Boyle and Halfacree, 1998; Argent, 2002). Examples have also shown that festivals can operate as sites both for bringing the community together in search of a common goal as well as dividing the communities in these regions. The festivals also highlight the different ways that festival structures and approaches favour different elements of culture to reflect a particular image of place that can sometimes erase the diversity of rural areas and their residents. A binary that this research has also problematised is the progressive and future oriented space of the urban in contrast to the rural as a source of national identity that is often embedded in a remembered, and yearned for, past. We would argue that the rural should instead be viewed as a powerful space for creativity, innovation and the construction of multiple identities. Processes of change within rural Australia unavoidably mean that contemporary rural localities are going to be different from those of the past. The regional festival provides a useful context for understanding the lives, livelihoods and identities of regional people, their communities and places. Festivals also provide important opportunities for communities to exercise some control in how their cultural identities are constructed and represented into the future.

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References Argent, N. (2002) From pillar to post? In search of the post-productivist countryside in Australia. Australian Geographer. 33(1): 97-114. Bell, D. and Jayne, M. (2010) The creative countryside: Policy and practice in the UK rural cultural economy. Journal of Rural Studies. 26(3): 209-218. Boyle, P. and Halfacree, K. (1998) Migration into rural areas: theories and issues. Chichester: Wiley. Brennan-Horley, C. Connell, J. and Gibson, C. (2007) The Parkes Revival Festival: Economic development and contested place identities in rural Australia. Geographical Research. 45(1): 71-84. Cocklin, C. and Dibden, J. (eds) (2005) Sustainability and change in rural Australia. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. Creed, G. and Ching, B. (1997) Introduction - Recognizing rusticity: identity and the power of place. In G. Creed and B. Ching (eds) Knowing your place: rural identity and cultural hierarchy. NY and London: Routledge, 1-38. de Certeau, M. (1984) The practice of everyday life. Berkley: University of California Press. Duffy, M. and Waitt, G. (2011) Rural festivals and processes of belonging. In C. Gibson and J. Connell (eds) Festival places: Revitalising rural Australia. Bristol: Channel View Publications, 44-60. Garbutt, R. (2011) The locals: Identity, place and belonging in Australia and beyond. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang. Gorman-Murray, A., Darian-Smith, K. and Gibson, C. (2008) Scaling the rural: reflections on rural cultural studies. Australian Humanities Review. 45. Gorman-Murray, A., Waitt, G. and Gibson, C. (2007) Chilling out in the country? Interrogating Daylesford as a ‘gay/lesbian rural idyll’. In N. Stead and J. Prior (eds) Queer space: centres and peripheries. Sydney: UTS, 1-7. Hillyard, S. (2007) The sociology of rural life. New York: Berg. Hugo, G. (2005) The state of rural populations. In C. Cocklin and J. Dibden (eds) Sustainability and change in rural Australia. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 56-79. Salt, B. (2009) Trimming the list for a tree change. [Online] The Australian. Available from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/business-old/trimming-thelist-for-a-tree-change/story-e6frg9gx-1111118465128 [Accessed December 19, 2013].

PART TWO: RURAL TOURISM EXPERIENCES

CHAPTER FIVE STAGING SENSESCAPES FOR RURAL EXPERIENCES IN ESTONIAN FARM TOURISM ENTERPRISES ESTER BARDONE AND MAARJA KAARISTO

Introduction: Rural sensescapes Rural places have a long history of being designated spaces for recreational experiences. Trips to the countryside for pleasure have been popular in Europe since the second half of the 18th century, inspired by the Romantic movement, and expanded rapidly after improvements in transportation in the late 19th century. In the course of the 20th century, rural settings became popular for retreat and relaxation, shaped by a nostalgic longing for nature and a peasant heritage, where values like privacy and a family centred life were celebrated (Löfgren, 2012: 347). The contemporary multifunctional countryside in Europe is “a realm of diverse tourist attractions as farms diversify their sources of income and other rural entrepreneurs, landholders and politicians seek to identify potentially marketable buildings, rituals and customs, landscapes, histories and signs of ‘tradition’” (Edensor, 2006a: 488). In this chapter we look at how rural sensescapes are staged by rural tourism entrepreneurs who act as brokers of the rural experience. Our analysis will be based on three distinctive sensescapes in present day Estonia – namely natural environment, (local) food, and the sauna. The tourist gaze (Urry 2000 [1990]) on the rural – consuming visually pleasing landscapes – is only one aspect of sensing rurality. Michael Woods highlights the increasing importance of the fully embodied consumption of rural places, talking about the ways the body moves through and feels the countryside: “The sensuous hunger of the tourist has been fed by more and more innovative commodified rural experiences that offer opportunities to pitch one’s body against the rural environment, or to

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stimulate emotions through getting close to nature” (Woods, 2011: 120). Sensory experiences in tourism are both culturally and materially conditioned, emerging from engaged relations between people, as perceiving subjects, and environments they interact with in particular embodied actions (Crouch and Desforges, 2003; Edensor, 2006b). Farm tourism enterprises can be considered one of those environments in rural tourism where various performances, involving multiple senses, can be enacted in diverse settings. One fruitful way to “apprehend the world anew by attending to ‘local ways of sensing’” (Howes, 2005: 143) is via the idea of the ‘sensescape’ coined by John Douglas Porteous (1990), which suggests that sensory impressions may be spatially oriented or place-related. Although analytically we may distinguish between different sensory dominants (for example soundscape, tastescape, smellscape, touchscape, etc.), in tourist encounters most of the sensory experiences are simultaneously present (see also Ingold’s (2011: 136–139) critique of separating the ‘scapes’ for different senses). Howes (2005: 143) argues that “The experience of the environment, and of the other persons and things which inhabit that environment, is produced by the particular mode of distinguishing, valuing and combining the senses in the culture under study”. Therefore, we suggest it is much more useful to draw on the overall concept of sensescape in order to refer to the multiplicity of sensory experiences evoked in the context of farm tourism, such as encounters with nature, the experience of the sauna, and tasting local food. In short, the sensescapes in farm tourism emerge from both environments and staged events, and activities performed by both hosts and guests in these particular environments, of “movement between distinctive spaces and dispositions” (Edensor, 2006b: 44), between the sensualities of the familiar and unfamiliar. Although farm tourism is mainly a destination for domestic tourists in Estonia, as it is in many European countries (Smith et al., 2010: 145), from the perspective of sensory experiences this tourism experience is not only about familiar feelings but also about re-introducing feelings and experiences that have become somewhat unfamiliar in everyday urban life, and have become obsolete for the people who live in cities, or simply cannot be experienced the same way at home. Accordingly, not only the attractive environments and objects but, even more, the experiences brokered by local guides become crucial. The contemporary post-productive countryside is a site of diverse tourist attractions and leisure activities, where both natural and cultural elements – landscapes, buildings, traditions and people – are displayed as tourist attractions by rural entrepreneurs, the media, etc. Tim Edensor

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notes that tourist activities are both spatially and socially bounded, organised, produced, regulated, represented and maintained by different bodies of the tourism industry. We agree with his idea to use the concept of staging in order to refer to the social as well as material constructedness of sensescapes – the spaces designed for certain sensory experiences (Edensor 2006a; 2006b). However, in this paper we do not enter into dialogue with the idea of the ‘staged authenticity’ (MacCannell, 1976) of tourist attractions as our understanding of ‘staging’ in the context of rural tourism is influenced by social constructivist and phenomenological approaches to cultural practices. Our approach brings into focus individual actors as active agents in the meaning making process. The manifold ways in which individuals perceive, experience and act in the world can therefore be seen as ‘authentic’ (cf. Bruner 2005). It has also been stated that the long dominant “obsession with the authentic” has now been replaced by the “quest for the local – as a basis for social life, identity, and belonging for both individuals and communities” (Veijola, 2006: 77). Consequently, from the perspective of staging and performance, rural tourism entrepreneurs (as well as tourists) are active and creative individuals, and farm tourism can be seen as a network where different agents creatively interact with each other in order to generate diverse sensory experiences. While the processes of staging tourist sites (re)produce conventions that guide certain actions, directed scenographies in tourist sites cannot of course determine all the performances which may occur. The physical environment can be produced to a certain extent, but not the sensory experiences or personal interpretations of every single tourist. Staging environments in rural tourism, either via active transformation (for example putting up new buildings or digging ponds) or just by making use of existing places (for example conducting guided tours in the area around the farm), should not be regarded as pre-scripting a strictly limited number of feelings. Most of all, staging refers to the creation of shared sensescapes – the hosts guide their guests to the environments and activities that they have perceived and valued themselves because of certain feelings these places and actions evoke. “The rural in tourist locations is less prescribed than enacted” (Crouch, 2006: 360) – meaning that the practices of farm tourism emerge from particular embodied encounters, from particular activities that both hosts and guests perform. Thus, we use the concept of ‘staging’ as a conceptual tool to explain how certain environments are set up for public use by farm tourism entrepreneurs for certain sensory experiences, to perform certain actions, and to acquire certain sensory experiences (cf. Bærenholdt et al., 2008).

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Staging can be regarded as a practice that enables us to better understand how tourism entrepreneurs, as local inhabitants and “culture brokers” (Bruner, 2013), use their own experience as the basis for staging and producing certain sensescapes for tourists. Continuing the analogy, entrepreneurs who provide tourism services can be, concurrently, scriptwriters, directors, set designers and stage managers of particular environments, but they are also performers in these environments (usually their own homes). Thereby, rural tourism entrepreneurs create and manage different ‘experience economies’ that engage various senses in performances or products offered for tourists in order to make their experiences more memorable (cf. Pine and Gilmore, 1999). Rural tourism with its manifold sensory features is an “experience lived and co-created by tourists, tourism suppliers and the local population” (Kastenholz et al. 2012: 208). We are looking at the environments and activities that enable multisensory experiences in rural tourism. In this way we can better understand what kind of personal (sensory) experiences and value judgements lie behind the practices of staging environments shared with the guests. Based on our research in Estonian rural tourism establishments, we suggest that the way certain environments are staged depends significantly on what sensory experiences, and social and environmental encounters are lived by particular tourism farmers. We focus on how tourism farmers act as directors who stage certain environments – ‘sensescapes’ – for their guests and act both as directors of and performers in these sensescapes. Our concern is, accordingly, to understand how farmers, as creative and reflexive individuals, broker and selectively shape the sensory experiences of the rural.

Background, the studied field and methodology The historical development of farm tourism in Estonia is similar to that of other Eastern and Central European countries – it was an alternative, yet often an unofficial, form of non-urban tourism in rural private households. During the Soviet period, town dwellers from Estonia and other republics of the Soviet Union who enjoyed the rural milieu and were looking for alternatives to official hotels and camping sites were welcomed by several families living in the countryside who thereby earned some extra income. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the agricultural system in Estonia was reorganised and many households were re-established as private farms. Furthermore, ‘going back to farms’ became a part of national identity politics. However, soon many new farmers were forced to change

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their plans about agricultural production due to the limited resources of the new republic and its new agricultural politics, which did not support small private production farms. The development of farm tourism as an organised activity began in the middle of the 1990s, first as an additional income source for production farms and later as an independent activity. Some production farms were turned into ‘tourism farms’, which promised alternative income for those who wanted to keep their rural homes but were not able to go on with agricultural activities (for a detailed overview of the development of rural tourism in the Estonian context see Bardone, 2013: 44–60). Farm tourism is a form of rural tourism, yet definitions of ‘rural’, ‘farm’ and ‘tourism’ are highly debatable and sometimes contested in current tourism research and their meanings are dynamic and rapidly changing (see Lane, 2012). Therefore, farm tourism is a concept that is hard to define as its content varies over time due to the development of the farm tourism practice itself, as well as the differences between countries; in addition, farm tourism practice is comprised of a vast range of activities that have no common denominator (Busby and Rendle, 2000: 635). A distinction can be made between (a) farm-based tourism, holiday farms or agritourism (which includes farm holidays on a working farm where tourism is a supplemental activity) and (b) farm tourism or tourism farms specialising solely in tourism (these farms provide accommodation, catering and usually some other services that are related to recreation and/or experience tourism in rural areas) (see Busby and Rendle, 2000; Hall et al. 2008: 117–121). Farm tourism in Estonia is predominantly of the second type, in the sense that few or almost no working farm elements are involved in the enterprises (yet pluri-activity is common, as in other countries, because farm tourism is usually a small-scale enterprise and highly seasonal). What exactly it is that makes their farm ‘farm-like’ and how their place is staged accordingly largely depends on each particular tourism entrepreneur. Tourism farms in Estonia may offer a variety of holidays, depending on the season, environments available and personal abilities of the hosts. From the perspective of staging, tourism farms can be seen either as settings for performances directed mainly by the guests themselves (for example company trips, parties, seminars, weddings, birthday parties, etc.) or by the farmers, their families and other local people (for example hikes and guided tours, ATV safaris, horse riding, sleigh rides, taking a sauna, workshops, etc.). In spite of the fact that the enterprises are called ‘tourism farms’, not just the experiences of farm life in a traditional sense but more general sensory rural experiences are staged – for example walks and

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hikes in the surrounding nature, local food, and the bodily experience of the sauna. When choosing the area for our fieldwork, the main consideration was the fact that southern Estonia is one of the most popular domestic tourism and leisure destinations in the country, not including the islands off the coast of western Estonia. This is mainly due to the fact that the southern Estonian landscape differs from that of the rest of the country in its many forests, lakes and hilly countryside, characterised by small fields, pastures, grasslands and small villages where the houses are far apart. The main empirical bases for our research are several repeated shortterm fieldtrips (1–2 weeks) to southern Estonian tourism farms (in Võru, Põlva and Valga counties) over the period from 2008 to 2013 (two to five fieldtrips a year; some undertaken together by the authors and some separately). Our main methods of data collection were semi-structured interviews, informal conversations and co-performed practices (participant observation) with the tourism entrepreneurs (and those of their family members who participate in the business). All the interviews were conducted and recorded by us; transcripts are in the possession of the authors. The entrepreneurs whose establishments’ names have been mentioned have granted us permission to do so. Farm tourism is generally considered a small-scale enterprise in Estonia, although the farms we researched varied from very small farms (for example accepting a maximum of eight guests) to bigger farms (for example accommodating 50 people during the winter and 70 during the summer). In addition, camping is also welcomed at most of the farmyards. The tourism farms researched are predominantly family enterprises where traditional agricultural activities are practiced to a certain degree (for example keeping some farm animals, such as sheep or cows, as part of the rural or ‘farm-like’ stage setting). The traditions of local culture are noticeable in the food provided, crafts demonstrated (for example blacksmithing at one farm) and objects displayed in the farm scenography both in- and outdoors (furniture, buildings, etc.); and regional ethnic specificity is noticeable for domestic tourists because of the Võru dialect spoken in some farmers’ families. Next, we will present some examples of different sensescapes that are being offered in the studied tourism farms. As mentioned before, we do not take the division of the five senses as our starting point, but rather point out some major experiences, related to certain environments, that are offered in the tourism farms in the studied region, all involving combinations of different senses. The examples are not prioritised or presented in a hierarchical order; we will focus on some sensescapes that

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are typical of the tourism farms of the region, basing our analysis on the aforementioned ideas of staging, performance and sensory experience.

Naturescapes The tourist’s encounter with natural environments, with an “apparently unmediated exchange between self and ‘nature’” (Edensor, 2006: 488), is one of the key themes in rural tourism, allowing us to see how “nature is produced, enacted or performed, discursively as well as in material and relational practices” (Abram and Lien, 2011: 12). The degree to which these encounters are staged and the extent to which the tourist is sensually involved in certain activities varies and the farms in south Estonia use the surrounding natural environment to varying degrees in order to provide their guests with different experiences. Almost all the interviewed entrepreneurs stressed the importance of the unique beauty and versatility of the landscape – its hills, lakes and forests – as part of the identity of local people, as well as the major tourist attractions. In theatrical terms, we may say that the natural environment functions as a ‘found space’ (Schechner, 1994) that does not need much staging. Farm tourism entrepreneurs just need to fit their households and the activities they offer into the existing environment and to maintain the landscape of their farmsteads in order to balance both ‘tamed’ and ‘wild’ nature. However, farm owners as culture brokers are the ones who suggest the routes for tourists to take and the sites to visit, they or their family members sometimes acting as guides during short hikes. This means that quite often visitors’ experiences of rurality are to a degree staged and scripted by their hosts. In addition to more passive forms of enjoying nature, such as looking at a picturesque lake and sitting in peace, which is clearly something some tourists like to do, there are also several active forms of nature experience. The heterogeneous landscape of southern Estonia stimulates manifold opportunities for different physical activities, which vary seasonally (in summer, hiking, walking, cycling, horse riding, boating, canoeing, swimming and fishing; in winter, skiing, skating and sledging can be practiced). These physical activities should be examined in a spatial and temporal context; they provide us with “the sensual, the moving body” (Lund, 2005: 40), which unites the senses through the act of being part of the environment. The enterprises we studied have staged possibilities for such activities as horse riding, downhill skiing, wire-rope ‘flying’ across a lake, archery hikes, late night hikes by torchlight in the woods, snowshoe hikes in the bog, and personally guided one- or two-day hikes. A multitude of complex

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sensory experiences emerge from these interactive encounters with the natural environment, and these experiences immerse the whole body and most of the senses. One-day hikes were a frequent example at several farms we visited. The hikes may last from one hour to eight hours and are guided by the entrepreneur, a member of his or her family or some local inhabitant. They may consist of walking or horse riding, rowing a boat or paddling a canoe, skiing or snowshoeing, or some combination of these activities. Experiencing the natural environment is thus considered part of the overall rural tourism experience in which several entrepreneurs act as guides on hikes that may engage the tourists’ bodies in multiple ways and may additionally provide personal stories about the local natural and cultural heritage. As pointed out by Edensor (2001: 69), the role of the director is most evident in guided tours, where tourists’ movements are ordered and commentaries introducing certain sites and objects are provided. However, there are different ways to guide tourists in natural environments, depending on the background and the aims of the tour guide. Sometimes the guide is not needed at all, as there are several hiking trails with information signposts established by the Estonian State Forest Management Centre and Environmental Board where visitors can find their way, following the pre-scripted trail. Yet, farm tourism entrepreneurs insist there is something unique about the personal local guide who can introduce signs that are not visible to the foreign eye. For instance, a hike to the primeval valley of the Piusa River was guided by the host of Suhka Farm in July 2009. He was born in the same village and therefore knows the surroundings intimately. Hikes may last from three or four hours to a whole day, depending on the guests’ wishes. Our hike started at six in the evening from the farmstead and the first path went near neighbours’ fields. Quite soon we entered a forest and almost immediately after that it started to rain. It was not an established hiking trail but a path that is known only to the locals and to animals. Therefore we were busy bending back undergrowth branches, stepping over fallen trees and jumping across rivulets. In the high grass, our feet became wet, and we had to watch our step when we were further along because the path became muddy and slippery. Along the way, we made some stops and our quiet guide told stories about the ruins of an old watermill and a small decayed barn where local farmers used to keep their hay; special spots for picking chantarelles that are known only to the locals; the lake where he used to go fishing with his father when he was a child. We got back at ten in the evening and then had the chance to try the farm’s smoke sauna in order to warm our bodies, which were soaking wet.

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The kind of sensory experiences and emotion a tourist will get from such guided hikes is dependent on a particular guide, and his or her performance, but also on a particular group of tourists. A tourism entrepreneur, for whom hiking has been a lifetime hobby, explains: The main things that we have are horseback hikes. In the summer time we have equestrian camps here. We offer companies summer retreats with active holidays. Many companies hold their summer retreats around here, they stay in the neighbouring tourism farms, those that offer mainly accommodation and we specialise in the activities . . . Such as horseback riding, adventure trails, archery, ball games, hikes, walking, boat hikes, everything . . . There’s no regular programme. Because everything depends on what would the guests like. And that’s how the programme for them is developed. (M, 55).

Several farm tourism entrepreneurs have mentioned that for the domestic tourists guided hikes or walks in nature are not as attractive an opportunity as for foreign tourists. The reason for this disinterest was explained by the hosts as ranging from locals preferring to discover nature on their own and feeling that they don’t need guided walks, to alienation from nature (i.e. unwillingness to get one’s feet muddy), or just a different goal for their visits to the tourism farms (for example having a birthday party). However, the sensescapes staged in more ‘active’ ways such as through horse riding, as mentioned above, seemed to be equally popular among both international and domestic tourists, and here the role of a guide was usually never questioned.

Foodscapes Tasting food is an essential part of the tourism experience and sometimes the main target of the journey, as is the case with culinary or gastronomic tourism (Burstedt 2002; Long 2013). Rural tourism can provide a great variety of taste experiences from a place depending on a particular country and region. Rural tourism in Europe usually engenders expectations to taste something that is characteristic to local culinary traditions. Food and dining are something that enables entrepreneurs to sell a place and distinguish it from others. From the sensescapes perspective food turns our attention to the sensations that reach beyond merely visually consuming to actually tasting a place. During the repeated visits to our field sites in southern Estonia we have noticed that tourism entrepreneurs’ awareness of the importance of providing culinary experiences has been gradually increasing. These developments have been influenced by projects and events organised by

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local organisations, food producers as well as by the top chefs of Estonia. Different bodies involved in the tourism industry have stressed the importance of local and traditional food as part of the overall experience of the region and the necessity to work out what specialities a particular farm tourism enterprise has. Tourism farms can be seen as cultural brokers of local food, as places that provide more intimate, personalised and immediate culinary encounters than urban restaurants. The problems that farm tourism entrepreneurs need to face are partly related to the fact that our studied tourism enterprises rarely produce the ingredients of what they cook and partly to the decreasing number of small food producers who have difficulties with marketing and selling their produce. The accessibility and prices of ingredients often set the limits of what is brought to the table for tourists. We also noticed considerable differences between those tourism enterprises that are oriented towards small groups of clients and those that address big groups. In the latter case fewer local or traditional specialities were found and dishes were more standardised (for example urban pub food). The practical problems of food production and consumption have influenced several farm tourism entrepreneurs who are not fully aware of the necessity to treat guests’ senses to something local and unique. Historically, traditional Estonian food is simple, being a part of the peasant’s regular diet rather than forming a distinguishable cuisine. Yet, even though Estonia is a small country, there are some noticeable regional culinary differences – fish is more connected with the coastal areas and islands, whereas in the farms of south Estonia local food specialities such as the cheese-like sõir, ham smoked in the smoke saunas or the strong local alcoholic beverage puskar (homebrewed from rye) are common. “Simplicity”, “homeliness” and “purity” were the key words used in the interviews when describing the food served at the studied farms. Although the tourism entrepreneurs usually do not produce most of the ingredients themselves, they take pride in the fact that they are at least trying to use local, often ecologically pure, products grown by other farmers. The importance of providing healthy (and slow instead of fast) food that is both traditional and has a distinctive taste was often stressed: I try to remember the food that my grandmother and great-grandmother used to cook. They were both local here . . . Especially bean soup and other things I cook on this very stove are very popular. (F, 55).

In addition to more traditional, heritage-based food experiences, there are also newer ones that, in one way or another, combine elements of other cultures and times, enabling stagings of foodscapes that engage a whole

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group of guests in a shared experience. An interesting example of exotic food welcomes guests at Tindioru Farm, where one has the opportunity to make an omelette from an ostrich egg under the hosts’ guidance (ostriches are kept on the farm mainly as a visual attraction for visitors). At Kiidi Farm a rediscovered ancient practice, which contrasts with today’s more familiar grilling and barbeque experiences, is cooking lamb meat under the ground. It is a process that involves many activities and multiple senses – heating a hole covered with stones, preparing the pieces of lamb, roasting them under live coals and finally enjoying the shared meal. This process entails the whole group of guests at the farm working for eight hours at least and, according to the host, is said to be a memorable experience to all tourists who have tried it. Treating guests to traditional regional dishes is also dependent on a particular entrepreneur and her/his interpretations of what is a local, traditional or exciting culinary experience for the tourists. The hostess at the Setomaa Farm has actively reinvented regional culinary traditions. She stresses the importance of the simplicity, freshness, and seasonality of the locally produced foodstuffs. Two dishes produced at this enterprise were elected the best tastes of the region by a local tourism organisation in 2012, specifically nettle pesto and pumpkin ice-cream. These tastes inevitably provide the guests with an experience of local foodscapes in the sense of what wild nature and the garden provide, although from the cultural perspective they represent hybrid and creative examples of culinary mixing. Thus the question arises as to whether the tourist actually tastes something characteristic to local food culture or to the personally interpreted food culture of a particular tourism enterprise. For the host of Tammuri Farm Restaurant, which offers urban style gourmet food experiences in a historical farmstead, the supply of ingredients and logistics are a problem. He has returned to this place after living in the city, runs the business alone and lacks contacts for more effective networking, therefore relying on a wholesale dealer seems more practical. Although local ingredients are used in the kitchen (for example different greens, herbs and berries from his farm’s garden; honey from beehives) the chef has a personal view on good food and locality: .

Why should local people, who have never tasted green-lipped mussels in their life, suffer because I want to offer these disgusting duck mussels which are not edible. Well, they come here and eat these green-lipped mussels. Three- and five-year-olds come and tell me: “Oh, they’re so good!” This emotion is the reason why I cook them. (M, 36)

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Thereby, serving good food, often of exotic origin, is a way for him to create memorable culinary experiences for locals and to bring gourmet values usually associated with urban life into the rural setting.

Saunascapes Lisa Marie Edelsward describes a traditional image of the sauna (in Finland, but it also applies to Estonia) as “a small wooden building located separately from the main house and preferably close to a water source (e.g. river, lake, pond)” (Edelsward, 1993: 13). Such a sauna belongs to rural landscapes and is today common in rural households, summer cottages in the countryside and rural tourism enterprises. In the latter, saunas may have different architecture, often a spacious room for cooling, relaxing and socialising during and after bathing. Some saunas in tourism enterprises originate from the late 19th century, whereas the newer ones have been built in the 2000s and after. Newer saunas have large common rooms for resting and dining, often with terraces that enable guests to go outside to cool down and enjoy the surroundings while they do so. Traditionally, the sauna (saun in Estonian), was an integral part of Estonian life. Saunas were believed to be sacred places inhabited by spirits; a place where, in addition to bathing, women would give birth and illnesses were cured. (Habicht, 2008). Today the sauna has increasingly become a place for socialising and leisure although the whole process can be compared with the performance of a ceremony in which “heating the sauna, undressing, sweating, cooling, repeating the sweating and cooling, relaxing afterwards with the other bathers” contributes to focusing one’s attention and sensory perception on the ritual-like experience (Edelsward, 1993: 16). Taking a sauna is probably one of the most fully engaging bodily experiences a tourism enterprise can provide – feeling the heat, sweating, relaxing the muscles, sensing the aromas of the whisks and whipping your body with them, cooling down outside and/or jumping into cool water embraces not just all our senses but provides a complex kinaesthetic experience (cf. O’Dell, 2004). Veijola and Jokinen (1994: 140) have suggested that when one hears, sees, smells, senses and tastes, thoughts may wander around and emotions vary, but a person has become a part of the unity, become a participant. Such an idea is strongly supported by our findings because this is precisely how farm tourism entrepreneurs interpret and describe the importance of the sauna experience. The interviews and conversations we conducted revealed that domestic tourists wish to have the rural sauna experience in order to enjoy privacy

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and to swim in natural water, which is impossible in city saunas or spas. The fact that virtually no farm tourism enterprises lack at least one type of sauna speaks for it being a beloved service for the (domestic) clients. We found a wide array of different saunas, often more than one per enterprise: traditional smoke saunas (lacking a chimney, heated only before bathing), various types of modern saunas with a chimney (also called Finnish saunas), and other bathing environments borrowed from other cultures (for example the Indian sauna in a tent, the outdoor wooden hot tub, etc.) (see also Võsu and Sooväli-Sepping, 2012). At bigger enterprises, targeting large groups, the saunas are usually built only for the guests, whereas in smaller enterprises with fewer visitors the sauna is often used by the host’s family as well. Thereby the tourists are invited into the same sensescape that locals experience in their everyday lives. As opposed to the ‘found spaces’ of the natural environment, at tourism enterprises the saunas are ‘staged spaces’, with details carefully set and planned by the hosts, making each of the sauna buildings a unique sensescape. An enterprise called Saunamaa (Sauna Land in English) specialises in a variety of sauna experiences (with currently 9 different saunas) and aims to establish a sauna theme park in the future that would attract clients from home as well as abroad. One of their smoke saunas looks intentionally archaic because of the use of traditional natural materials – old logs are insulated with moss, the foundation is constructed from loose granite stones, the roof is made of planks. Indoors the traditional style is combined with a contemporary rustic design by building a massive granite wall between the dressing room and the bathing room. The host stresses that there is no electricity, only candle light, and water from a cauldron or water butt, in order to stage a ‘genuine’ experience. Some tourism entrepreneurs provide their guests the opportunity to try their hand heating the sauna themselves and a few join the group of guests, especially foreigners, in order to provide a personal embodied guidance of the sauna experience. Indeed, for a foreigner the heat of the sauna, sharing the nakedness, etc. can also prove stressful and the guidance can make the first encounter with the sauna smoother. An entrepreneur described to us once how foreign guests especially, for whom the sauna experience can be very unfamiliar, are eager to listen to the host explaining what to do and how to behave in the sauna. This cultural brokerage is needed especially in the case of the smoke sauna, which can be seen as a sensescape of the past in the modern culture, although still part of everyday life for some people living in southeast Estonia. The hostess at Mooska Farm claims:

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We don’t sell the smoke sauna [service] by giving the keys and just letting people into the sauna; we go there together with the customers . . . I’ve been to practically everywhere in Europe and also to other places, and I’ve been looking for precisely that genuine cultural heritage experience . . . and you don’t get it without mediation. You cannot interpret these things for yourself . . . It remains incomprehensible when the culture is different. (F, 48)

This hostess claims that according to her experience both foreigners and urbanised Estonians need such personal guidance when it comes to smoke sauna customs. However, most of the farm tourism entrepreneurs expressed scepticism towards this kind of guided sauna experience, claiming that clients should have their privacy, even though they need practical instructions, and that hosts valued the privacy of their own sauna experience as well.

Conclusion Tourism farms are environments that provide diverse sensory experiences to their guests. Rural tourism entrepreneurs in southern Estonia see their role as brokers of local culture and nature, staging various sensescapes for rural experience. We have selected three distinctive sensescapes for our analysis: experiences of the natural environment, food and the sauna where events are staged by the hosts and co-performed by the hosts and guests. Farm tourism entrepreneurs in southern Estonia stage and thereby act as cultural brokers of certain environments and services they provide to their clients. In all the studied tourism establishments the sensescapes were selectively constructed and the role of the entrepreneur as the director was explicit, although it varied somewhat depending on the specific sensescape related to the experience. Our research demonstrated that several farm tourism entrepreneurs we encountered are aware of their roles as local guides and ‘culture brokers’. That is, they perform certain practices and activities for and with tourists in order to engage their senses and bodies in varied and active ways – such as the experience of naturescape during personalised hikes, the experience of local or personally interpreted foodscapes, and the multisensory experience of varied saunascapes. We may also say that the studied sensescapes sensory events were staged according to the hosts’ own experiences of their living environments and cultural as well as individual preferences. As individual cultural agents and due to the commercial nature of their business, tourism entrepreneurs have the freedom to provide their own vernacular versions of rurality in

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the way in which they stage and perform their services. Contemporary rural tourism establishments are not expected to provide just a service but are also expected to add value that is often called ‘experience’ and which is realised in the different sensescapes.

Acknowledgements This research was supported by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence in Cultural Theory, CECT) and the Estonian Science Foundation grant No. 9419.

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—. (2006a) Performing rurality. In P. Cloke, T. Marsden and P. Mooney (eds) Handbook of rural studies, London; Thousand Oaks; New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 484– 495. —. (2006b) Sensing tourist spaces. In: C. Minca and T. Oakes (eds) Travels in paradox: Remapping tourism. Lanham etc.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 23–45. Habicht, T. (2008 [1972]) Eesti saun. Tallinn: Ilo. Hall, C.M. and Müller, D.K. and Saarinen, J. (2008) Nordic tourism: Issues and cases. Bristol: Channel View Publications. Howes, D. (ed) (2005) Empire of the senses: The sensual culture reader. Oxford: Berg. Ingold, T. (2000) The perception of the environment. Essays in livelihood, dwelling and skill. London, New York: Routledge. —. (2011) Being alive. Essays on movement, knowledge and description. London and New York: Routledge. Kastenholz, E. and Carneiro, M. J. and Marques, C. P. and Lima, J. (2012) Understanding and managing the rural tourism experience. The case of a historical village in Portugal. Tourism Management Perspectives. 4: 207–214. Lane, B. (2012) Rural tourism. In M. Robinson and T. Jamal (eds). The SAGE handbook of tourism studies. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, pp. 354–370. Lund, K. (2005) Seeing in motion and the touching eye: Walking over Scotland’s mountains. In D. Bremenis (ed.) Senses. Vol. 18, Issue 1, Berlin-Hamburg-Münster: LIT Verlag, 27–42. Long, L. M. (ed.) (2013) Culinary tourism. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. Löfgren, O. (2012) European tourism. In U. Kockel, M. N. Craith and J. Frykman (eds) A companion to the anthropology of Europe. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell Ltd, 339–354. MacCannell, D. (1976) The tourist: A new theory of the leisure class. New York: Schocken Books. O’Dell, T. (2004) Cultural kinesthesis. Ethnologia Scandinavica. 34: 108– 129. Pine II, B. J. and Gilmore, J. H. (1999) The experience economy: Work is theatre and every business a stage. Harvard: Harvard Business Press. Porteous, J. D. (1990) Landscapes of the mind: worlds of sense and metaphor. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Schechner, R. (1994) Environmental theatre. New York: Applause Books.

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CHAPTER SIX TRANSCENDING NEOLIBERALISM IN INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERING MARK GRIFFITHS

As part of a study on international volunteering for development, a researcher arranges to participate in a rural project in the south of India. The volunteers are British and are two weeks into a three-month placement. The following is a creative account of the research and a performative presentation of the data. This is a story about a group of Westerners in contact with Others. At the beginning—it is important to remember—the encounter is simultaneously facilitated and bounded by neoliberal globalisation: the Westerners travel over an unfettered Earth, pulled by notions of selfadvancement, pushed by the chance to write a narrative of identity. The Others enjoy limited mobility—they rarely move—and they are exactly as passive as the Westerners are active. In this way the coming together is delineated by the skewed geographies of globalisation. It weighs heavy. But this is also very much a story of people together, of bodies drifting in a constitutive milieu, through contingent moments of shared affects that animate the lives of these disparate peoples. Contact begins hard but softens in its unfolding on non-verbal channels, it reverberates through the body and incarnates as sensations without names. This is a story that asks faith, begs you suspend what you know, allow yourself to touch and be touched. The scene is a village in a remote part of Karnataka, Southern India, its name is difficult to pronounce1. The first thing you notice as you arrive is a wonderful contrast between the lush vegetation and the maroon dust of 1

The research presented in this chapter comes out of participatory research conducted in three villages on the border between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

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the ground, it’s visually sensuous and makes for great photographs. It’s hot, stiflingly so, the air is heavy with monsoon; rainy season lingers. There is something uncanny to being here, it’s strange in its sights, smells and sounds but at the same time familiar figures populate the village: cattle doze in the shade, excitable children play cricket and a sadhu-like man leans tranquilly on his chhadi. Sari-ed women animate the village carrying impossible loads on their heads, their bangles uninterrupted from wrist to elbow. The village and its people, it is difficult not to notice, exude a certain poor rural charm. Somehow the Westerners knew that it would be this way, they’re part of a post-Band Aid generation (Lousley, 2013). The Westerners number nine or so and are full of enthusiasm. They are here to volunteer for a development charity that builds toilets and compost bins for poor rural communities. Their lack of formal training doesn’t matter; they are full of enthusiasm and eager to give their time and sweat to help the community, this, importantly for them, marks them out from less-ethical tourist presences in the South (Mustonen, 2007). “Poverty”, one tells me, “brings with it responsibility” and this project is a good chance to “give back”, to “make a difference”.2 All of the volunteers nod at this point: “these people have nothing and we should do something to help”. As they walk around the village and look on their poor host community they typically reason “but they’re so happy” and “it makes you realise how lucky you are”. “It’s a good thing for my CV” many of them hope. They’re on their way to universities, jobs in the City, LPCs, MAs, NVQs, PhDs, internships on Chancery Lane, social work in Broken Britain. “This is a great opportunity” for them to “broaden horizons”, to “get on the job ladder”; to capitalise on this Southern space as a ‘place to play’ (Fainstein and Judd, 1999). By now these volunteers are familiar figures, the planet is full of unqualified (Raymond and Hall, 2008) ‘givers’ (Sin, 2009) rationalising geo-inequalities as ‘poor-but-happy’ (Crossley, 2012). These are the ‘postcolonial flâneurs’ (Williams, 1997) of globalisation, the ‘good neoliberal subjects’ of volunteering (Vrasti, 2012). The Others are different, obviously. The Others have dark skin and speak an incomprehensible tongue, not so much words as sounds. They make strange gestures - yes is indistinguishable from no - and seemingly spend much of the day cultivating and preparing food; they eat with their hands. Rice is breakfast, cow faeces adorn doorsteps and morning starts with worship of an elephant deity. None of them tweets or likes. Instead, 2

All of the volunteer quotes in this chapter come from interview transcripts or field notes from participatory data collection.

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as the sun lowers they gather at a mystical tree and tell stories of the beasts of the surrounding forest. They could also be animals of course but ‘beasts’ somehow fits. One of their cousins from a nearby village is at a local university but, for most, work comes thanks to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005) which promises a small amount of work at a rate of 120 rupees (£1.20) per day. Pay is often late and partial. The familiarity of these figures is uncanny, known yet unknown. They are the ‘receivers’ (Palacios, 2010) of development, the ‘volunteered’ or ‘voluntoured’ (McGehee and Andereck, 2009) whose presence is Orientalised in the spaces of volunteering (Griffin, 2013) and tourism (Urry and Larsen, 2011). The Others are everything the Westerners are not, the object to their subject; passive in a world where it’s good to be active, the ‘exotic beings’ on the edge of consciousness (Said, 1978). When we read of volunteer tourism they are barely detectable between the lines, seldom escaping the ’established cultural frames’ of the volunteer imagination (Snee, 2013). These people too are the subjects of neoliberal globalisation, brought into being through the ‘persistent asymmetry’ of global mobilities (Lorimer, 2010) that ensures Others ‘loom large’ (Prasad and Prasad, 2002) but remain essentially ‘distant strangers’ (Corbridge, 1998). This North-South encounter is marked by these structural mismatches; there persists a dividing ‘Us and Them’ between volunteers and hosts (Simpson, 2004; Devereux, 2008; Mostafanezhad, 2013). This dividing line is felt in the village, too, the haves and have-nots reverberate through encounters - simple contact is not enough to ‘work through’ difference (Valentine, 2008). *** At the entrance to the village is a small temple fresh with offerings from the morning’s puja. As the volunteers make their way from their cramped quarters in an old school hall they feel isolated, none of them has spoken to loved ones back home in more than a week, the closest connection is 35 miles away, and it’s dial-up. They feel “cut off from the world”, some are enthused by the challenge of “life without needless comforts”, others lament “doing great things but I can’t tell people”. Despite its disconnect, this is a highly globalised space, populated as it is by Northern constituents helping, benefiting from and defining their Southern encounters (Mowforth and Munt, 2008). Nonetheless the volunteers feel “out of place”, like “they don’t belong” - but they knew it

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would be “tough” and they know it will be “worthwhile in the end”. “Worthwhile”, “rewarding”, “stimulating” and other gratifications of (post)modern labour (Orbach, 2008) weave through the long, TV-less conversations before bed. On this project the volunteers are building ‘eco-san’ toilets and compost stores to help fertilise the fields around the village. The Others defecate in the forest and the charity cites health reasons to advocate for toilet use, the villagers by-and-large feel it more natural to use the forest. There are two disused eco-san toilets already from a project two years previous. They sit inconspicuously at either edge of the village until the volunteers arrive, then they take on meaning; evidence of another ‘spurious’ (VSO, 2007) volunteer project? The volunteers begin to doubt: “it seems they don’t even want them [toilets], I wonder why we’re here sometimes”. Still, they all know that toilets are better, more civilised even. Before work some of the volunteers have tilak painted on their foreheads, some practice yoga before the suns begins to sear. It makes them feel more authentic, it makes this place seem more authentic, too. “This is everything I wanted of India” sighs one volunteer, evidently relaxed in her post-yoga sweat, “I love how much they have tradition”. They quietly delight in their passage through a ‘sacred liminoid’ (Mustonen, 2007) offered them by this sub-continental ‘pleasure periphery’ (Desforges, 2000); the Third World an “unchanged and exotic remnant of another time” (Echtner and Prasad, 2003, 669). One day there is a village feast— ‘feast’ (like ‘beast’), not ‘dinner’, seems to fit—and the volunteers “love every minute”. They get to “dance and eat like real Indians”, “experience something you wouldn’t [if] just backpacking”, each one of them wants to “bottle it up” for posterity. Something niggles, however: as “honoured guests”, their immersion is momentary, asymmetric. Each knows that in three or so months she will be home in the UK living off the cultural capital of another ‘cool’ (Desforges, 1998) volunteer experience. The Others, of course, will remain largely untouched and known to us only in memory. They are weighed down by our “mental luggage of grand narratives” (Elsrud, 2001: 601), consigned eternally to this ‘treasured landscape’ (Aitchison, 2001). Future appearances will be limited to the 'fateful moments' of volunteers’ identity-asserting anecdotes (Desforges, 2000). From this perspective the village appears a microcosm of globalisation where two worlds collide and one feeds off the other. “Those there” are passive, static and Other. “Us here” progress, augment CVs and reflexively write identity (Giddens, 1991). So it goes that the volunteers and their hosts have limited contact. Not in terms of vicinity—they’re

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always close—but structure seems to intervene, inequality permeates each exchange. This is a world of difference, a landscape of dichotomies that affirms as it unsettles. Even if these volunteers “care” or “help” they will only ever create a people “cared for” or “helped”, thus replicating and perpetuating neo-colonial relations with rural people in the South (Raymond and Hall, 2007; Palacios, 2010; Mostafanezhad, 2013). *** After tilak and yoga, the volunteers prepare for work. They lend me some boots and a flimsy spade. The village is small (“14 families”) but feels busy, across the road (it’s not a road) six huts shimmer in the not-yet fierce heat. Life here wakes promptly to beat the sun, walking down the hill every child stops to stare at our difference. Their faces are warm, one woman in particular smiles expectantly. None of them tell me but she’s obviously familiar to the volunteers. She touches her chest gently and bows her head. Hers is a warm smile; it’s a smile that speaks of care, love even; it says “welcome”, we understand that and it feels good. Her daughter appears, barefooted in an immaculate pink sari, she has a tray of tea. None of us particularly care for chai, it’s sickly sweet and unfamiliarly spiced. Nonetheless we smile and drink, two of us instantly feel the neverwelcome pang that meant lactose intolerance would ensure an uncomfortable morning. This is not a great place to be sick. This concern fades and the volunteers drink through their smiles while the woman speaks – whatever she’s saying, it sounds nice. I know this not from her words but from her eyes. The daughter is very pleased to be around us and carries the tray enthusiastically. She reverently mimics her mother as we drink, trying to match her sip for sip – though it’s too much for her notyet-insulated mouth. She’s unsure of tea etiquette, eager to grow up, and copies her Mum, I remember doing exactly the same. I miss my Mum . . . the thought holds me and for a moment I’m away. I’m living the present through “subjective emotions from elsewhere”, I can’t help it; none of us can (Askins, 2009: 9 original emphasis). I’m back now, we each smile, touch our chests and fumble namaskƗr. High on sugar we take the dusty path to the site we’re digging. Already the sun makes itself felt. Like every day our group multiplies along the route as the village’s children follow their curiosity. They stare at our white skin and continuously ask “what’s your name?” With each repeated “my name is Mark”, they burst into fits of laughter. It’s less tiresome than it sounds and their energy passes through the group, laughter is a most intense contagion . The children breathe life into the streets, constantly on

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the move in their world where everything is curious. As the volunteers’ faces become familiar the kids grow in confidence and begin “grabbing your hand and dragging you down the street”, they play games and always demand that you bowl over-arm. As we run around after a ball in a game of no rules, sweat pours and our breaths shorten. The movement of our bodies, the laughter, the un-discussed understanding: “they’re just kids... it’s not an ‘us and them’ thing”. In these moments we forget we’re volunteers and we forget they’re poor; difference pales. That was last night. This morning the teacher comes out of the school, again smiles— this time a little more guarded—he asks us to give an impromptu English lesson. Gavin, the volunteer leader, reasons that since the masons may be late, two of us can spend an hour in the classroom. That evening Gemma would tell us of the moment she walked in the school “and saw how excited the kids were” she became “nervous”. And having planned nothing, she could feel her body “cringe” in reaction to their anticipation. She is on the back foot, thinking through her body’s cringe and her face’s blush: “so we like did the conga and a Mexican wave and stuff and they loved it”. Her account is staccato—it made for a great story, but not such a great transcription—and it animates the room. Both enthusiastic and wistful she recalls “and just their little faces... they absolutely loved it”. After the conga, Becky tells us, it was just like yelling English words and they were yelling them back and they were all so happy for us to be there and I felt like I don't know we broke down a barrier because when we first came they were all so uncomfortable and it was like oh my god it's us and them and now it's very much we are them kind of thing like we've blended in well they don't have any problems in grabbing your hand.

After the “lesson” some of the children follow Gemma and Becky to the site. They buzz around competing to show how useful they can be. Over time the village children would come to mean more and more to the volunteers, “they’ve got nothing but they smile, they have fun”; “they’ve got so much energy”. Such energies run through the volunteers’ days. *** As the sun gets too hot the volunteers take a break in the shade. A woman arrives and it seems there’s a problem. One of the beneficiary

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families3 in the village has already received a compost shed from the charity while she, who is “of lesser means”, would like one. Something’s amiss and it seems some leaning-on has come from village seniors with a grudge: she has a child but her husband is dead; there’s cultural stuff going on that we don’t get. A compost shed, we would later learn, would mean not having to buy compost from the very same “village seniors”. Our village contact is not surprised and explains that underhandedness is commonplace, part of the terrain. The situation is instantly messy: a British charity, in partnership with a local NGO, through a local unaffiliated “facilitator” has, almost without doubt, allocated resources to families according to influence rather than need. Tied in with this are cultural attitudes towards marriage and widowing. It all seems too much, a cruel quirk, a Spivakian nightmare where a British presence and potential intervention is entirely disconcerting (Spivak, 1988). The woman—her name is Ashima—approaches Gavin. She’s slight and weathered. Her black bindi marks her out as widowed. She occasionally works, but not as much as she’d like. Gavin is 24, from Cardiff and a graduate in IT management. There’s no interpreter but Ashima hasn’t even thought about that, she addresses Gavin unhesitantly with words—noises—he cannot decipher. Kannada is a very plosive language and both the tongue and lips work hard. He explains that he doesn’t understand but she’s clearly quite upset. Awkwardness hangs in the air, passing through us as an ‘affective atmosphere’ that refigures our ‘subjective states’ (Anderson, 2009). Her tears deepen the silence; he does understand, and she understands that he understands. Gavin is in an affected state, his body pushes on his words, he wants desperately to act through his intersubjectivity: “we’ll do what we can”, he says and while the words tell her nothing, his voice and face tell her everything. “We’ll come tomorrow and start foundations”, it’s a promise he may not be able to keep (he does in the end) but he’s moved to make it. Both expressions turn to mirrored smiles, they bounce off each other, each curvature of the mouth goading the next of the other. This is a poignant moment as Ashima and Gavin reach each other and push each other corporeally, through the “transpersonal capacity which a body has to be affected... and to affect” (Anderson, 2006: 735, original emphasis). Between Ashima’s and Gavin’s faces pass messages ‘too elusive for science’ that ‘bewitch’ and ‘lure’, messages that are picked up on by the other’s ‘facial deftness’ and they—precognitively—attune to the other’s 3

Beneficiary families are selected by the charity. In these villages they were to receive eco-san toilets and/or compost stores.

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transmissions (Thrift, 2004). These affect and are affected as they pass between their and our bodies. The lines in her face come together as a smile broadens. It’s not a fake smile, he knows this because he perceives the zygomatic major working with the orbicularis oculi under her skin – involuntarily stimulated muscles that assure us the expression is genuine (Ekman, 2004). He perceives—feels—her positive emotion and his zygomatic major expands as an ‘automatic reaction’ emerging “without attention or conscious awareness” (Dimberg et al., 2000: 2). They’re now on a non-verbal channel—but we can pick it up, we’re all sentient—where synapses fire to work the face into a smile, a process of ‘affective microsequences’ that culminate in “a resonant affective state” (BänningerHuber, 1992: 517); her smile elicits his (and his hers). Slowing down the moment in this way deconstructs the thick layer of socio-cultural formations that weigh heavy, it allows us to puncture and rupture the source of difference between us. This is a sign that in our fleshiness we are contingent, mutually constitutive. *** Back at “home” (a disused communal hall) we sit around to prepare dinner. I ask what so far has been the most important part of their volunteering experience. There’s a unanimous4 response: the connections they’ve made in the community. “The people, definitely... two families in particular I've built a bond with and we've made a lot of friends”, there is an “obvious connection between our volunteers and the village community and because it's so easy just to do and get involved”. This was especially true for female volunteers who often spoke of connections with women in the village. Ellie reiterates the formation of bonds beyond language “the women we've really bonded with but we can't speak a word to each other really” and Charlie adds “like that lady who comes up to look at us cooking, we have like inside jokes with her like she always calls me ‘Mary’ even though it's not my name and she always finds it hilarious”. The girls laugh as they talk about it, a sign that the affect lingers. These are connections that “make you think”, restarts Paul, “about all the crap that we have”—this is by now a familiar reflection—“and just how much of it is needless”. Tom picks up the thought: “it’s embarrassing and really makes you feel the difference between here and home”, these idle evenings of chat are replete with introspection. Alice adds: “it makes me question all the stuff that I work for – what’s the point, you know?” 4

26 of 28 volunteers.

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Nobody needs to answer this, there’s a (con)sensual silence. They talk of the “guilt” and the “shame” that comes with their privileged positions, how the “warmth” of people puts in sharp relief the falseness of their difference, the “absurdity” of it all. The village settles early. Noise comes only from the rustles and scurries of the forest. The stillness sets into contrast the village’s waking vibrancy. The stars provide a fittingly affective focus to our thoughts, they are anything but cliché; looking up relaxes and intensifies the intensities resonating through the body, ingrains them ever deeper on the cerebral record. Days here present a rich sensorium, its encounters “pass transformatively through the flesh” (Massumi, 2002: xvii). The co-creative and co-constitutive affects of the village should not be dismissed. They may come in the form of passing atmospheres or faint flickers of feeling but their temporality exceeds the moment, making them all the more significant: ”the body’s movements [retain] a kind of depth that stays with it across all its transitions - accumulating in memory, in habit, in reflex, in desire, in tendency” (Massumi, 2002: 213). At this point we are witness to huge potential. These flickers, micro-sequences and connections may reside somewhere in the body, to leave “a trace within our constitution” (Al-Saji, 2000: 56) to push on later experiences. It is also significant then that these phenomena play out on the body and—at least in this village—punch through the veneer of North-South, giver-receiver, carer-cared for and so forth. The constitutive outside—the difference—on which neoliberalism relies is therefore subverted. The Self (us) and Other (them) therefore are brought together, “building solidarity across otherwise debilitating social, economic and psychic boundaries” (Alexander and Mohanty, 1997: xlii). This is a connection of equal agency, where the join is barely visible; volunteers are caught together in a “co-constituting entanglement” (Little, 2013: 3). *** For three months the bodies in the village would repeat these experiences every day. The sensorium ebbing and flowing in intensity, some days it would be too much, “I couldn’t stop crying”, others it seems impotent, “I just want to be home today”, but each moment courses through the body. It stays with them somehow, becoming part of them through the quotidian repetition that makes these affects familiar— known—to the body, to re-emerge in an unknown future. Eventually the charity will decide to move on to another village. Most probably the charity is pressed by its funder (it is) and the state government, and

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perhaps the eco-san toilets will be underused (they are) but these are, for the moment, details. More important is that these moments take place despite such messy actualities. At hand, then, is a tourist presence in the rural South that may open and close according to the whims of neoliberal globalisation—especially when we acknowledge the skewed geography of global civil society (Smith and Wiest, 2005)—but elements of that space are, in important ways, wholly autonomous. Where this takes us is full of potential. Neoliberalism as a form of capitalism relies on an oppressed, on identification and exploitation of an Other. At this late stage it depends particularly on geopolitical inequalities, to which the uneven topography of globalisation bears witness. Supposedly, the meeting of volunteers and hosts is an artefact of this, the North imposing on the South. But sensing the body and its intersubjective connections releases its potential to “shake discursive structures” (Waitt et al., 2007: 252) that might be “generative of personal and social change” (Pedwell, 2012: 116). This should excite us. In the village you can sense a new body-polis coming into being—one that neoliberalism struggles to deal with—that reveals itself in the interstices of discursive power’s dichotomous arrangement on the world. The emergent subjectivity is neither us nor them, rich nor poor, oppressor nor oppressed. Coming into view, then, is a new ‘bio-mass’ that ”opens a space in the identities those categories delineate, inventing new trajectories, new circuits of response, unheard-of futures and possible bodies such as have never been seen before” (Massumi, 1992: 101). Conceiving social life this way enables us to see this affective ‘Multitude’ (Hardt and Negri, 2000) in formation in the village as it [c]omposes and consists, assembles and reassembles, in ways that are incommensurate with the telos and demands of the imperial prerogatives of tourist capitalism as they are enacted on the frayed margins of empire (Little, 2013: 2).

The emergent community, in its mutuality, comprises bodies that hold the potential to subvert or resist neoliberalism. The village, then, even only momentarily, evades the grasp of neoliberalism to emerge as a precious space of rural tourism whose autonomy we must recognise and document. This potential, however, brings with it methodological complications. Attending to affective moments is to make data out of the 'imperceptible dynamism' (Clough, 2008) of the body, that is, in some way to perceive and represent what is essentially outside representaion (Thrift, 2007). There is epistemological trouble here: to name drags whatever it is into the reductive structures of language. This would implicate us in a project of

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dampening the affect-rich experience of being in the field, which brings us to a second issue. We’re inside the field, not only as “privileged researchers” but also as sentient beings, we are situated “in the very process of the world’s coming into being” (Ingold, 2005:26) and we too are affected and affecting in the field (Askins, 2009). In this short chapter I have attempted to respond to these methodological issues. First, the issue of embodied positionality might be seen as positive. Our embeddedness, far from presenting issues of partiality—especially where affect is concerned—offers a highly-sensitive instrument of data collection; our own bodies “’matter’ in research encounters” (Longhurst et al., 2008: 210), this is something to be embraced. The issue of representation is, as I see it, a little less clear-cut. Given that the primary media of academia are language-centric, finding ways of documenting and discussing embodied experience must experiment in the form of presentation. Strict writing guidelines insisted on by institutions and publishers do not aid this process but it serves to remember that language holds great power to convey affects. Who doesn’t convulse with Madame Bovary at that famous final scene? This presents an opportunity. If we recognise that affects provide “a sense of ‘push’ in the world” (Thrift, 2004: 64) we should attempt to incorporate (literally) affective figures into our textual (re)presentations of the world. The draw of doing and writing research this way is, I would argue, intensified with issues such as volunteer tourism in poor rural areas. The encounters that take place, are heavily inflected with issues of power, be it in the guise of race, gender or neoliberalism. Crucially, however, in these spaces we bear witness to moments that defy these maleficent presences of power. Writing affectively, therefore, both documents and performs disruptive affective moments. The prize is too great to ignore: an alternative world disavowed (at least partially) of its gendered and racialised structural impositions. Hélène Cixous recognised power’s hold on writing conventions. She implores us to practice ‘écriture feminine’, to “write through [our] bodies” in a style that “sweeps away syntax” (Cixous,1976: 886). Instantly this would seem to offer much to the study of affect: we should write “through and with the body” (Elam, 2002: 62) in “a form that is non-linear, decentred or open and therefore antihierarchical and antiphallogocentric” (DeKoven, 1992: 677). In so doing the text becomes performative of its subject such that form and content move closer together so that writing is itself performative. Performative writing speaks “from the body, evocatively... [it] calls on the sensuous, the figurative, and the expressive” (Pelias, 2005: 183); it opens the reader to “worlds that are other-wise intangible, unlocatable: worlds of memory, pleasure, sensation, imagination,

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affect, and in-sight” (Pollock, 1998: 80). Through such evocations of the ‘sensuous and figurative’ language can become, Cixous argues, a “sower of disorder” (Cixous 1976: 884). In the village the sensuous and figurative touched bodies in ways such that their subjectivities became disordered from the order imposed by categorisations of North-South, volunteer-host and so on. My recourse to performative writing in the beginning of this chapter is recognition that this “is not easily told, but far easier felt” (Bennett, 2000: 120). Of course, my attempt is clumsy and lacks the creative hand that would enhance this effect (and its affects). Nonetheless, the advantages are clear. Where the bodies of rural people and volunteer tourists come together we get a sense of the ways that affective bonds can transcend the subject positions circumscribed to us by power. The body, then, becomes a presence that resists, and then, in the presentation of research through performance “the body emerges as a political presence” (Pelias, 2005: 183). This is true of Ashima, Gavin, Shyamala and many of the other figures of the narrative, they emerge uninhibited by their oppressive—and power-laden—categorisations. This is central to the argument here, our embodied experiences transcend the structural impositions of power, in performing this reality we — in a small way — bring into being a new reality. Research writes into being a world of ‘difference not dominance’ (Gibson-Graham, 2008) where the body’s intersubjectivity is evasive of power. In effect this is an appeal to the senses through the senses. We know that in our imaginings of power, poor rural places and people are most often subjected to the malign and capitalistic modes of tourism. At the same time we witness in the field moments of warmth and emotion on which connections are made that rub against the power networks that draw the contours of tourism, ‘alternatives’ such as volunteer tourism included. Following this, we might make research sensitive to the sight of these connections—the body—and explore how it shows us that ‘another world is possible’. This most certainly does not have to be a revolutionary resistance but rather could be “more localised and small-scale nature, centring on the destabilising of truths, challenging subjectivities and normalising discourses” (Thomas and Davies, 2005: 720); a ‘subversive place’ “between representations” (Knights and Kerfoot, 2004: 446) where ‘small wins’ (Meyerson and Fletcher, 2000) emerge as “resistance at the micro-level” (Thomas and Davies, 2005: 726). In these embodied connections, then, there begins to build a narrative of resistance to or transcendence of neoliberalism and its impositions.

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This chapter has attempted to present a performative image of this world. The passage’s Orientalist opening—in its awkwardness and cringes— is gradually deconstructed through images of bodies and the coconstitutive affects that emerge. I hope that in this narrative the binary of Self and Other is challenged in some way. There is plenty of room in research on rural tourism and volunteering for accounts such as this, it just means exploring embodied approaches to data collection and discussion, and pushing a little our creative instinct. By way of conclusion, I feel it necessary to temper the good feeling of this chapter with a series of correctives. These will hopefully serve to clarify some of the points made here but will also open the way to more questions. Most obviously, it is important to situate embodied experience with caution. The ‘autonomy’ of affect (Massumi, 1995) has given rise to some potent writing on its capacity to animate new sets of human relations equipped to evade the grasp of power (Hardt and Negri, 2000; GibsonGraham, 2006); the work of this chapter draws on this. While in every sense important (and not a little seductive) the enthusiasm for affect as an affront to (neoliberal) power must be balanced by the simple fact that not all affect is ‘good affect’ (Ettlinger, 2009; Vrasti, 2011) and it cannot be that noting affective bonds necessarily locates resistance to power. Capitalism and neoliberalism have for a long time played to our irrationalities (Ariely, 2008) anxieties (Isin, 2004) and passions (Hochschild, 2003). For this reason, the connections of this volunteer-host community are spoken of in terms of an emergent solidarity that is formative rather than unequivocally resistant. Relatedly, especially in the field of development and rural tourism, we must remain aware of how we apportion affect, as Carolyn Pedwell has noted: while the affective capacities and skills of privileged (middle class, white, and/or Western) subjects can be cultivated, honed and tested through empathy, the less privileged (poor, non-white and/or ‘third world’) ‘other’ remains simply the object of empathy and thus once again fixed in place… [i]n this way... the repeated linking of empathy with social privilege across various critical analyses can work to preserve the oppressive relations of power such theorists would otherwise seek to contest (2013: 19).

Again, mindful of this, I take care not to frame the affective bonds as a passage of empathy from one to the other, as to do so implicates the body — and therefore exacerbates — the dichotomous and deleterious arrangement of Self and Other. Solidarity, to be a force, must be reciprocal. Documenting this, it should be noted, is a difficult task and the present chapter — for all its effort — retains a volunteer-centric lens on

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this particular North-South encounter. This is driven by a reluctance to speak for people at the ‘wrong end’ of privilege, a practice that can present difficulty given that inequality, for many, is the raison d’être of social science research (Cannella and Lincoln, 2011). Sensing people as bodies that emit affects and emotions, as I have done here, is one way of negotiating this bind. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, of course all of this has to be held with some element of dissonance. We cannot lose sight of the fact that, however autonomous and/or transcendent these affective moments are (for they surely are), they are brought to being by the very inequalities themselves. Global mobilities are tellingly skewed and though we could, at a push, frame this as a ‘productive’ or ‘progressive’ site of neoliberalism as some have done (Lewis, 2009), there’s little ignoring the fact that even as affects enchant us, neoliberal power is most certainly present. Dissonance is the order here, never denial or apologism. That the people of the village shared affective moments does not excuse the unforgivable wrongs wrought by the current prevalence of neoliberalism, however much its omnipotence is disputed (Barnett, 2005). Volunteer tourists undoubtedly arrive in rural spaces via the channels opened to them by neoliberalism. Hosts are similarly produced through these channels. The story does not end here, however. In fact the story is one of co-created moments of happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, care, even love. The turn to affect offers a mode of sensing this, the use of performative writing offers a register through which we can communicate findings. Writ large is a meeting of Northern and Southern constituents that is not solely neo-colonial, not suffocated by the past (Dirlik, 2002), it does not, therefore, reiterate and reinforce the difference that continues to draw oppressive lines across the globe today. Instead, the lines are redrawn, opening up spaces of hope, of potential. This is a story, then, of the spaces opened up by neoliberal globalism being reappropriated by the very passions and emotions that are foreclosed in the rational logic of capitalism. Documenting and performing such transcendence invests our research with a vision of a better future, surely a worthwhile undertaking in a world depressingly short of hope.

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Pelias, R. J. (2005) Performative writing as scholarship: An apology, an argument, an anecdote. Cultural Studiesļ Critical Methodologies. 5(4): 415-424. Pollock, D. (1998) Performing writing. In P. Phelan and J. Lane (eds) The ends of performance, New York: New York University Press, 73-103. Prasad, A, and Prasad, P. (2002) Otherness at large: Identity and difference in the new globalised organizational landscape. In I. AaltioMarjosola and A. Mills (eds) Gender, identity and the culture of organizations. London: Routledge, 57-71. Raymond, E and Hall, M. (2008) The development of cross-cultural (mis)understanding through volunteer tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 16(5): 530-543. Said, E. (1978) Orientalism, London: Penguin. Simpson, K. (2004) ‘Doing development’: The gap year, volunteer-tourists and a popular practice of development. Journal of International Development. 16(5): 681-692. Sin, H. L. (2009). Volunteer tourism: ‘Involve me and I will learn’? Annals of Tourism Research. 36(3): 480-501. Smith, J., and Wiest, D. (2005) The uneven geography of global civil society: National and global influences on transnational association. Social Forces. 84(2): 621-652. Snee, H. (2013) Framing the Other: cosmopolitanism and the representation of difference in overseas gap year narratives. The British Journal of Sociology. 64(1): 142-162. Spivak, G.C. (1988) Can the Subaltern Speak? In C. Nelson and L. Grossberg (eds) Marxism and the interpretation of culture. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 271-316. Thomas, R and Davies, A. (2005) What have the feminists done for us? Feminist theory and organisational resistance. Organization. 12(5): 711-740. Thrift, N. (2004) Intensities of feeling: towards a spatial politics of affect. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography. 86(1): 57-78. —. (2007) Non-representational theory: Space, politics, affect. London: Routledge. Urry, J., and Larsen, J. (2011) The tourist gaze 3.0. London: Sage. Valentine, G. (2008) Living with difference: reflections on geographies of encounter. Progress in Human Geography. 32(3): 323-337. Vrasti, W. (2011) Caring capitalism and the duplicity of critique. Theory and Event. 14(4): 1-14. —. (2012) Volunteer tourism in the global south: Giving back in neoliberal times. London: Routledge.

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CHAPTER SEVEN THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF WORLD WIDE OPPORTUNITIES ON ORGANIC FARMS (WWOOF) IN HAWAI‘I: FARM HOST PERSPECTIVES SALEH AZIZI AND MARY MOSTAFANEZHAD

Introduction In this chapter we explore the intersection of rural tourism, sustainability and organic agriculture in Hawai‘i, USA. Approaching this nexus from a phenomenological perspective, we examine the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) experience from the purview of farm hosts. WWOOF is an international network of organic farmers who exchange accommodation on their farm for tourists’ labour and is part of a growing trend in rural tourism landscapes. In the last decade farm volunteering has become an increasingly popular rural development strategy for small organic farmers who use WWOOF labour to subsidise the cost of food production as well as to cultivate intercultural friendships and exchange knowledge. From an organic farmer’s point of view, organic farm volunteer tourists - colloquially known as WWOOFers - are perceived as a viable source of subsidised labour which offsets unfair advantages such as subsidies that privilege the industrial agricultural complex in the United States. However, unlike farm labour, organic farm volunteers are characterised by shorter farmstays and primarily low levels of training and experience with farm work. In the twentieth century farming practices underwent large social transformations. Rural-urban migration, technological advancements, and the large changes in lifestyle during the last century help explain major trends in organic food and its disappearance and re-appearance as a public concern (Pothukuchi and Kaufman, 1999; Vitiello and Brinkley, 2013).

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Increases in productivity through technological advancements, modernisation, and specialisation freed up rural households for industrialisation; people moved to the city to work in factories for salaries that allowed for consumption of essentials rather than self-provision (McNeill, 2000; Douglass, 2012).). More recently, how we eat is being recognised as a major determinant of how natural resources and human labour are used and misused (Kloppenburg et. al., 2000). Relying on local food is now an important historical opportunity to empower and democratise communities (Meter, 2011). WWOOF originated in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s as an exchange between urban dwellers who wanted to experience rural living without fully compromising their existing lifestyle and small rural landowners who needed help tending to their daily activities on the farm and enjoyed the socialising (Ward, 1995; McIntosh and Campbell, 2001; Deville, 2011). The key difference between WWOOFing and other forms of farm labour is that it is done primarily for recreational purposes— an alternative tourism activity (McIntosh and Campbell, 2001). The original WWOOF farmstay was shorter than those of today. This can be noted from the changes in the WWOOF acronym. WWOOF originally stood for ‘Working Weekends on Organic Farms’ and was a way for Londoners to work on surrounding farms for the weekend (McIntosh, 2009; Mosedale, 2009). As interest in farm volunteering grew, farmstays became longer and the meaning of WWOOF morphed into Willing Workers on Organic Farms (Maycock, 2008). However, as the WWOOF volunteer network began to expand internationally and distinguish itself from farm work undertaken by migrant workers, the name changed again to World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (Maycock, 2008). Today, 46 countries participate in the WWOOF network including 19 countries in the European region, 4 in Africa, 10 in the Americas, and 13 in the Middle East and Asia Pacific region. The largest organisations are located in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. Although it varies from place to place, a WWOOFer is expected to work approximately 30 hours per week on the farm hosts’ property on a range of chores, in exchange for food and accommodation. Host farmers conform to varying degrees with criteria established by a national or regional (e.g. Hawai’i) WWOOF organisation, generally by ‘being involved in organics in some way’ such as by growing or producing organic foods and other non-food products (Ord and Amer, 2010; Deville, 2011). McIntosh and Campbell (2001: 112) highlight how WWOOF differs from farmstays in that

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Chapter Seven unlike commercial farmstays for example, the WWOOF experience is voluntary. Visitors tend to stay longer (a few weeks to a few months), visitors undertake more farm and other household duties, learn specifically about organic farming practices, but visitors tend to undertake fewer tourist activities in the vicinity. More importantly, the WWOOF experience tends to be about the sharing of similar interests, lifestyles or world views.

Farm volunteering can provide a direct pathway for tourists to the ‘back stage’ regions of a community - in and by avoiding the cash exchange nexus outside the commoditised relations of the tourism ‘industry’ (MacCannell 1973; Cohen 1988; Deville, 2011). This is in part because WWOOF hosts are to provide volunteers with room and board: hosts do not pay volunteers and volunteers do not pay hosts (Ord and Amer, 2010). These aspects of the experience are outlined in McIntosh and Bonnemann’s (2006: 82) four key dimensions of the WWOOF host experience which include “the rurality of the experience; the opportunity to learn about organics; the personal meaningfulness of the experience; and the element of sincerity in the experience”. The majority of academic research on farm volunteering situates WWOOFing as an alternative tourism and leisure activity at the intersection of farm tourism, volunteer tourism and organic farming (Ord and Amer, 2010). Ord and Amer (2010: 19) suggest that “the present literature on WWOOF places it within awkwardly-phrased and poorly defined categories such as ‘eco-organic farm tourism’ and ‘alternative tourism.’ One could also make the case that it is a form of ‘sustainable tourism’ or ‘responsible tourism’”. In New Zealand, following economic restructuring in the 1980s, tourism was identified as a viable option for counter-balancing diminishing agricultural production and services, population decline and the general economic change experienced in many rural areas. Today, farm tourism is an important factor in the rural economy of many Western countries (McIntosh and Campbell, 2001). Consequently, much of the research explores the visitor’s experiences while volunteering on an organic farm. A common conclusion of many farm tourism studies stresses the importance of social and, to varying degrees, economic benefits of hosting volunteers (McIntosh and Campbell, 2001; Mosedale, 2009; Ord and Amer, 2010). However, there is a lack of research that highlights the host experience and motivations for opening their farms to visitors and the values held by the host, particularly in regard to environmental sustainability (Ord and Amer 2010). This chapter contributes to filling this gap in the literature by examining how WWOOF farm hosts describe their motivations for hosting WWOOFers in Hawai‘i

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as well as how these motivations complement their organic and sustainable values. Research has highlighted that simplifying the farm volunteer exchange to a rational transaction of labour for food and accommodation does not take other social and cultural factors into account; exchange is seldom simply a material, commodity transaction. Rather, it is a richly symbolic activity which can have important emotional consequences quite apart from any material changes which may result (Mosedale, 2009). While many studies support the notion that the contribution of volunteer tourists to organic farms is a symbiotic relationship or synergy between tourism and environmental projects (Ord and Amer, 2010), the research generally holds that farm volunteering is not an activity that generates significant economic benefits for participants or for the industry at large (Deville, 2011). However, Sheahan et. al. (2012) show that volunteers can contribute significantly to the economic feasibility of organic farming through the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) operation that achieved total cost savings of $16,000–32,000 for five volunteers over a 24 week period. Other research has portrayed farm volunteering as a social movement activity by providing the tourist with new social networks and new ideas that have ongoing post-experience implications (Ord and Amer, 2010; Miller, 2012). Research also shows links between organic farming, volunteering, and creating alternative economies that resist and/or recreate more fundamental neoliberal and consumerist structures in governance and society (Guthman, 2008; Deville, 2011). Thus, WWOOF is a dynamic and multi-purpose activity that has cultural, political and economic implications. Drawing on data collected among WWOOF farm hosts on Oahu and Hawai‘i Island, Hawai‘i, and emerging research on rural tourism, as well as the phenomenology and affective aspects of rural tourism experiences, this chapter highlights how the WWOOF host experience is mediated by two, potentially competing goals. While the farm hosts value the experience for its contribution to organic ideology and sustainability, their common existence on the margins of the food industry means that they are often working below or at operation cost. Farm host motivation to offer young people the opportunity to ‘connect with the land’ is sometimes threatened by economic realities. Thus, hosting volunteers becomes what many farm hosts describe as a nearly spiritual experience as well as an effort to contribute to sustainability which is in line with their worldviews. This kind of experience is possible at least in part because volunteers often seek out hosts and locations that correspond to their values of alternative and wholesome living as well as opportunities to contribute to sustainable

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lifestyles. As a result, the practice and values of WWOOF farm hosts play a vital role in the facilitating of what are perceived by both WWOOF hosts and volunteers as an authentic farm tourism experience. Yet, efforts toward economic sustainability and/or profit can constrain this relationship. We navigate the terrain between these dual motivations to demonstrate how the economic intersects in interesting ways with the desire to decommodify rural tourism opportunities for young people to get back to the soil. This chapter is divided into two sections. After contextualising our study, we explore WWOOF farm hosts’ values and motivations for participation in WWOOF. We then offer several conclusions by way of potential implications for rural tourism development and directions for future research.

Methodology A phenomenological approach to research became popular as the need to describe human relationships to place and the local environment became more urgent: a phenomenological approach holds “that people and environment compose an indivisible whole” (Seamon, 2000: 1). Franck (1987: 65) argues that a phenomenological approach gives attention “to the essence of human experience rather than to any abstraction of experience” and is well suited for environment-behaviour research with the goal of providing a rigorous description of human life as it is lived and its first-person concreteness, urgency, and ambiguity (Seamon, 1979; Li, 2000; Seamon, 2000). In this study, early-interview participants were considered ‘co-researchers’ rather than research ‘subjects’ as a phenomenological study seeks to establish a supportive context in which people can build on each other's insights (Seamon 1979; Li, 2000). As the participants may perceive the researcher to be an ‘expert’ and thus be reluctant to offer their opinions, ‘self-exposure’ procedures were utilised to reduce the power differentials between researchers and research participants (Li, 2000). For example, the researchers attempted to share personal backgrounds and exchange stories with the participants in ‘coffee shop-style’ conversation to develop mutual dialogue (Li, 2000). This study is based on in-depth, conversational style face-to-face interviews with 11 WWOOF farm hosts in Hawai‘i. Interviews were conducted on the islands of Oahu and Hawai’i Island. Oahu was chosen for its prominence as a tourist destination and Hawai‘i Island was chosen because it has the most productive agriculture industry in Hawai‘i. The WWOOF farm hosts were selected using snowball sampling. As an exploratory study, snowball sampling is a useful method for gaining

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access to research participants through word of mouth (Bernard, 2006). All research participants in this study have been given pseudonyms to protect their privacy. The farms ranged from hobby farms to semi-commercial farms that include farm-to-table business models. Some farms specialised in certain modes of production such as coffee, tea, and kava production. Arrangements were made over the phone for the researchers to visit WWOOF farm hosts to conduct an interview. All of the interviews were conducted on site except for one phone interview. Interviews were conducted in a private area with only the researchers and WWOOF farm host. All interviews were digitally recorded for accuracy. Only WWOOF farm hosts who had hosted for at least two years were interviewed. Most hosts had hosted volunteers for five years or longer. Rather than a fixed set of questions, the researchers had a number of themes that they sought to discuss with the farmers. It was to the researchers’ advantage that all of the farmers addressed most of the themes without directly asking about them. Conversational style interviews were an effective interviewing technique that worked well for both the researchers and the farmers whom, on several occasions, suggested that they were not interested in formal interview questionnaires or surveys. All interviews were transcribed into a word processing programme. Each transcribed interview was 7,000-9,000 words. Once transcribed, each document was coded for emergent themes. Recurrent themes were extracted from the interviews: these are topics of conversation that were repeated by several different WWOOF farm hosts and thus were deemed important. For example, each farmer discussed the importance of screening new applicants before accepting them to the farm. We therefore coded this theme and discuss it below. Because each interview was extensive and not all responses could be comparatively analysed, the researchers had to use their judgment to sort out the most relevant themes. The purpose of extracting themes from the transcripts instead of rigidly trying to force each interview conversation to follow pre-chosen questions by the researchers is to understand the WWOOF hosts’ lived experiences from a phenomenological standpoint whereby experiences are meaningfully ordered by the person that experiences them (Li, 2000).

The farms The farm hosts interviewed in this study are all committed to an organic way of farming which is also lightly prescribed by their presence on the WWOOF website. The farmers’ organic philosophy varies greatly, from those that are incorporating organics as a marketing strategy to those

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farms that apply it more deeply as a way of life and a service to the next generation. However, farms visited view their mission as going beyond that of a regular day-to-day business: the farmers all consider their operation to be some form of political and/or social activism. One farmer stated wholeheartedly that the purpose of her purchasing a farm was to showcase to a wider community that organic farming can be a way of life. The average size of the farms participating in this study is 11 acres with some farms just over an acre and others as big as 200 acres. Land tenure arrangements vary as well: some farmers own their land while other are on short and long term leased lands from the state and/or private landowners. Most farmers have been farming longer than they have hosted farm volunteers. The average farm age is 12 years while the average time hosting WWOOFers is 6 years. Two farms hosted volunteers on the farm prior to entering the WWOOF website. Some farmers in this study host 12 volunteers on their property while others regularly have up to 20 volunteers. The volunteers usually work 20-40 hours a week in exchange for room and board. The quality of rooms also varies greatly from tree houses and tents to regular shared rooms in a house. Food is sometimes prepared and cooked for volunteers. In other situations, volunteers have to cook food for the group. In some cases volunteers will have to harvest their own food and then cook it for themselves or a larger group. Volunteers stay an average of 2-4 months at a farm; after which time they usually change their work arrangements with the farm or move on. The farmers in this study utilise various business models to make their farm and lifestyle economically feasible. Most commonly, the farmers grow fruit and vegetables for sale at local farmers markets, retails stores, and restaurants. Several farms have their own community supported agriculture (CSA) operations whereby their customers receive a mixture of farm produce weekly, either by pick-up or delivery. Two farms operated a bed and breakfast as part of the business which to an extent requires their produce to stay in a farm cafe (farm-to-table operation) and to be prepared and marketed to visitors. Some farms focus on an educational mission and generate income in a sustainability focused learning centre where they host interns and other tourists groups. Three of the farms operate as non-profit organisations and are eligible for public funds from local, state, and federal sources. In addition, farms that were not non-profit operations raise funds from private sources such as friends and family, but also use the increasingly popular crowd sourcing methods for specific projects. All farms were trying in some way to raise the value of their products (focusing on value-added) and constantly improve and experiment with new products. A handful of the farms were certified organic while others

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were in the process of receiving their organic certificate. Most farms did not have organic certification because of the costs, as well as the extensive paperwork and book keeping involved. Table 7.1 provides a summary of farms involved in this study. Table 7.1: Summary of research participants Research Participant

Island

Acres

Current number of volunteers

Years of hosting volunteers

Volunteer hours/ week

Years in business

1

Hawai’i

37

0

2

30

18

2

Hawai’i

17

6

10

35

37

3

Hawai’i

5

2

4

30

5

4

Hawai’i

200

20

14

20

17

5

Hawai’i

8

2

9

30

10

6

Hawai’i

10

0

2

30

5

7

Oahu

2

5

2

30

2

8

Oahu

7

6

4

35

4

9

Oahu

14

10

5

35

20

10

Oahu

1.3

2

3.5

25

15

11

Oahu

4

0

2

30

2

WWOOF farm hosts’ experiences In this section we present farm hosts’ phenomenological perspectives. In other words, we present how WWOOF farm hosts describe their WWOOF experience. We begin by contextualising the farm hosts geographically and sociologically. We then describe their values and motivations for participation in WWOOF and how this contributes to their lived experiences.

The farmers The WWOOF farms hosts that this study is based on illustrate several common motivations for participation in WWOOF in addition to their

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organic values. While there are many points of commonality, each farmer also displayed unique perspectives on environmental sustainability, organic farming, community living, political activism, and meeting their own needs for consumption. For example, with regards to organic farming, Farmer John explained: I think organic farmers and people who are into sustainability want to be able to at least feed yourself if not the neighbours when something goes bad . . . Well the fact is that [organic] is better for you. I have always been anti pesticide, herbicide, and all them ‘cides’. What does cide stand for? Death. Pesticide kills pests. Herbicide kills weeds but it all kills you and I truly believe whether I can prove it or not doesn’t matter . . . if you look at when wheat was altered in the 70’s and take a chart and you can see that obesity, autisms, diabetes [have] all gone straight up and has never fallen backwards.

Farmer Chris similarly criticises a shallow approach to organic farming and looks further into how organic farming contributes to his own carbon footprint at the farm. When asked, “how can you be an organic farmer without using chemicals” by a visitor to his farm, he responded: I said, well actually its really easy. If you have really healthy soil and healthy plants the pests and the diseases won’t bother them. But when you’re putting down chemicals and poisons on the ground and spraying them, then they are going to be stressed and they are going to get all kinds of pests and diseases. It’s a vicious cycle . . . it’s just like the human body. If you’re eating good and you have a good lifestyle, you are going to be healthy. But if you are eating crap food and a junk lifestyle then you are going to be sick . . . I do biological farming, I’m farming worms. Worms do the farming. I want to make sure that the worms are happy. If the worms are happy, my plants are happy, [then] I’m happy.

Concerned with meeting their personal needs and being environmentally sustainable, Farmer Geoff shared what sustainability means on his farm: sustainable means I imagine every person on the planet right now being able to live this very same standard of living in such a way that it would be perpetuated in the future for seven generations without there being a detriment to the planet . . . there is [also] a place for the advances that we have achieved with industrialism and even the information age . . . It’s not going to be easy. It will require the utmost of human ingenuity working through the right values— ingenuity needs to be coming from the right values for sustainability.

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Some farm hosts focus on creating sound community living situations where the collective sustainability aspect is considered a key component. Farmer Nick shared the vision of their farm community: The intention with our community is to create a social milieu that supersedes or transcends individualism. Not that individuality is bad but there is a social fabric that we need to plug into places. Not just as members of a nation or the state or a town or even a neighbourhood, but on a daily basis. It’s something more than just me and my wife and my kids, it’s our belief about human nature

These aspects of organic farming, sustainability, and community living reveal not only the values practiced by farm hosts, but also the kinds of living and working situations sought by volunteers. Many of the farm hosts we interviewed display unique personalities and spoke honestly about their alternative worldviews. More than just a place of work, the farm hosts consider their occupation a lifestyle choice. The majority of farm hosts do not have a formal degree in the agricultural sciences; rather they tend to come from a variety of backgrounds including the arts, humanities, theology, and other life paths with strong moral, ethical, and social underpinnings. Concerning organic farming, Farmer Freddy explained why he loves sharing his farm with others: I like to speak from the point of view more of an ethical and moral sense, not so much the economics of it . . . I’ve been farming my whole life. I have been farming on this Island for 37 years and I come from the old world. I come from the world where there are no cell phones or computers. People’s words were very valuable communication . . . listening was very valuable and honouring who you are was also very valuable . . . I feel that everything that I received in my life has been a gift and a blessing and having a farm is such a blessing. When you’re doing it organically it takes a lot of hands and it’s a beautiful thing to share. I like to share it. I was fortunate because I have had two mentors in my life . . . what they taught me through their actions was a love for their work. If you’re doing something in your life you should be doing something that you really enjoy, you should be doing something that you love doing . . . so that is what farming is for me.

Several farmers view the activity of hosting volunteers as a form of activism in that it provides a space for the community to balance mindbody connection through working and making things by hand as well as creating a space where newcomers can feel comfortable. Farmer Jack shares ideas of welcoming new volunteers into his farm:

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Chapter Seven Right behind the gate right there its freedom . . . A lot of the WWOOFers come from torn families and they are getting away from them so you got to understand that. [If] you have a heart and love for them, believe it or not, [and] if you’re genuine they feel that [and] they stay on and help you with what your troubles are . . . So really [we’re] a bunch of misfits found each other on this farm; I’m a misfit for sure . . . You got to be personally into it. If you’re not into it, you’re not going to get away with it. You can’t force yourself, you have to love people and you have to transcend yourself

Farm volunteering and sustainability: Implications and opportunities The experiences of WWOOF farm hosts are clearly linked to their worldviews regarding environmental sustainability. This desire to be environmentally sustainable drives their lifestyle goals. It also drives their participation in WWOOF as a kind of social movement enterprise where they see themselves as ‘training’ the next generation in how to engage with the land. While all farmers in our study described strong desires to contribute to alternative lifestyle visions for the next generation, they simultaneously described concerns over the economic sustainability of their farms. Indeed, most farms in this study were constantly operating at or even slightly below cost meaning that they were living in an economically precarious situation. Alternatively, a few farmers were subsidising their farms with savings, inheritances, and other funding opportunities. Volunteers can help towards sustaining the economic viability of the farms. Despite this mutually beneficial exchange, the relationship between WWOOF farm hosts and WWOOFers is not always ideal, as many WWOOF farm hosts described the significant amount of time and financial costs of housing and training the WWOOFers. For example, many farmers described the difficulty of balancing hard manual labour with more affective aspects of their rural livelihoods including living together, equality, spirituality, and work schedules. Yet, none of the farmers we interviewed were ready to give up on hosting volunteers; instead, as hosts face challenges they reinvigorate their approach to managing volunteers in order to make the interaction more complementary. WWOOF farm hosts frequently describe the screening process as one of the most important components of attracting good volunteer help on the farm; for example, Farmer Jane says: you have to collect a significant amount of information before you accept them and you have to provide a significant amount of information so that

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you don’t have bad surprises . . . the other thing is that motivation is important, you have to motivate them.

She goes on to describe how the screening process can help choose the right volunteer: one of our requirements now is that we require WWOOFers who are applying for WWOOF positions to fill out a lengthy questionnaire; actually, I came up with an application form online . . . so then that kind of puts the onus on them to really want us or not . . . the responses to the questions really help us establish whether it’s a possibility of pursuing.

Some of the WWOOF farm hosts create their own documents that describe the rules and expectations; Farmer Joe adds: My process is that they write to me and I write them back . . . when somebody sends me something I forward [the rules] to them and say here are the rules. If you want to abide by them we will talk. If you don’t, don’t bother to call me back. It’s a kind of thing that makes it a lot easier.

All farmers discussed how it is critical to be clear about expectations and responsibilities before the volunteers arrive. Yet, they also discussed how it is important to not be too strict toward the WWOOFers. Farmer Nick recommended finding ways to communicate with volunteers that did not use connotations of guilt or judgment: You can’t as a rancher or farmer and judge the lifestyle of your volunteer; it’s the other way around. You have to show the lifestyle that you offer and who you are. If you are a fake, guess what, they fake out on you too. And the farmer goes: “Hey I had you scheduled here for the harvest, I’m going to lose all my money.” Guess what, the volunteers don’t care about that.

In most cases, the farm hosts and the volunteers live in close quarters. It is often an invitation to share life together for some time. A potential issue arising from living close together regards scheduling: while the volunteers work on average 30 hours a week, the farmer is always on duty. Thus, while volunteers enjoy being treated on equal terms with their host, they do not want to take on chores beyond their weekly hours. Farmer Geoff explains: Organic farming does not happen between 7 and 3.30 and survive. No way. You got to be there night and day with your plants, and know the weather. [If] you’re off at a party or something and it starts to rain you got to go home . . . you can’t just go spray a chemical and have it easy.

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Sharing living quarters means that issues and conflicts do arise between the volunteers and hosts. Farmer John talks about potential conflicts that can arise with volunteers: Sometimes people are very open, they are ready to hear what they need to. They recognise that and so are willing to hear it and that’s worked really well sometimes. If they aren’t ready to hear it well then it’s time to part that relationship sooner rather than later . . . When we are sharing more of our time together we find that, on some level you just got to be honest with the people you are around day in and day out. If you’re not, if you just play it nice and gloss it over, well then it starts to eat away . . . It’s a hard role to put oneself into in a relationship to another person especially if it’s not explicitly invited or agreed at the start. Then it’s likely that you’re going to end up receiving projections being a parental figure.

Farm hosts will often make an effort to make their volunteers feel comfortable by giving them important information upon arrival regarding the farm. For example, Farmer Geoff explains the ceremony that each newcomer goes through: I really approach the whole thing as a ceremony that they are going to be a part of . . . When you’re born to the farm you’re a new born. We’re going to teach you everything and love you. Forget about all the past, you’re born, you’re new. All your shit from before leave it at the gate and come in like you’re a baby. Bring your own style. Everything you loved bring that love, leave the shit at the gate . . . You’re a new born so you are going to learn you’re sort of in a pecking order. People that are leaving they are getting ready to pass the light. They got to teach what they know and pass it onto the group.

These strategies for making the WWOOFers feel comfortable are important aspects of the WWOOF farm hosts’ experiences. All farmers expressed a common experience of needing to make the WWOOFers feel comfortable and appreciated. This strategy was conducive to their sustainable lifestyle and openness towards others. Despite these efforts, all farmers did suggest that they have sometimes had to tell unruly WWOOFers to leave the farm due to inappropriate behaviour or lack of work ethic. This, they suggested, could be best avoided by a thorough screening process.

Conclusions This chapter has been concerned with the lived experiences of organic farmers who practice and teach organic and sustainable lifestyles. Using a

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phenomenological approach, we have highlighted key aspects of WWOOF farm hosts’ experience on the islands of Hawai’i and Oahu. More than just succeeding economically, organic farmers take actions to resolve local food issues including providing food that is healthy and affordable, as well as producing it in a way that does not degrade the local environment. In the process, WWOOF farm hosts receive at least 20 hours of labour per week from the WWOOFers. In return, WWOOFers often learn how to produce and market their own food in an inviting rural setting. While researchers have looked at the volunteers’ experience, this chapter explored WWOOF farm hosts’ experience, motivations and values. These insights shed light on lessons learned from the WWOOF farm host experience. We find that the life of a WWOOF farm host requires a sensitive balance of thoughtful approaches to managing young people who are searching for alternative ways of life. The volunteers leave home temporarily, often from unprivileged backgrounds. Managing volunteers will require some basic household functions such as paying attention to cleanliness and hygiene, uses of common spaces, and a lot of explaining how life on the farms works. However, if one is ready to take the time needed to make a good impression, volunteers can become a very important part of the operation and the social setting on the farm. Some farm hosts view their volunteers as an extension of their own family: their involvement is absolutely crucial. There is one key action that allows the host-volunteer relationship to work better which has to do with sharing information such as expectations and responsibilities before the arrival of a new volunteer. Generally referred to as screening, this is sometimes done through phone interviews and volunteer application forms. In addition, farm hosts suggest that a genuine and honest interest in people is necessary in order for the volunteer-host bond to establish beyond a simple material exchange of food for work. As a host it can be helpful to understand the volunteer’s background, including what they are seeking in their travels; aspects of spiritual and cultural growth are usually combined with hands-on opportunities to become involved in the process of producing and marketing food as well as creating things by hand. This study has explored lived experiences of hosts on small organic farms in Hawai’i and the volunteer movement that helps power the local organic movement. In Hawai’i and elsewhere many organic farms are at a crossroad. They are being pushed to scale-up and become semicommercial to make their livelihood economically feasible. If they don’t scale up they are often forced out of business (and the farm) and instead

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into more readily available jobs. With the help of the farm volunteer movement as it articulates with rural tourism, these farmers, while not necessarily making large profits, are able to continue their lifestyles. Exploring organic farm host experiences, challenges, and values can help give insights to actions that pave the road for local sustainability. Future research ought to assist the organic movement and inform prospective WWOOF farm hosts of best management practices for hosting volunteers based on lessons learned by others. The volunteer movement helps promote larger social transformations towards local, alternative, and sustainable economies in the food sector in Hawai’i. Without the help of volunteers in Hawaii organic food offered in markets, restaurants, and stores would never make it there. Local organic farming, volunteers and hosts are motivated by contributing to large social transformations toward sustainability. This research finds that WWOOF contributes to the sustainability of small organic farms in Hawai‘i as well as the feasibility of the WWOOF farm hosts’ sustainable lifestyles. Further research on farm volunteering ought to highlight the economic and noneconomic impacts of farm volunteering but also highlight the underlying thoughts and practices of farm volunteering through a social movements approach.

References Bernard, R. (2006) Research methods in anthropology. Walnut Creek: Alta Mira. Cohen, E. (1988) Authenticity and commoditization in tourism. Annals of tourism research. 15(3): 371-386. Deville, A. (2011) Alice in WWOOFerLand: Exploring symbiotic worlds beyond tourism. Doctorate Dissertation: University of Technology, Sydney: Australia. Douglass, M. (2012) Global householding andsSocial reproduction: Migration research, dynamics, and public policy in East and Southeast Asia. Working Paper Series No. 188. Asia Research Institute: National University of Singapore. Guthman, J. (2008) Neoliberalism and the making of food politics in California. Geoforum. 39(3):1171-1183 Kloppenburg, J., Lezberg, S., Master, K. D., and Stevenson, G. W. (2000) Tasting food, tasting sustainability: Defining the attributes of an alternative food system with competent, ordinary people. Human Organization. 59(2): 177–186.

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Li, Y. (2000) Geographical consciousness and tourism experience. Annals of Tourism Research. 27(4): 863-883. MacCannell, D. (1973) Staged authenticity: Arrangements of social space in tourist settings. American Journal of sociology. 79(3): 589-603. Maycock, A. (2008) World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) http://www. wwoof. org/). Journal of Agricultural and Food Information. 9(4):282-288. McItosh, A. and Bonnemann, S. (2006) Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF): The Alternative Farm Stay Experience? Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 14(1):82-99. McIntosh, A. and Campbell, T. (2001) Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF): A neglected aspect of farm tourism in New Zealand. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 9(2): 111- 127. McIntosh, A. (2009) WWOOF Network New Zealand: Motivations, expectations, and experiences of volunteers and hosts. In K. Holmes and K. Smith (eds) Managing volunteers in tourism: Attractions, destinations, and events. Butterworth-Heinemann, UK: 263-272. McNeill, J. (2000) Something new under the sun: An environmental history of the twentieth century. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Meter, K. (2011) Metrics from the field: Breaking our chains. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 1(4): 23–25. Miller, M. (2012) Organic volunteering: Exploring understandings and meanings of experience. [Online] Available from https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/handle/10012/6943/Miller_Ma ggie.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed December 20, 2013]. Mosedale, J. (2009). Wwoofing in New Zealand. Pacific News. [Online] Available from http://pacific-geographies.org/pn32/pn32_mosedale.pdf [Accessed December 20, 2013]. Ord, C., and Amer, J. (2010). Contribution of volunteer tourism to organic farms: An analysis of the WWOOF exchange in Canada. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Pothukuchi, K. and Kaufman, J. (1999) Placing the food system on the urban agenda: The role of municipal institutions in food systems planning. Agriculture and Human Values. 16: 213–224. Seamon, D. (1979) A geography of the life world: Movement, rest and encounter. London: Grown Helm. —. (2000) Phenomenology, place, environment, and architecture: A review of the literature. Environment & Architecture Phenomenology Newsletter. [online] Available from

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http://www.arch.ksu.edu/seamon/articles/2000_phenomenology_revie w.htm [Accessed April 09, 2013]. Sheahan, C. M., Bray, D. B., Bhat, M. G., & Jayachandran, K. (2012). Ecological, economic, and organizational dimensions of organic farming in Miami-Dade County. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 36(1), 83105. Vitiello, D., and Brinkley, C. (2013) The hidden history of food system planning. Journal of Planning History. DOI: 1538513213507541. Ward, J. (1995) A brief history of WWOOF: WWOOF- Willing Workers on Organic Farms (UK). East Sussex: WWOOF UK.

CHAPTER EIGHT THE PURSUIT OF A SUSTAINABLE RURAL EVENT: A CASE OF THE HAY LITERARY FESTIVAL (WALES, UNITED KINGDOM) ANDREA COLLINS

Introduction Events and festivals are becoming one of the fastest growing areas within the tourist industry (Hall 1992; Crompton and McKay, 1997; Getz, 1997; McDonnell et al., 1999). Increasingly events and festivals are considered as opportunities from which to generate additional income, increase employment opportunities in the short term, and increase visitation and other investments in the long term (Dwyer, et al., 2000). Other incentives for organising events and festivals include promoting tourism more generally (Walo et al., 1996), enhancing the appeal of a tourist destination (Getz, 1991), and forming part of a wider regional tourism strategy (Getz, 1989). Although the economic and social impacts of events and festivals have received a great deal of attention in the academic literature, relatively little is known about their environmental impacts. This chapter aims to address this gap by using the Ecological Footprint to assess the environmental impact of visitors attending the Hay Literary Festival, an annual festival held in the rural town of Hay-on-Wye in Wales, United Kingdom (UK). More specifically this chapter will provide answers to the following questions: What are the environmental impacts associated with tourism consumption at festivals?; Which consumption activities have the most significant environmental impact?; and, how do the impacts of rural events and festivals compare to those held in urban locations? This analysis will also enhance our understanding of the key challenges facing festival organisers and policy makers in terms

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of reducing the negative environmental impacts of festivals and events, particularly in more rural locations. This chapter is structured in the following way. The next section provides a brief overview of previous research that has examined the outcomes and impacts of festivals. It highlights that the environmental impacts of festivals have to date received limited attention in the academic literature. The chapter then explains what an ‘Ecological Footprint’ is, and discusses its value as a method for assessing the resource use impacts of visitors at events and festivals. This is followed by background information relating to the Hay-on-Wye Literature Festival, the data collection process involved in calculating visitors’ Ecological Footprint and methodological considerations. The chapter then provides an analysis of the results, compares these with other major events in Wales, and finally draws conclusions.

Outcomes and impacts of festivals: An overview of academic literature The vast majority of studies on festivals have focused on their economic outcomes and impacts. These studies have involved the use of various methodologies (see for example, Crompton and McKay, 1994; Burgan and Mules, 2001a, 2001b; Jones and Munday, 2004; Crompton, 2006). However, Crompton and McKay (1994) and Crompton (2006) have highlighted the potential for some assessments to be invalid and deliberately misused, or exaggerated in order to bolster the case for funding or community support (see Faulkner, 1997). The social and cultural impacts of festivals have also received considerable attention by academics. These studies have focused on residents’ attitudes (Delamere, 2001; Delemare et al., 2001), residents’ perceptions (Fredline and Faulkner, 1998, 2002a, 2002b; Xiao and Smith, 2004), image and place marketing (Boo and Busser, 2006), the connection between festivals and urban development renewal (Mules, 1993; Hughes, 1999), as well as the development of social impact scales for events (Fredline et al. 2003; Small, 2007). However, despite the growing popularity of festivals, several authors have highlighted the paucity of academic research on the environmental impacts of events (Hede et al., 2003; Getz, 2010). The research presented in this chapter aims to address this gap by considering the environmental impact of festivals, in particular the consumption activities of visitors. Here the 2012 Hay Literature Festival is used as a case study. The Hay Literary Festival is an annual festival held in the rural town of Hay-on-Wye in Wales, and since its inception in 1988

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the festival has grown significantly in terms of both its scale and scope. Its growing popularity led to an increase in visitors, both day visitors and those staying in overnight accommodation within the vicinity of the festival. These visitors will inevitably consume a significant amount of resources in terms of how they travel to the festival, and also during their stay. The Hay Literary Festival also presents as an interesting case as its organisers have explicitly incorporated sustainable practices and management into the organisation and staging of the festival.

Ecological Footprint analysis The environmental impact associated with visitors attending the Hay Literary Festival was measured using the ‘Ecological Footprint’. The Ecological Footprint provides a measure of the demand placed by humans on nature’s available resources (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996). It provides a quantitative assessment of the amount of bioproductive land and sea that is needed to support the resource use patterns of a given population – for example, the demands of visitors in terms of their travel, food and energy use. The Ecological Footprint’s unit of analysis is the ‘global hectare’ (gha), and is usually expressed in global hectares per capita for a given population. The measure is based on a strong sustainability position as it considers the ecological limits to resource consumption and economic growth. By comparing the area of land required to support a certain level of consumption with what is currently available, the Ecological Footprint presents itself as a valuable approach for assessing whether or not consumption is ecologically sustainable (Gössling et al., 2002). The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reported in its Living Planet Report that in 2010 that the average person living on the earth had an Ecological Footprint of 2.7 global hectares. The available global biocapacity for the same year was estimated to be 1.8 global hectares. So compared to the available biocapacity, the average person had an Ecological Footprint that exceeded this by 33.3%, and so indicates that consumption patterns were not sustainable and resources were being used at a rate faster than they could be generated (WWF, 2012). Since its initial inception, the Ecological Footprint has spread rapidly around the world as a “metric of ecological performance” (Wiedmann et al., 2006: 9), and has been the subject of numerous applications at individual, city, regional and national levels (McManus and Haughton, 2006). However, despite its popularity the concept has also faced a number of criticisms: the Footprint does not reflect the impacts of human consumption accurately (see van den Bergh and Verbruggen, 1999;

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Lenzen and Murray, 2001; Ferng, 2002); it does not allocate responsibilities of impact correctly (see McGregor et al., 2004); and does not provide decision makers with a useful tool for decision making, as there is limited understanding of how different consumer activities relate to impact (see van den Bergh and Vergruggan, 1999; Ayres, 2000; Moffatt, 2000; Ferng, 2002). Despite these criticisms, the Ecological Footprint has become ever more popular. Its applications have been extended to assess the environmental impacts of tourism and leisure activities (see Becken et al., 2001, Cole and Sinclair, 2002; Gössling at al 2002; Hunter, 2002; Collins and Flynn, 2005; Hunter and Shaw, 2007; Patterson et al., 2008). More recently, the approach has been used to assess the impact of visitor consumption at major sport events including the FA Cup Final (2004), a Rugby 6 Nations match (2006), and the UK Stages of the Tour de France (2007) (see Collins et al., 2007; Collins and Roberts, 2008; Collins et al., 2012). The Ecological Footprint offers a number of advantages to policy makers and event organisers in terms of understanding and measuring the environmental impact of events and festivals. First, the Footprint can provide a valuable insight into natural resource use and an estimate of the land area required to support that level of consumption. As the Ecological Footprint aggregates the impact of different consumption activities into a single measure, it also offers organisers and policymakers the potential to identify and compare the environmental impact of different visitor activities such as transport, energy use, food consumption and waste. Second, the Footprint provides the potential for policymakers and event and festival organisers to prioritise their actions in a more informed and integrated manner. Third, the Footprint may be valuable as an awarenessraising tool as it personalises sustainability by assessing the impact of consumption from a consumer perspective. By converting the resource use of visitors to an area of land - the global hectare - the Ecological Footprint presents itself as a powerful communication tool to communicate to visitors and enable them to appreciate the link between their local consumption activities and global environmental impacts. A significant advantage of the Ecological Footprint over a number of other environmental appraisal tools is that it provides decision makers with information on ecological impacts rather than requiring them to make judgements. Finally, the Ecological Footprint can also be used to analyse the impact of different policy options, such as increased visitor journeys by public transport. This can assist event organisers and policy makers in planning future events and festivals and minimising their environmental impacts.

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The Ecological Footprint of visitors attending the 2012 Hay Literature Festival was measured using Footprint ReporterTM, a software analysis programme developed by Best Foot Forward Limited, a leading Footprint Consultancy in the United Kingdom. In summary, Footprint ReporterTM uses National Ecological Footprint accounts (produced by Global Footprint Network) for the United Kingdom, which are subsequently disaggregated into the following five components: direct energy, materials and waste, food, personal transport, water and built land. The software calculates the Ecological Footprint by using consumption data for the above categories, and applying conversion factors used within National Footprint Accounts, supplemented with lifecycle data (see Chambers et al., 2005). This methodological approach can identify which event-related consumption activities have the largest ecological impact in terms of resource use. The methodology behind the Footprint ReporterTM software has been used to measure Ecological and Carbon footprints of a wide range of organisations, products and services.

The Hay Literary Festival The Hay Literary Festival is an annual festival held in the rural town of Hay-on-Wye in Wales (UK). The town has a resident population of 1500, and is located on the Welsh side of the Wales/England border. It is also located on the edge of the Brecon Beacon National Park, which is one of three designated National Parks in Wales. The Festival was initially founded as a poetry festival in 1988, with a relatively small audience of some 1000 visitors. Since then it has grown to become one of the largest literature festivals in the world. During its 26 years of existence it has brought together authors, comedians, poets, scientists, musicians, historians, novelists, and children’s writers from around the world to debate and discuss ideas, and share stories. Since 1988 the festival has changed quite dramatically in terms of its scale and scope. Initially held over a couple of days, the festival is now held over 11 days. The number of events has also grown from 15-20 to several hundred. To accommodate its growth, in 2005 the main festival moved to a much larger site located on the edge of the town. The festival site now contains a number of exhibitors, food and drink outlets, a Hay Festival merchandise shop and a bookshop.

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‘Greening’ the Festival As the Hay Festival has continued to grow its organisers have become increasingly aware of the impact this additional visitation may have on the environment. In response, the Festival’s organisers appointed a Sustainability Director in 2006 and launched its ‘Greenprint’ Programme (also known as ‘Hay-on-Earth’). This Programme has three key aims: first, to audit, assess and introduce changes to reduce the direct environmental impacts of the Festival (such as energy use and other products/materials); second, enabling visitors to make more sustainable choices, such as travelling to the Festival by public transport rather than by car; finally, including a programme of events and lectures on a range of sustainability issues at the Festival, with the aim of engaging, educating and inspiring individuals to make changes when they leave the Festival. In Wales, the Festival has to date focused mainly on those activities that its organisers have greatest control over and can minimise their own direct impacts. Achievements to date have included reduced use of resources (including printed material) by 35%; reduced use of diesel by 20%; reduced use of electricity by 15%; 100% renewable energy onsite; recycling 75% of waste produced on site; and composting of 4.8 tonnes of food waste from onsite catering outlets (Hay Festival Wales, 2013). The Festival’s organisers have also collaborated with other organisations to reduce the indirect impacts generated by visitors, in particular visitor travel. In 2010, the festival’s organisers signed up to the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Development Charter to demonstrate their commitment towards sustainable development (Welsh Assembly Government, 2010). The festival is considered an example of good practice in Wales, and has subsequently worked with Visit Wales to produce a Hay-on-Earth ‘Toolkit’ as a guide to help other event organisers in Wales address the impacts of their events and make them more sustainable (see Welsh Government, 2012). The festival’s organisers are also working towards achieving certification for the British Standard (BS) 8901 on ‘Specification for a sustainability management system for events’1 and the ‘Green Dragon Environmental Standard’2.

1

Launched in 2007, and later revised in 2009, BS8901 is a management system standard that aims to help the events industry in the United Kingdom to conduct their business operations in a more sustainable manner. 2 Green Dragon is a UK stepped Standard which recognises effective environmental management, and contributes towards the achievement of the International and European environmental standards ISO 14001 and EMAS.

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The 2012 Hay Literary Festival (Wales) In 2012, the Hay Literary Festival (Wales) was held between 31st May and 10 June, a total of 11 days. That year also marked the Festival’s 25th anniversary. Based on figures provided by its organisers, an estimated 100,000 visitors attended the Festival. This visitor figure was based on a number of factors including the number of session tickets sold, number of ticket sales, and a percentage for free non-ticketed events. The assessment of the environmental impact of the Festival focused on visitors’ consumption activities. It excluded the consumption activities of the festival organisers, volunteer staff, artists, caterers, speakers and exhibitors. A survey was developed to collect data from visitors attending the festival. This survey consisted of five key sections: (1) reason for visiting the festival, and length of stay (2) visitor travel to and from the festival (mode, UK town/city or country travelled from), reason for choice of travel, visitor travel during their stay at the festival; (3) visitor overnight accommodation (type, location, number of nights stayed), and purchase of food and drink; (4) visitor expenditure on a range of items including festival tickets, travel, accommodation, food and drink, festival merchandise, gifts, and other visitor activities undertaken during their stay; (5) visitor perceptions of the Festival, Hay-on-Wye and Wales, and suggestions for reducing the environmental impact of the Festival; (6) general information about the survey respondent (gender, age and employment status). The survey was administered face to face with visitors who attended the Festival on four of the eleven festival days (31 May, 2, 4 and 7 June). Data collected on these days were then used to inform estimates for nonsurveyed days in the following way. Visitor responses for the first day of the festival (Thursday, 31 May) were used to provide estimates for the second day (Friday, 1 June), as based on information provided by the festival organisers, both days have fewer visitors and tend to be either organised group visits (including school groups), or those attending specific environmental sessions as part of the ‘Hay-on-Earth’ lecture series. Visitor responses received for the weekend day (Saturday, 2 June) were used to inform estimates for three other weekend days (Sunday 3, Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 June). Responses received for two week days (Monday 4 June and Thursday 7 June) were used to inform estimates for the remaining weekdays (Tuesday 5, Wednesday 6 and Friday 8 June). On all survey days, the survey sampling approach was random, and surveys were conducted at the Festival site. A total of 701 surveys were conducted across the four surveys days. Based on estimated Festival visitor numbers (100 000 visitors), this

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represented an overall response rate of 0.70%. The Hay Festival is an open public event, whereby members of the public can visit the site and attend some non-ticketed events for free. However, entry to the majority of sessions requires the purchase of a ticket. For this study it was important to consider two methodological issues. The first related to the issue of ‘additionality’, and whether visitor’s main purpose for being in Hay-onWye was to attend the Festival or for some other reason (i.e. other tourist activities, shopping, passing by, or visiting friends and family in the locality). Of the 701 completed surveys, 656 (93.6%) of visitors stated their main purpose for being in Hay-on-Wye was to attend the Festival and so responses from the other 45 (6.4%) visitors were not included in the final analysis. The second methodological issue related to ‘double counting’. As the Festival was held over 11 days, a number of visitors will have attended events on different days, and some will have stayed in overnight accommodation in the locality rather than returning home and travelling to the festival each day. This was particularly important when calculating the Ecological Footprint of visitor travel, as well as stay in visitor overnight accommodation. To deal with this issue effectively, the survey asked visitors the number of nights they spent in overnight accommodation in the locality. Of the 654 responses, 56.9% of Festival visitors were female and 43.1% were male. In terms of age profile, the largest proportion of visitors was aged 45-54 years (23.5%). A similar proportion of visitors were aged 35-44 years and 55-64 years (19.7% and 18.1% respectively). Overall, 68.9% of visitors had attended the Hay Festival in previous years. Survey respondents were also asked to state their main reasons for attending the Hay Festival in 2012. As shown in Table 8.1, the most popular reason given was to attend a specific session (72.8%). Other reasons included: to experience a literature/art festival (35.0%); a day out (23.8%); to meet artists (16.0%); to experience a green/sustainable festival (3.3%); as part of a visit to Wales (3.9%); and as part of a visit to the Brecon Beacon National Park (2.2%). Based on visitor responses, 98.0% resided in the UK, 0.8% travelled from Europe and 1.2% from outside Europe. Of the 98.0% of visitors who resided in the UK, 70.3% had travelled from England, 28.3% from Wales, and the remaining 1.4% from elsewhere in the UK (Scotland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands). Overall, visitors spent a total 300 001 days at the festival, which is equivalent to 3 days per average visitor.

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Table 8.1: Visitor main reasons for attending the 2012 Festival Reasons for attendance

% visitor responses

Attend specific session Experience a literature/art Festival Day out Meet artists Part of visit to Wales Part of visit to Brecon Beacon National Park Experience a green/sustainable festival Other reasons

72.8 35.0 23.8 16.0 3.9 2.2 3.3 4.5

Ecological Footprint results Table 8.2 provides a summary of the Ecological Footprint results for the 2012 Hay Literary Festival, and are expressed as total global hectares (for all visitors) and per visitor day. Based on the analysis of visitor consumption at the event (travel to and from the festival, travel at the festival, energy use in overnight accommodation, and food and drink consumption) the total Ecological Footprint was estimated to be 3,313 global hectares. On a per visitor day basis, the Ecological Footprint was estimated to be 0.011 global hectares. For comparative purposes, it is useful to consider the Ecological Footprint of visitors at their home location. This was calculated based on what visitors would have consumed over the same period of time had they not attended the festival and gone about their regular day to day activities. This was estimated using a detailed breakdown of consumption data (i.e. travel, energy use at home, and food and drink consumption) for residents living in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales (see Collins et al., 2005). Although the Cardiff data related to the year 2002, it was the most recent year for which data on individual consumption in the UK was available at a sufficient level of detail to enable comparisons to be made. The Cardiff data was also analysed using Footprint ReporterTM, thereby ensuring that the same Ecological Footprint conversion factors were applied to both datasets.

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Table 8.2: Summary of Ecological Footprint results for the 2012 Hay Literary Festival, Wales Consumption Activity

Total Visitor Ecological Footprint (gha)

Travel

1 950 (0.006 gha/visitor day) 1 108 (0.004 gha/visitor day) 255 (0.001 gha/visitor day) 3 313 (0.011 gha/visitor day)

Energy use in overnight accommodation Food and Drink Total

Average Visitor Ecological Footprint at home location (gha) 246 (0.0008 gha/visitor day) 917 (0.0038 gha/visitor day) 599 (0.0020 gha/visitor day) 1 792 (0.0067 gha/visitor day)

Additional Ecological Footprint (gha) 1 704 (0.006 gha/visitor day) 191 (0.001 gha/visitor day) -344 (0.001 gha/visitor day) 1 551 (0.005 gha/visitor day)

The calculation for visitors’ Ecological Footprint ‘at-home’ assumed that all visitors (UK and overseas) had similar consumption patterns as for a Cardiff resident. Overall, the total Ecological Footprint of an average visitor attending the festival was about 2.1 times greater than if they had stayed at home and gone about their everyday activities (1,792 global hectares) (see Table 8.2). The main reason for this larger Ecological Footprint was that by attending the festival visitors were engaged in different patterns of consumption, thereby generating a larger Footprint. The additional Ecological Footprint generated by visitors attending the festival was 1,551 global hectares, or 0.005 gha per visitor day. This additional Ecological Footprint was calculated by subtracting visitors’ Ecological Footprint at-home from the total Ecological Footprint at the festival for each of the Footprint components (e.g. travel, energy use in overnight accommodation, and food and drink consumption). Visitor travel had the most significant impact, accounting for 59% of visitors total Ecological Footprint for the festival. This was followed by energy use in visitor overnight accommodation, which accounted for 33% of the total visitor footprint.

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Visitors travelled 70.6 million passenger kilometers (pkm), or 706 pkm per average visitor (see Table 8.3). This figure included return distances travelled to the festival, and while attending the festival (i.e. in and around Hay-on-Wye). Of this total distance travelled, 58.8% was by car and 35.5% by air (the majority being international air travel). Travel by rail accounted for 3.6% of distances travelled, and 1.0% by bus. Walking and cycling accounted for only 0.01% of the total distances travelled by visitors, and other modes including coach, campervan and van accounted for 1.2% of distances travelled. Visitor travel generated an estimated Ecological Footprint of 1,950 global hectares (0.006 gha/visitor day). This travel footprint was found to be almost 8 times greater than their travel footprint at home for the same period (i.e. 3 days, the average length of stay per visitor). Fifty-eight percent of visitors’ travel footprint was attributable to UK visitor travel and 42% to non-UK visitor travel. The largest contributors to the travel footprint were car and international air travel (i.e. 62.4 and 32.4 percent of the total travel footprint respectively). Although the Festival’s organisers had taken steps towards enabling visitors to make more sustainable travel choices (i.e. rail and the Festival bus service), journeys made by these modes accounted for only 4.6% of the total distance travelled by all visitors (i.e. 56.8 million pkm). Table 8.3: Visitor Travel and Ecological Footprint Results Method of Travel Air Bus (to and at the festival) Campervan/van Car Coach

Distance travelled (pkm) [all visitors] 35.5 1.2

Ecological Footprint (gha) 32.4 2.0

0.6 58.8 0.2

0.9 62.4 0.1

Sixty-one percent of visitors stated that they would be staying in visitor overnight accommodation whilst attending the festival. Visitors stayed an estimated 238 206 bednights in overnight accommodation in Hay-on-Wye and the surrounding towns and villages. This was equivalent to 3.9 bednights per staying visitor. These were spent in campsites (32.4%), selfcatering accommodation (22.1%), bed and breakfast/guest houses (20.3%), with friends and family (14.8%), and hotels (9.2%) (see Table 8.4). A small percentage of visitors stayed in other types of accommodation (1.3%), which included second homes, couchsurfing (i.e. staying free in

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the homes of local residents that were not family or friends) and youth hostels. Overall, visitor stay in overnight accommodation resulted in the use of an estimated 7.8 million kilowatts of energy (78 kilowatts per average visitor). This energy use resulted in an Ecological Footprint of 1,108 global hectares (0.0046 gha/visitor day). Table 8.4: Visitor energy use in overnight accommodation Accommodation Type

Percentage of total Visitor Bednights

Camping/Caravanning B&B/Guest house Hotel Self-catering Friends and Family Youth Hostel Second home Couchsurfing Total

32.4 20.3 9.2 22.1 13.0 0.3 1.8 1.0 238 206

Total Ecological Footprint (All Visitor Bednights) (gha) 9.9 21.7 19.5 33.7 10.8 0.2 2.7 1.4 1108

During the festival, visitors purchased an estimated 265 tonnes of food and drink from eating out establishments, which included catering establishments at the festival site, in Hay-on-Wye town and in overnight accommodation. As shown in Table 8.5, this resulted in an Ecological Footprint of 255 global hectares (0.0009 gha/visitor day). Interestingly, this Footprint figure is 2.3 times less compared to what it would have been if visitors had stayed at home. There are two possible reasons for this lower food and drink Footprint result. First, visitors may have underestimated their expenditure on food and drink at the festival. Second, some visitors will not have attended the festival for the entire day and so will also have consumed food and drink at home. This would not have been included in the Ecological Footprint analysis of the festival.

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Table 8.5: Visitor food and drink consumption and Ecological Footprint results Category Meat and meat products Other food products Alcoholic drinks Non-alcoholic drinks Total

Percentage of total amount purchased (%) 8.7 21.8 56.6 12.9 264 548

Percentage of total Ecological Footprint (%) 55.0 22.1 20.0 2.9 100

Comparison with other major events in Wales As discussed earlier in this chapter, the Ecological Footprint has been applied to several other major events in the UK including the FA Cup Final (2004) and Rugby 6 Nations match (2006). Both of these events were held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff (Wales’ capital city). Although both of these studies relate to sport events and are of shorter duration compared to the Hay Festival, they do enable us to compare and identify the different environmental impacts associated with visitors attending events in rural and urban locations. A summary of the Ecological Footprint results for the three events are presented in Table 8.6. The first observation is that the scale of an event (i.e. its duration and the number of visitors) has a direct relationship to the size of its total Ecological Footprint. Second, on a per event basis, visitor travel had the largest Ecological Footprint. On a per visitor basis, those attending the Hay Festival had the largest travel Footprint result, some 2.1 and 3.4 times larger than both sport events in Cardiff. There are two main reasons for this larger Footprint result. First, visitors at the Hay Festival travel further distances in order to attend the festival. Second, Hay-onWye due to its rural location does not have the same level of public transport services and so 58.8% of distances travelled by visitors to the Festival were by car, accounting for 62.4% of the travel Footprint result. Car travel accounted for a smaller percentage of visitors’ travel Footprint at The FA Cup Final and Rugby 6 Nations match (46.3% and 59.3% respectively).

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Table 8.6 Comparison of Ecological Footprint results for major events and festivals in Wales Consumption Activity Travel

Event/Festival Hay Festival (2012) 1 950 (0.0195 gha/visitor) (0.006 gha/visitor day)

FA Cup Final (2004) 679 (0.0093 gha/visitor) (0.0093/visitor day)

Rugby Six Nations (2006) 493 (0.0058 gha/visitor) (0.004 gha/visitor day)

Energy use in visitor accommodation

1 108 (0.0111 gha/visitor) (0.004 gha/visitor day)

-

405 (0.0047 gha/visitor) (0.008 gha/visitor day)

Food and Drink

255 (0.0026 gha/visitor) (0.001 gha/visitor day)

202 (0.0028 gha/visitor) (0.0028 gha/visitor day)

231 (0.0027 gha/visitor) (0.002 gha/visitor day)

Waste

-

-

Event Duration Average length of visit per visitor Total Visitors Location

11 days 3 days

33 (0.005 gha/visitor) (0.005 gha/visitor day) 1 day 1 day

3 days* 3 days

100 000 Hay-on-Wye

73 000 Cardiff

85 499 Cardiff

* In the case of the 2006 RBS Rugby Six Nations, although the match is played on a single day the duration was taken as three days as a significant proportion of visitors were in Cardiff the day before or following the event, and so will have had expenditure and consumed on these days.

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A further difference between the events is that on a per visitor day basis, the Footprint result for energy use in visitor accommodation at the Hay Festival was almost half of what it was for the Rugby 6 Nations match. The main reason for this difference is that hotel accommodation is widely available in Cardiff and so a larger proportion of visitor bednights were spent in hotel accommodation, 74% compared to 9.2% for the Hay Festival. Hotel accommodation has a higher energy use per bednight compared to other types of visitor accommodation and so results in a larger Footprint score. The final observation is that on a per visitor day basis, visitors’ Footprint for food and drink was greater at both sport events compared to the Hay Festival. There are several reasons for this difference. First, Cardiff being a capital city has a wide range of ‘eating out’ establishments including fast food restaurants and pubs, and so visitors attending events in the city will have more opportunities to purchase food and drink items from these outlets. Second, visitors at all three events had different consumption patterns. At both sport events the majority of purchases made by visitors were from ‘fast food’ restaurants and pubs, and much of this will have been highly processed food and drink items requiring a significant amount of energy to produce. Furthermore, visitors attending both sport events in Cardiff consumed larger quantities of food and drink compared to visitors attending the Hay Festival. These factors will have contributed towards visitors at both sport events having larger Footprint results.

Conclusions The purpose of this chapter was to assess the environmental impact of visitors attending a major rural festival, and to identify those consumption activities that made the most significant contribution to the total environmental impact. In the case of the Hay Literature Festival (Wales), the most significant impact was visitor travel, and this is due to its rural location, combined with the lack of public transport services in the vicinity (rail and bus) and a preference by Festival visitors to travel by car. The study has also explored the value of using the Ecological Footprint as a method from which to assess and understand the environmental impacts associated with staging a festival. The Ecological Footprint provides an aggregated measure of the global environmental impact of different visitor-related consumption activities, and can also assess the additional environmental impact of visitor consumption.

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This analysis of the Hay Literary Festival has shown that the Ecological Footprint is a valuable tool that has the ability to identify those consumption activities that have the greatest impact on the Footprint. By focusing on visitor consumption, this chapter has shown that the Ecological Footprint is also useful in being able to compare the Footprint results for different events, and understanding how the location of an event or festival can influence consumption patterns and choices, and its final Footprint result. The data that is behind the Footprint results for individual consumption activities can also enhance our understanding of visitor consumption patterns and the extent to which they influence the Footprint result. The scale of a Festival’s Footprint can be communicated to festival organisers, policy makers and visitors as a way of raising their awareness of those impacts, but also suggesting how they could be reduced: for example, increasing the use of public transport. For festival organisers and policy makers, the Ecological Footprint is a valuable method not only for assessing environmental impact, but also monitoring and evaluating outcomes post-event: for example, evaluating the effectiveness of campaign efforts or incentives to encourage visitors to use public transport when travelling to festivals. It could also be used to inform strategic decisions involving trade-offs between the economic costs and reducing environmental impacts, which have become increasingly important for festival organisers. Although using the Ecological Footprint contains a number of strengths, it also has its limitations. This study was unable to take account of any displacement activity that may have occurred as a result of the festival taking place, such as the crowding out of more normal tourists in the locality. Some of this displacement may have been permanent, for example, tourists may have chosen to visit other locations during that period because of the Festival. Other tourists may have visited the area before or after the 11 day Festival in order to avoid the crowds and the increase in cars travelling in the area. There is also a possibility that due to the large increase in visitors descending on the small rural town of Hayon-Wye, local residents may have diverted some spending to locations outside the area. The lack of data on visitor and resident displacement is a limiting factor of this study, and would be a valuable area of further research. In terms of the additional impact generated by the Festival, it was not possible to take account of activities that visitors might have undertaken elsewhere instead of attending the festival, for example, as the 2012 Festival coincided with a number of celebrations to mark the Queen’s

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Diamond Jubilee, visitors may have chosen to visit other locations during that period instead. Finally, this study focused on the impact of visitor consumption at the Festival, and so the consumption activities of the festival organisers, volunteers, exhibitors, speakers, sponsors, the media, the festival site or organisation involved in staging the event were not included in the analysis. These consumption activities could be included and would provide a more comprehensive assessment of the overall environmental impact of the festival, although it would be dependent on availability and access to the necessary data.

References Ayres, R.U. (2000) Commentary on the utility of the Ecological Footprint concept, Ecological Economics. 32: 347-349. Becken, S. Frampton, C. and Simmons, D. (2001) Energy consumption patterns in the accommodation sector – the New Zealand case. Ecological Economics. 39: 371-386. Boo, S. and Busser, J. (2006) Impact analysis of a tourism festival on tourists’ destination images. Event Management. 9(4): 223-237. Burgan, B. and Mules, T. (2001a) Reconciling cost-benefit and economic impact assessment for event tourism. Tourism Economics 7(4): 321330. Burgan, B. and Mules, T. (2001b) Sampling frame issues in identifying event-related expenditure. Events Management. 6(4): 223-230. Chambers, N., Child, R., Jenkin, N., Lewis, K., Vergoulas, G. and Whiteley, M. (2005) Stepping Forward. A Resource Flow and Ecological Footprint Analysis of the South West of England Technical Report. (online) Best Foot Forward Limited, Oxford, UK. Available from: www.ateppingforward.org.uk/downloads/technical.pdf [Accessed October 14, 2013]. Cole, V. and Sinclair, A. J. (2002) Measuring the Ecological Footprint of a Himalayan tourist centre. Mountain Research and Development. 22(2): 132-141. Collins, A., Flynn, A. and Netherwood, A. (2005) Reducing Cardiff’s Ecological Footprint Technical Report. BRASS, Cardiff University, Cardiff. Collins, A. and Flynn, A. (2005) A new perspective on the Ecological Impacts of planning: a case study of Cardiff’s International Sports Village. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning. 7(4): 277-302.

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Collins, A., Flynn, A., Munday, M. and Roberts, A. (2007) Assessing the environmental consequences of major sporting events: The 2003/04 FA. Urban Studies. 44 (3): 1-20 Collins, A. and Roberts, A. (2008) The BRASS Journey: Assessing the impact of UK events. Paper presented at the ESRC Seminar Series on Sustainable Consumption and Production, The Brit Oval, London, UK (1 July 2008). Collins, A., Munday, M. and Roberts, A. (2012) Tourism consumption at major events and environmental consequences: an analysis of the UK stages of the 2007 Tour de France. Journal of Travel Research. 5(5): 577-590 Crompton, J. (2006) Economic impact studies: Instruments for political shenanigans? Journal of Travel Research. 45(1): 67-82. Crompton, J. and McKay, S. (1994) Measuring the economic impact of festivals and events: some myths, misapplications and ethical dilemmas. Festival Management and Event Tourism. 2(1): 33-43. Crompton, J. L. and McKay, S. L. (1997) Motives of visitors attending festival events. Annals of Tourism Research. 24(2): 425-439. Delamare, T. (2001) Development of a scale to measure resident attitudes towards the social impacts of community festivals: Part 2: Verification of the scale. Events Management. 7(1): 25-38. Delamare, T., Wankel, L. and Hinch, T. (2001) Development of a scale to measure resident attitudes toward the social impacts of community festivals: Part 1: Item generation and purification of the measure. Event Management. 7(1): 11-24. Dwyer, L. R., Mellor, N., Mistilis, N. and Mules, T. (2000) A Framework for Assessing ’Tangible‘ and ’Intangible‘ Impacts of Events and Conventions. Event Management. 6(1): 175-189. Faulkner, B. (1997) A Framework for Monitoring Community Impacts of Tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 5(1): 3-28. Ferng, J. J. (2002) Toward a scenario analysis framework for energy footprints. Ecological Economics. 40: 53-69. Fredline, E. and Faulkner, B. (1998) Resident reactions to a major tourist event: The Gold Coast Indy car race. Festival Management and Event Tourism. 5(4): 185-205. Fredline, E and Faulkner, B. (2002a) Residents reactions to the staging of major motorsport events within their communities: A cluster analysis. Event Management. 7(2): 103-114. Fredline, E. and Faulkner, B. (2002b) Variations in residents’ reactions to major motorsport events: Why residents perceive the impacts of events differently. Event Management. 7(2): 115-125.

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Fredline, E., Jago, L. and Deery, M. (2003) The development of a generic scale to measure the social impacts of events. Event Management. 8(1): 23-37. Getz, D. (1989) Special events: Defining the project. Tourism Management. 10(2): 125-137. —. (1991) Festivals, Special Events, and Tourism. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. —. (1997) Events Management and Events Tourism. New York: Cognizant Communications. —. (2010) The Nature and Scope of Festival Studies. International Journal of Event Management Research. 5(1): 1-47 Gössling, S., Borgström, C., Hörstmeier, O. and Saggel, S. (2002) Ecological Footprint Analysis as a tool to assess tourism sustainability. Ecological Economics. 43: 199-211. Hall, M. (1992) Hallmark Tourist Events: Impacts, Management and Planning. London: Belhaven. Hay Festival Wales (2013) Hay on Earth Festival Report. Hay on Wye: Hay Festival. (online) Available from: www.hayfestival.com/greenprint/documents/HayonEarth2013Report.pdf [Accessed December 19, 2013] Hede, A., Jago, L. and Deery, M. (2003) An agenda for special event research: Lessons from the past and directions for the future. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management. 10(supplement): 1-14. Hughes, C. (1999) Urban revitalisation: The use of festive time strategies. Leisure Studies. 18(2): 119-135. Hunter, C. (2002) Sustainable tourism and the touristic Ecological Footprint, environment. Development and Sustainability. 4: 7-20. Hunter, C. and Shaw, J. (2007) The ecological footprint as a key indicator of sustainable tourism. Tourism Management. 28: 46-57. Jones, C. and Munday, M. (2004) Evaluating the economic benefits from tourism spending through input-output frameworks: Issues and cases. Local Economy. 19(2): 117-133. Lenzen, M., and Murray, S. A. (2001) A modified Ecological Footprint method and its application to Australia. Ecological Economics. 37: 229-255. McDonnell, I., Allen, J. and O’Tool, W. (1999) Festival and Special Event Management. Melbourne, Australia: John Wiley. McGregor, P.G., Swales, J.K. and Turner, K.R. (2004) The impact of Scottish consumption on the local environment: an alternative to the Ecological Footprint? Fraser of Allander Institute, University of

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Strathclyde. Quarterly Economic Commentary – Economic Perspectives. 29(1):29-34. McManus, P. and Haughton, G. (2006) Planning with Ecological Footprints: a sympathetic critique of theory and practice. Environment and Urbanization. 18(1): 113-127. Moffatt, I. (2000) Ecological Footprints and sustainable development. Ecological Economics. 32: 359-362. Mules, T. (1993) A special event as part of an urban renewal strategy. Festival Management and Event Tourism. 1(2): 65-67. Patterson, T. M., Niccolucci, V. and Bastianoni, S. (2008) Adaptive environmental management of tourism in the Province of Siena, Italy using the Ecological Footprint. Journal of Environmental Management. 86: 407-418. Small, K. (2007) Social dimensions of community festivals: An application of factor analysis in the development of the social impact perception (SIP) scale. Event Management. 11: 45–55. van den Bergh, J.C.J.M. and Verbruggen, H. (1999) Spatial sustainability, trade and indicators: an evaluation of the ‘Ecological Footprint’. Ecological Economics. 29: 61-72. Wiedmann, T., Minx, J., Barrett, J., and Wackernagel, M. (2006) Allocating Ecological Footprints to household consumption activities by using input-output analysis. Ecological Economics. 56: 28-48. Wackernagel, M. and Rees, W. (1996) Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers. Walo, M., Bull, A. and Breen, H. (1996) Achieving economic benefit at local sports events: A case study of local sports events. Festival Management and Events Tourism. 4(3/4): 95-106. Welsh Assembly Government (2010) One Planet: One Wales. Sustainable Development Charter. (Online) Available from: http://wales.gov.uk/docs/desh/policy/100528susdevcharteren.pdf [Accessed October 14, 2013] Welsh Government (2012) Sustainable Event Management. (Online) Available from: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/tourism/developmentl1/sustainablel2/bemor esus/events/?lang=en [Accessed: October 23, 2013] WWF (2012) Living Planet Report 2012. Gland, Switzerland: World Wildlife Fund. Xiao, H., & Smith, S. (2004) Residents perceptions of Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest: An inductive analysis. Event Management. 8(3): 161-175.

PART THREE: RURAL TOURISM IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

CHAPTER NINE PACKAGING CULTURE AND HERITAGE FOR TOURISM TO IMPROVE RURAL LIVES AT LEKHUBU ISLAND, BOTSWANA MONKGOGI LENAO

Introduction Botswana is a landlocked country in the Southern African region, sharing borders with Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe (Moswete et al., 2009). Covering a land area of about 582,000 square km (Atlhopheng and Mulale, 2009), it is home to just over 2 million people (Statistics Botswana, 2011). While Botswana is richly endowed with a wide range of both natural and cultural resources, Mbaiwa (2002) notes that the country’s tourism industry was almost non-existent at the time of independence in 1966. Since the 1990s Botswana’s tourism industry has experienced rapid growth, displacing agriculture as the second most important contributor to GDP, after mining (Mbaiwa, 2009, 2011). According to the WTTC (2012), tourism directly supported 18,500 jobs in Botswana in 2011. This represents 3.1 percent of the country’s national employment. In the same baseline year, WTTC (2012) estimates that Botswana’s tourism industry indirectly supported 45,000 jobs, representing 7.6 percent of national employment. It is estimated that employment in tourism will continue to grow until 2022 by which time it will be directly supporting about 28,000 jobs, while indirectly contributing 75,000 jobs to overall national employment. In financial terms, tourism was estimated to make a direct contribution of US$3.4 million to GDP in 2011. It is further estimated that by 2022, tourism will be directly contributing US$5.4 million to the country’s GDP (WTTC, 2012). These figures are, generally, very impressive. However, while job creation and income generation are intended and celebrated outcomes of the local tourism industry, there is a concern that in Botswana these benefits are not equitably spread across the country. Instead, they are

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acutely skewed towards the wildlife-rich Okavango Delta and Chobe in the north (Moswete, 2009). According to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the Chobe National Park and Okavango Delta (of which Moremi Game Reserve is a part) accounted for 87% of all revenue accruing from park entries in 2006, while all other parks in the country accounted for only 13%. Out of the total park entry revenue generated (BWP25.7 million), Chobe National Park contributed BWP15.5million (60%), Moremi Game Reserve and Okavango Delta generated BWP 6.94 million (27%), Southern Parks generated BWP2.31 million (9%) while the Pans generated BWP1.03 million (4%) (1EURO=12BWP). This unequal distribution characterises tourism development in Botswana and presents challenges to the government and other stakeholders alike. While the statistics presented here are several years old, there is no new information to suggest that there is much change in terms of this distribution. It is necessary to note here that Botswana, like many other developing countries, has a considerable challenge related to the production and publication of up to date tourism statistics.

Challenges facing the tourism industry of Botswana One of the major challenges facing tourism development in Botswana relates to the type of tourists that frequent Botswana’s northern tourism hubs of the Okavango Delta (including Moremi) and Chobe. The biggest regional market for these areas has traditionally been the Republic of South Africa (RSA). A considerable number of travellers from RSA are self-drive campers who bring in most of their supplies including food, fuel and toiletries, meaning that the total value of their spend in the country is very limited. Internationally, the core source markets include the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), Germany and the rest of Europe (BTO, 2012). These long-haul international tourists tend to use foreign-based agents to arrange their trips. In turn, these foreign-based agents usually book them into foreign-owned airline carriers and hotels, with the result that Botswana experiences high incidences of economic leakage. Furthermore, research has revealed that tourism development in the Okavango Delta, for instance, is mainly foreign-owned (Mbaiwa, 2002). The largest number of big safari companies, tour operators and accommodation businesses are owned by companies headquartered in other countries, primarily RSA. In terms of employment these businesses tend to import specialised personnel for higher paying positions, while the locals are mainly concentrated within lower scale occupations. These

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conditions increase the scale of economic leakages through repatriation of income earned by the businesses and their highest paid personnel to their own countries of origin. As a result, while tourism businesses have flourished in the Okavango Delta and Chobe, very little contribution to the improvement of socio-economic livelihoods of the local people has been realised. Subsequently, some scholars have observed that the nature of tourism development in the Okavango Delta is ‘enclave’ (Mbaiwa, 2005). This is characterised by high levels of revenue repatriation, low domestic tourism and limited numbers of locals participating in the industry, dependence on long haul international tourists, failure to pay tax by international companies, a high number of facilities at the destination being owned by foreign-based companies, weak linkages to the domestic economy, and the majority of tours being organised and managed from outside the destination (Ceballos-Lescarraine, 1996).

The need for reform and diversification In recognition of the challenges above, there has been a drive towards diversifying the country’s tourism product offering and market. It is envisaged that this diversification will promote a wider spread of tourism activities and attendant benefits across the country. Most critically, it is hoped that this will open up more opportunities for the locals to participate in the tourism industry. Community-based rural tourism has been identified as one of the means through which this objective may be realised. As a result, there has been a number of community-based tourism projects formed across Botswana dealing in wildlife as well as culture and heritage resources (Zuze, 2009). The earliest community-based tourism projects were those focused on wildlife resources mainly located in the north of Botswana (Phuthego and Chanda, 2004). However, while these projects offered an opportunity for communities to participate in the bourgeoning tourism industry, they did very little to diversify both the product and the geography of tourism in Botswana. The development of culture and heritage tourism-based community projects has been increasingly seen as a better alternative, especially given their potential to open up opportunities in areas where tourism activities had been either limited or non-existent. Examples of such initiatives include; Goo-Moremi Manonnye community project in Goo-Moremi village which seeks to utilise available scenic, human, cultural and biological resources of the Moremi Gorge area to develop viable and sustainable community tourism enterprises for the local people (Mbaiwa,

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2011); Kgetse ya Tsie, the oldest and largest community organisation dealing in veldt products (Arntzen et al., 2007); Kuru Family of Trusts dealing in veldt products, traditional crafts, song and dance; and Lekhubu Island project where local communities seek to sell the scenic and cultural history of the Island to improve their livelihoods in Mmatshumu village. While the subject of community-based tourism in Botswana has received a considerable amount of interest from researchers and analysts alike, most research has understandably dealt with wildlife-based projects as opposed to culture and heritage ones (Lenao et al., 2014). Most importantly, very little attention has been given to the processes of community mobilisation and consultation involved in the formative stages of these projects. So far, Thakadu’s (2005) work stands as the only effort with a special interest in the process of community mobilisation for tourism development in Botswana. Interestingly, this largely experiencebased paper presents lessons from wildlife based projects in the north. Therefore, the current chapter is an attempt to complement this effort through consideration of a non-wildlife project.

Mobilisation for community-based tourism development Research interest on the subject of community participation in the tourism industry has been considerable (Prentice, 1993; Tosun, 2000, 2005, 2006). According to Timothy (1999), the importance of community participation in tourism development is premised on at least two tenets, namely; participation in the decision-making process, and distribution of tourism development benefits. Participation is a principle that may be used to define the role of a community (as a critical stakeholder) in the development process of tourism within a destination. Tosun (2006) asserts that participation is a process that occurs along a continuum. He identifies three broad categories of participation in ascending order from the weakest to the strongest as; coercive, induced and spontaneous. Within this model, the weakest form of participation is characterised by top down approaches where the local community is a passive participant with no choice about the decisions being taken. The strongest version of community participation denotes a process where a community uses its own judgment, volition and goodwill to utilise its own resources for communal benefit (Tosun, 2006). The latter is what Tosun considers authentic participation (i.e. the decision-making process is bottom-up in nature; communities participate actively and directly in the process in order to direct the outcome). In practical terms, this represents the ideal and desirable version of community participation.

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Within the tourism industry, community mobilisation and consultation processes represent a means to facilitate community participation in the decision-making process. This contains the seeds of success or failure for any community-based tourism project. If properly undertaken, community mobilisation and consultation can ensure success by inculcating in the local people an ability to; identify needs and promote community interests; identify specific groups for undertaking specific problems; promote good leadership and democratic decision-making; identify all the available resources in the community; plan the best use of the available resources; and, enable the community to govern itself better. However, if poorly implemented, community mobilisation and consultation has potential to breed resentment, disillusionment, disenfranchisement and disempowerment among communities. Given the delicate nature of this process and the extent to which it can either make or break the ideal of community participation, community mobilisation is undoubtedly a very important aspect of the tourism development process.

Approach This chapter is based on the results of a qualitative study carried out in Mmatshumu village in central Botswana. The community of Mmatshumu village owns and runs a rural tourism project that utilises Lekhubu Island. The Island is a rock out-crop located in a generally flat expanse of the plain Makgadikgadi salt pans. It sits along the edge of the south-western side of Sua Pan (Riedel et al., 2012). This unique feature covers an area of approximately 60 hectares. The vegetation of the Island is defined mainly by a small colony of baobab (Adansonia Digitata) and African star chestnut (Sterculia Africana) (Segokgo, 2006). Besides the few rodent and small antelope species that may be spotted in and around the Island, Lekhubu is generally free of wildlife. This general absence of wildlife may be attributed to the existence of animal disease control and predator-proof fences that literally cut the area off from large animal populations from neighbouring sanctuaries (DEA and CAR, 2010; Perkins, 2010). Lekhubu Island is a site of significant importance to the communities of Mmatshumu village and surrounding localities owing to its entrenched connection to their social and spiritual lives both past and present. Different communities have used Lekhubu as a site to perform multiple rituals of cultural and religious significance. According to Campbell (1991), the Island was historically used by Basarwa (the San) for ancestral worship, while from the 17th century on it was used by Bantu settlers as an initiation site. Traditional initiation schools for males (bogwera) and

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females (bojale) have always been important among Bantu communities as events signifying declaration of rites of passage on a generation transiting from youth to adulthood. The Island is thus characterised by features which represent the different ways in which the area has been used over the course of its history. Among other artefacts is a semicollapsed stone wall believed to have been used both as a shrine for initiation rituals and as a fort during times of ethnic conflict (Campbell, 1991). There are also some piles of stone believed to have been left behind by initiates during their time at the site. While no consensus exists, two versions of an explanation have been offered regarding the origin of these piles. One suggests that each pile was left by a specific generation of initiates as a mark of their presence at the site, while another suggests that they represent graves of those initiates who died during the rituals. However, Riedel et al. (2012) observe limitations in the dating of Lekhubu Island. Without proper excavation and dating, the actual explanations for the existence of these piles, as well as the actual time of their creation, shall remain unknown. Yet their social and spiritual significance to the local communities in this area remain intact. Furthermore, there is a sacred cave believed to have been used for spiritual worship and praying for rain by the local communities. There are no existing records indicating that this cave has been scientifically explored. However, one of the local guides attributed this situation to the sacredness of the site, arguing that if it was not for its sacred significance, many people would have explored the cave and written about it. Lekhubu Island is protected under the National Museum and Relics Act under the Department of National Museum and Monuments (DNMM). It is a monument of national importance, highly endowed in archaeological and tourism value (Setlhogile et al,. 2011). However, pursuant to the ideal of Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) and owing to the heritage endowment of the site, the DNMM has ceded the management and conservation role of Lekhubu to the people of Mmatshumu village. The core principle of this arrangement is that the DNMM remains the overall custodian of the site, while the local community is allowed the right to develop it into a community-based tourism site from which they can generate some economic benefits. To this end, Mmatshumu community has established a Trust (Gaing’O Community Trust [GCT]) to develop and run the site on their behalf (Setlhogile et al., 2011). The trust has a fully-fledged office with an average staffing of between 8 and 15 employees (including management, guides and support staff). The site itself has a campsite, pit latrines and washing areas and a reception office. The Trust is currently in the process

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of giving the site a facelift, replacing the temporary latrines and washing areas with more permanent structures (flush toilets and showers) with running water. Besides camping, the project offers tourists opportunities to learn about the culture and heritage of the local communities. It is hoped that once fully developed, the project will offer additional things such as traditional crafts, music and dance as well as local cuisine. The project also offers opportunities for quad biking, star gazing and dawn and dusk walks. However, since the start of the project in 1997, it has not been able to make any significant profits (Lenao, et al., 2014). To date the project has depended extensively on external donor funding for both its development and operational budget. Given this financial situation, and notwithstanding the number of years it has been in existence, the project is still considered to be in its formative stages of development. For the purposes of this chapter, a total of seven focus group discussions were carried out with members of the community in 2012. Each focus group comprised of between 8 and 14 participants. Such social demographics as age and gender were used to constitute the groups. In the end, the nature of the groups included mixed gender-mixed age, male only-youth, female only-youth, male only-adults, female only-adults, mixed gender-youth and so on. The invitations to participate in the focus groups were extended to all members of the community aged 18 and above. Participants were visited at their own homesteads and invited to meet at a designated time and place in the village for the discussion. Some were met while walking around the village, others at the clinic, taverns, labour intensive community working sites and any other place where community members usually congregate during the day. In addition, indepth interviews were arranged and conducted with key informants who included the Trust manager, board chairperson and secretary, board member, ex-board member and field assistant. Furthermore, tribal and civic leaders including the village chief, retired chief, Village Development Committee (VDC) secretary and chairperson as well as the area councillor were interviewed. The following sections are based on data from these interviews and focus groups.

The paradox of using kgotla as a place for mobilisation and consultation The kgotla has always been an important aspect of Tswana culture. Among other things, the kgotla serves two major functions. First, it is used as a community gathering square, where all important matters concerning the community are presented, discussed and resolved. Second, it serves as

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a customary court where disputes and other customary law-related matters are lodged and settled (Moumakwa, 2010). The kgotla is presided over by the tribal leader, who might either be a headman (kgosana) or chief (kgosi) depending on the status of the kgotla in question. In principle, every member of society is at liberty to make a contribution without fear or favour during a kgotla gathering. However, given the patriarchal nature of Botswana society, the kgotla process is primarily governed by patriarchal principles and values that guarantee elderly male opinions while simultaneously limiting opportunities for females (Cassidy, 2001), the young, disabled and other minority sections of society to express they own views (Magole, 2003). In fact, there are various sayings in Setswana language that establish the authority and importance of the male voice as represented by the chief or headman. Therefore, with the advent of community tourism development across the country, the kgotla has been used as a convenient gathering space for all matters relating to community consultation and mobilisation (Thakadu, 2005). While the kgotla is essentially the most convenient place to undertake consultation and community mobilisation in Botswana, its use for these purposes presents a number of challenges, especially among rural communities where traditional customs and norms remain largely intact (Cassidy, 2001). In Mmatshumu village, there was a constant complaint raised by youth who participated in the different focus group discussions regarding the exclusionary nature of the kgotla consultation methods. While also acknowledging the elderly male domination of proceedings at kgotla meetings, they were even more critical of the timing of such meetings. According to them, while the idea of a kgotla consultation approach is to be inclusive, the meetings are normally held on week days and during working hours. This time was seen as inconvenient for working community members, those at school and herdsmen: My brother, just look around here. You can clearly see that most of us have either just completed junior or senior high school. That is why we are even here today in the first place. Otherwise everyone else in this age group, our younger and elder brothers and sisters, are out there schooling or working. Now, how do we participate in the meetings that take place when we are out of the village? Just tell me (Female 22, Female only youth FGD, January 2012).

In the opinion of many young people in the community, whatever information is shared during these meetings, as well as decisions reached, do not represent their voice as they would not be in attendance. Regrettably, decisions reached during such meetings are binding to all members of the community regardless of who attended or who did not.

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Even the election of the Board of Trustees whose mandate it is to coordinate the running of the community project is performed during these meetings. Some youth observed that the conspicuous low representation of young people on the Board is to a large extent attributable to this approach. One of the young participants who claimed to have attended a trust annual general meeting before noted; it´s funny because the election of that committee appears as though the list would have been agreed on beforehand. When the process starts, there would be those people who raise their hands to make nominations. The last time I was there, those people were adults only. Their nominations passed without any discussions. Some of us were just sitting there watching. Well, maybe I did not understand the process, but I really have reservations about what I saw (Male 23, mixed gender youth FGD, January 2012)

This perceived or real disenfranchisement contrasts starkly with Thakadu’s (2005) advice on lessons learnt from the Okavango community projects. In his conclusion, Thakadu recommends that, “the mobilization phase should endeavour to broker widespread support and engage the commitment of all community” (2005: 210). This does not appear to be happening in relation to young people in Mmatshumu village.

The challenge of balancing expectations with reality in community mobilisation At the heart of the community mobilisation process is the desire to cultivate interest among members of the community. The objective is often to encourage the community to buy into the idea of the project. Thakadu (2005) underscores this when he notes that implementation of community-based tourism projects in the Okavango were relatively easy in cases where local residents knew the related benefits fully. In the case of Lekhubu, former Trust Board members as well as current employees of the project continually keep making reference to the success stories of other community-based projects in the Okavango delta and Chobe. They argue that the existence of these successful projects should be a cause for optimism among the community of Mmatshumu village. One key informant noted that: I became one of the first people to constitute the village working group that was tasked with working hand in hand with the Trust. Some of our initial tasks were to draft the first management plan as well as the Trust constitution. Along the way we noticed that drafting the management plan was a task way above us. Therefore, we requested the services of a

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specialist on that one and we only remained with the task of drafting the constitution. We undertook some bench marking missions to those Trusts that were already operational such as the Nata Bird Sanctuary and the Chobe Enclave. While in Chobe we learnt a lot about how the Trust was handling financial matters and performing overall improvement of the lives of the people from the proceeds of the community project (Male Key Informant, GCT, January 2012).

The challenge with this type of comparison arises from the fact that the community-based projects to which reference is being made are not necessarily similar to Lekhubu. Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust, for instance, is a mainly wildlife-based project located in a prime tourism area. In other words, it is a project strategically located in a popular tourism geographic space and it deals in wildlife, which is traditionally a lucrative tourism resource in Botswana. Therefore, to use these particular success stories to entice the community to support the establishment of a project in a place with uniquely peculiar circumstances (i.e. no wildlife resources, slightly detached from the major destinations, relatively small size, and with no previous experience of tourism development) is somewhat unrealistic. While this may easily yield the desired results of cultivating interest and optimism in the project among community members, this may not be sustainable. For instance, as stated above, since its inception, Lekhubu project has not been able to generate profits on a sustainable basis. Whatever income the project has been able to make would only be enough to cover part of the day-to-day operation costs of the project. Therefore, the project has had a history of dependence on external donor funding to keep afloat. This means the pace at which the project can grow, as well as its ability to benefit the community economically, are both limited by this situation. The foregoing arguments reflect the harsh realities faced by Lekhubu project. Yet, some young participants in the focus group discussions consistently complained about the project’s inability to create enough employment opportunities for them, with the result that the few available vacancies are (in their view) filled through nepotism. As one of the youth participants noted: we never see any adverts on the available vacancies in the project. Instead, we would only learn there was a vacancy when it is already filled. This is not right because it suggests that they only hire their own people while this is supposed to be a community project (Female 19, Mixed gender youth FGD, January 2012).

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In contrast, older members of the community consistently expressed optimism about the future growth of the project and its subsequent ability to bring more benefits to the village. For instance one lady declared: currently the Trust helps a lot of people by way of buying some thatching grass from them thus alleviating poverty. As we speak, they have built a house there at Lekhubu and we expect that house to assist in poverty alleviation because some people may make some traditional wares and display them there for sale to tourists as a way of gaining some income (Female 41, Female only adult FGD, January 2012).

Another participant in the same focus group quipped: we expect a lot from the Trust. We expect them to develop this village from proceeds made through Lekhubu tourism. We are looking at developments such as building offices and other things that they would find necessary for the village (Female 39, female only FGD, January 2012).

To some extent these sentiments reflect the community’s inability to comprehend the practical and economic constraints under which their own project operates. They do not seem to appreciate that, while potential definitely exists, the current scope of the project would not practically allow for increased employment in the foreseeable future.

Provision of selective information to the community during community mobilisation The concept of community participation underscores the importance of participation based on full and unbiased information. It is argued that the most desirable form of participation is where members of the community make decisions with a reasonable level of awareness of the potential benefits and trade-offs. In the case of Lekhubu rural tourism project, this does not seem to be happening. While all those who participated in the focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were asked to state potential or expected trade-offs resulting from the development of their tourism project, only members who were full time workers in the project or on the Board were able to identify some. For instance, one of the key informants observed It is possible that development of Lekhubu tourism may impact on the lives of the local communities considering that most of the tourists transit through this village with their vehicles and within the village we have a lot

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of animals and kids that roam around unattended to (Male 54, Key Informant, GCT, January 2012).

Another key informant gave a lengthier account of what he thought could be a trade-off for the local communities: There are some tradeoffs to be made. As earlier stated, Lekhubu Island is surrounded by cattle posts some of which are as close as 13km to the island. Therefore, some cattle from these cattle posts trespass into the island and cause some disturbances including chewing the tents and dropping dung all over the place. This is an issue that we have already started talking to the local farmers about and we seem to be involved in some sorts of conflict with some of them (Male 33, Key Informant, GCT, January 2012).

Generally, members of the community (including some Board members) were unaware of any potential trade-offs that they may have to make in the future when the project continues to develop and possibly attract more visitors to their area. In one of the focus groups one young person posited: there is no way we may be affected by the presence of these tourists because they bring money into the village (Female 21, Mixed gender youth FGD, January 2012).

This response seemed to strike a chord with almost all other participants in the group. When the researcher made attempts to gather any other views, each participant kept on referring to the same statement above made by the female participant. In other words, there was consensus that if the tourists bring money to the village, there will not be any negative impacts on the community and, therefore, there would be no need to talk about trade-offs in relation to development of their community tourism project. An interesting observation was also made during the male-only elderly focus group. When the same question was put to the participants about expected trade-offs they all responded in the negative. They did not think the development of tourism at Lekhubu would impact them negatively in any way. Yet, earlier on when asked about their knowledge of Lekhubu Island and the developments taking place there, one of them candidly declared: We, the elderly know Lekhubu but we do not know it anymore. The reason I’m saying this is because whatever is happening in Lekhubu at the moment is contrary to how we used to conduct ourselves there in the past. For instance, whenever we went to the island in the past, we would collect some Morokodi berries, or snuff so that we could use those as gifts to the ancestors. Those would be a part of the ritual to communicate with the

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Another participant in the same group followed up immediately asserting: My son, there is no better truth than what the old man has just narrated. The reason why we seem to be unsure about Lekhubu is because at the start, we were asked questions about the island, but when the business began we were simply sidelined. They never asked us to go and teach the youth on how we used to do things in the past. No one ever did that. They started forming their own committees that were responsible for everything. The truth of the matter is that this site used to be sacred and revered. Apparently there were mysterious sheep that populated the island. Sometimes people would hear some noises from sheep in the late afternoon or early evenings but no one ever reported seeing the owners of such sheep or even their footmarks. The island was also used as a place of prayer whenever there was no rain. There were those elders who would lead the prayers at the island asking for rainfall and it normally rained shortly thereafter. However, this was only the case in the past. Today I may not say the same thing because things at Lekhubu have changed and we do not know what is happening anymore (Male 75, Elderly male only FGD, January 2012).

The interesting thing about these two accounts is that they clearly signify the elderly male members of the community´s reservations or misgivings about tourism development on the Island right at the beginning of the discussion. However, as the discussion progresses, they cannot account for this frustration as a trade-off. It takes the researcher to remind them of these sentiments before they can finally acknowledge that, indeed, this is a trade-off. This is seen as a challenge largely resulting from the mobilisation process. Development of tourism at destinations often calls for a number of trade-offs to be made by host communities. Liu (2006) points out that in the rural Malaysian area of Kedah, local people who had not been well prepared for interactions with tourists beforehand began to express disapproval of some of the tourist behaviour patterns when they had already started participating in home-stay business. Dissatisfaction of this kind is even more likely when the host community is a rural one that has never experienced tourism in their own area before (Lepp, 2007). Therefore, although it is necessary that mobilisation is undertaken to

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solicit buy-in from the local communities, they should also be made aware of such potential trade-offs. This would encourage the community to think of ways in which they would either learn to live with or mitigate the impacts of such trade-offs when they finally come to bear. This could help to balance the community´s willingness to participate in rural tourism with preparedness/readiness to do so (Thakadu, 2005). Since the development of community rural tourism projects (including Lekhubu) is a government initiative, it follows that those government and NGO officials involved in the mobilisation process should take responsibility for creating an unbiased awareness of both potential gains and trade-offs among the target communities.

Conclusions This chapter acknowledges the importance of community mobilisation as a tool to establish community interest and subsequent participation in the development of community-based tourism projects. It is observed that at the heart of the community mobilisation process is the desire to ensure that the host community accepts the proposed project and that their continued interest and participation are sustained long after the start of the project. This is particularly true in instances where the host community have no prior experience with tourism development. It is accepted here that while the approaches that have been used at the formative stages of community tourism development in Botswana may have worked for specific cases and circumstances, they may not be applicable wholesale to other cases and circumstances across the country. For instance, the use of kgotla as a venue for consultation meetings, as well as the timing for such meetings, has been seen to disenfranchise a considerable section of the community (i.e. women, youth and herdsmen). Therefore, it is suggested that, where necessary, compromises be made such that mobilisation meetings may be held over the weekend in order to afford more members of society a chance to participate. Such meetings also do not always have to be large gatherings. As one of the community members indicated, it may be helpful to structure the consultation process in ways that different demographic groups (e.g. males, females, youth, adult, etc.) are allowed to meet and deliberate separately on issues before the final village meeting is held. Such arrangements would enable those unaccustomed to the large village gathering atmosphere to have their voices heard and relayed to the rest of the community. Similarly, house-tohouse consultation was also recommended as another effective strategy, especially in small rural areas like Mmatshumu. These approaches may

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help to avoid the kgotla protocol and, consequently, increase free information exchange. On the basis of this case study of Mmatshumu village and Lekhubu Island, it is concluded that careful consideration needs to be paid to the processes and implementation of community mobilisation to ensure widespread participation and opportunities for involvement by all members of the community.

Acknowledgements This chapter was first published as part of Monkgogi Lenao’s doctoral dissertation in 2014 in Nordia Geographical Publication 43:2 and is reproduced here with kind permission from the publishers.

References Arntzen, J., Setlhogile, T. and Barnes, J. (2007) Rural livelihoods, poverty reduction and food security in Southern Africa: is CBNRM the answer? Washington, D.C: International Resource Group. Atlhopheng, J. and Mulale, K. (2009) Natural resource based tourism and policies in Botswana. In J. Saarinen, F. Becker, H. Manwa and D. Wilson (eds) Sustainable tourism in Southern Africa: Local communities and natural resources in transition. Bristol: Channel View Publications, 134-149. Botswana Tourism Organisation (2012) Annual report for the year ended 31 March 2012. Gaborone: BTO. Campbell, A. C. (1991) The riddle of the stone walls. Botswana Notes and Records 23: 243-249 Cassidy, L. (2001) Improving women’s participation in CBNRM in Botswana. Occasional Paper Series, 5. IUCN/Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) CBNRM Support Programme. Gaborone. Ceballos-Lascurain, H. 1996. Tourism, Ecotourism and Protected Areas. Gland: IUCN Publication. Department of Environmental Affairs and Centre for Applied Research (2010) The Makgadikgadi Framework Management Plan. Gaborone: Government of Botswana. Lepp, A. (2007) Residents´ attitudes towards tourism in Bigodi village, Uganda. Tourism Management. 28: 876-885. Lenao, M., Mbaiwa, J. E. and Saarinen, J. (2014) Community expectations from rural tourism development at Lekhubu Island, Botswana. Tourism Review International, 17(4): 223-236.

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Liu, A. (2006) Tourism in rural areas: Kedah, Malaysia. Tourism Management, 27: 878-889. Magole, L. (2003) A tragedy of the commoners: The evolution of communal rangeland management in Kgalagadi, Botswana. Ph.D. Thesis. University of East Anglia, UK. Mbaiwa, J. E. (2002) The socio-economic and environmental impacts of tourism in the Okavango Delta, Botswana: a baseline study. Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Centre, University of Botswana, Maun. —. (2005) Enclave tourism and its socio-economic impacts in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Tourism Management. 26: 157–172. —. (2009) Tourism development, rural livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana: In P. Hottola (ed.) Tourism strategies and local responses in Southern Africa. Wallingford: CABI, 90-104. —. (2011) Cultural commodification and tourism: the Goo-Moremi community, Central Botswana. Royal Dutch Geographical Society, 102(3): 290-301. Moswete, N. N. (2009) Stakeholder perspective on the potential for community-based ecotourism development for the Kgalagadi Transfrontior Park in Botswana. PhD Thesis: University of Florida. Moswete, N., Thapa, B. and Lacey, G. (2009) Village based tourism and community participation: a case of Macheng villages in Southwestern Botswana: In J. Saarinen, F. Becker, H. Manwa and D. Wilson (eds) Sustainable tourism in Southern Africa: Local communities and natural resources in transition. Bristol: Channel View Publications, 189-209. Moumakwa, P. C. (2010) The Botswana Kgotla system: A mechanism for traditional conflict resolution in modern Botswana. Case of the Kanye Kgotla. Master’s Thesis in Philosophy of Peace and Conflict Transformation. University of Tromso. Perkins, J. (2010) Range ecology. In: Centre for Applied Research and Department of Environmental Affairs, 2010. Makgadikgadi Framework Management Plan. Volume 2, technical reports, Gaborone. Phuthego, T. C., & Chanda, R. (2004) Traditional ecological knowledge and community-based natural resource management: Lessons from a Botswana wildlife management area. Applied Geography, 24: 57–76. Prentice, R.C. (1993) Community-driven tourism planning and residents’ preferences. Tourism Management. 14: 218-227. Riedel, F., Erhardt, S., Chauke, C., Kossler, A., Shemang, E., and Tarasov, P. (2012) Evidence for a permanent lake in Sua Pan (Kalahari,

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Botswana) during the early centuries of the last millennium indicated by distribution of Baobab trees (Adansonia digitata) on ‘Kubu Island’. Quaternary International, 253: 67-73. Segokgo, M. (2006) Managing Lekhubu Island in a sustainable way. A paper presented at the 7th Regional Thematic Seminar, Sustainable Management of Cultural Heritage Places, 24-27 October 2006, Gondar, Ethiopia. Setlhogile, T., Arntzen, A., Mabiza, C., and Mano, R. (2011) Economic valuation of selected direct and indirect use values of the Makgadikgadi wetland system, Botswana. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth. 36: 1071-1077 Statistics Botswana (2011) 2011 population and housing census: population of towns, villages and associated localities. Department of Government Printing and Publishing Services, Gaborone. Thakadu, O. T. (2005) Success factors in community based natural resources management in Northern Botswana: lessons from practice. Natural Resources Forum. 29: 199–212. Timothy, D. J. (1999) Participatory planning: a view of tourism in Indonesia. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(2): 371-391. Tosun, C. (2000) Limits to participation in the tourism development process in developing countries. Tourism Management. 21: 613-633. —. (2005) Stages in the emergence of participatory tourism development approach in the Developing world. Geoforum. 36: 333–352. —. (2006) Expected nature of community development in tourism development. Tourism Management. 27: 493–504. World Travel and Tourism Council (2012) Travel and tourism economic impact 2012, Botswana. London: WTTC. Zuze, C. S. (2009) Community based natural resources management in Botswana: Practitioners’manual. Gaborone: Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

CHAPTER TEN WILL THE ‘DANCING WAVES’ BRING HARMONY TO THE LIVES OF THE POOR? MAKING A CASE FOR PRO POOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PLANNING IN ARUGAM BAY, SRI LANKA FAZEEHA AZMI

Introduction: Tourism in Sri Lanka In the global tourism industry, Sri Lanka is an attractive tourist destination due to its geographic location and the diversity of nature on offer. The island’s climate is mainly tropical and monsoonal. The central part of the island is characterised by a mountainous landscape while the rest of the island is relatively flat. Ethnically the country is divided into different groups namely, Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Christians. Sri Lanka’s population in 2011 was 22.2 million (DCS, 2011). The economy of the country was traditionally dominated by agriculture, which has now largely been replaced by the service sector which accounts for 58.5% of GDP (Central Bank Report, 2012). The tourism industry in Sri Lanka dates back to the 1960s (Guruge, 1988) though it did not initially make much impact on the economy due to its disorganised nature. In order to provide an institutional set up to boost tourism and to overcome some socioeconomic problems, the Ceylon Tourist Board (CTB) was established in 1966 (Guruge, 2009). After the establishment of the Board, tourism became one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy and expanded rapidly. During the initial years CTB provided sophisticated infrastructure to aid tourism development in the South-Western coastal areas. However, the growth trend of tourism was shattered by the 1983 ethnic riots. The tourism sector was badly affected as it made Sri Lanka a less popular tourist destination. According to CTB

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data, tourist arrivals dropped sharply between the years 1982-1986 and continued to decline until the late 1980s1 (Guruge, 2009). The war that prevailed in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009, with different temporal and spatial intensity, was a major problem for the growth of the tourism industry in the country. In 2005, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) was established in order to give a facelift to tourism which had suffered as a result of war. SLTDA is responsible for monitoring all tourism activities in the country. In the post-war years SLTDA’s role has became crucial to the development of tourism in previously inaccessible areas. The end of the war in 2009 became a milestone in Sri Lanka’s development path, opening up the potential of tourism once again. Investments are coming into the industry and a rapid growth is occurring in the sector (SLTDA, 2012). Table 10.1 shows that the number of tourist arrivals has increased since 2009. Table 10.1: Tourist arrivals from 2004-2012 Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012*

Tourist arrival 566,202 549, 308 559, 603 494,008 438,475 447,890 654,476 855,975 1,005,605

2012*: estimated Source: Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority 2012.

Tourism has also made a positive impact on Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange earnings. The tourism sector now ranks fifth in terms of Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange earnings contribution (Central Bank Report, 2012). This shows remarkable growth and achievement in the early postwar context. However, in terms of the wider development goals of the country, there is a need to question whether this healthy growth rate will help to reduce poverty throughout Sri Lanka. 1

Apart from the above internal conditions, external conditions like economic recession in Europe also created a decline in tourism arrivals.

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Sri Lanka’s present political and economic stability has created an enabling environment for tourism growth (SLTDA, 2012). The ministry of economic development of Sri Lanka has prepared a five year Master Plan for tourism development for the period 2011-2016, which is influenced by ‘Mahinda Chinthana’2-Vision for the future (Ministry of Finance and Planning 2006, 2010). The Master Plan for Tourism has outlined seven important objectives to be achieved during this five year period. They are: increasing tourist arrivals; attracting foreign direct investment; increasing tourism-related employment; distributing the economic benefits of tourism to a larger segment of society; and, integrating tourism into the real economy, thus contributing towards improving global trade and economic linkages and positioning Sri Lanka as the world’s best island for tourism. However, the objectives are weighted more towards commoditising tourism and relatively little emphasis is given to making tourism pro-poor. The unprecedented attention the government has given to boosting tourism in the post-war period has already created haphazard development in tourism planning as it targets macro-economic gains, private sector investment and foreign exchange earnings while undermining the inclusion of poor communities as active agents and partners of such development.

Tourism potential in the ‘region of sunrise’ The Eastern Province of Sri Lanka is called the ‘region of sunrise’. It comprises three administrative districts: Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara. The region is endowed with a wide variety of attractions, with perhaps the most striking being its exotic long beaches. The study area for this chapter is located in Pottuvil in the district of Ampara. Figure 10.1 shows the geographical location of the study area. Pottuvil lies within the dry zone, and the climatic conditions of the area make year-round tourism possible. The research was conducted in 20102012 in Arugam Bay which is one of the 27 local administrative divisions in the Pottuvil Divisional Secretariat division. Arugam Bay is a small fishing village and an attractive tourist resort for surfing, and is recovering from a period of economic meltdown after the 2004 tsunami. It has a population of approximately 20,000- 22,000 people. The ethnic composition of Arugam Bay reveals that the majority of the people are Muslims (90%), with a small percentage of Sinhalese (6%) and Tamils 4% also living in the 2

Development policy framework of Sri Lanka and the national development agenda.

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Figure 10.1: Location of Arugam Bay. Source: Muneera Siraj, GIS laboratory, Department of Geography, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

village. It is currently considered to be one of the ten best surfing beaches in the world (GN report, 2012). The local economic structure of Arugam Bay is mainly built on agriculture, fishing and tourism. The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami had devastating impacts on the area, both in terms of physical and human losses. More than 200 people were killed. The

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infrastructure of the village was totally destroyed and the local economy collapsed (Robinson and Jarvie, 2008).

Research approach Research problem Although the end of the war has opened up new and renewed existing avenues for income generation through tourism in the Eastern Province, the benefits of this development have increasingly being questioned due to limited consideration and involvement of poor people in the area. Informal discussions during preliminary visits to the study area with key informants and local communities revealed that poor people in the region are not meaningfully integrated into the tourism sector, despite the potential of tourism to generate wealth. Poor people in the area believe that Arugam Bay should be developed as a good tourist resort with local people’s participation, which can help alleviate poverty. Tourism can have spill over effects on the lives of villagers who are otherwise marginally connected with the mainstream development of the country.

Objective of the study The main objective of this study is to highlight the importance of a Pro Poor Tourism (PPT) plan to Arugam Bay. In order to validate this objective the study considered how poor people are currently participating in tourism; what factors influence their participation; and what effects tourism has on the lives of poor communities in this area. In order to understand these interconnected aspects, the study used a Pro Poor Tourism analytical perspective.

Analytical framework: Pro Poor Tourism The economic significance of tourism for developing countries has long been established in terms of generating foreign exchange earnings, attracting foreign investment, increasing tax income and creating new employment opportunities (Torres and Momsen, 2004; UNWTO 2006; Honey and Krantz, 2007; Harrison, 2008; Brown and Hall, 2008). Although the potential for tourism to act as a tool in regional development has been understood since the 1970s, (Sheyvens, 2007), it was not spelled out clearly in theoretical discussions on ‘development’ until the 1980s and 1990s (Harrison, 2008). Tourism development has thus focused primarily

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on generating macroeconomic growth and private-sector profit and been utilised as a development engine in many low and middle income countries. Tourism and poverty were considered to be two separate domains until the 1990s (Zhao and Ritchie, 2007). Despite the potential of tourism to act as a catalyst for development and its fast growth in many parts of the world, the link between tourism and poverty alleviation remained underexplored until this period (Ashley et al., 2001; Torres and Momsen, 2004; Harrison, 2008). At the end of the 1990s a ‘pro poor’ focus arose in discussions of development, and poverty alleviation became the primary focus of development policies and strategies (Scheyvens 2007; Scheyvnes and Momsen, 2008). Approaches to development also shifted from merely increasing income, to the distribution of income focusing on poverty reduction. The impact of this shift in focus influenced the conceptualisation of poverty, as well as the development of different poverty alleviation options. During this time, many developing countries started to feel the impact of growing international tourism and it was recognised that tourism could contribute positively to poverty alleviation (Harrison 2008). As a result the role of tourism in poverty alleviation ‘resurfaced’, in Harrison’s (2008) terms, in the late 1990s. The term ‘Pro Poor’ in tourism was first spearheaded by the British Department for International Development (DFID) in 1999 (Ashley and Roe, 2002) and a UK based collaborative research group called Pro Poor Tourism Partnership (Sofield et al., 2004, Ashley et al., 2001). Pro Poor Tourism (PPT) is defined as tourism that generates net benefits for the poor by enhancing links between tourism and poor communities3 (Ashley and Roe 2002, Goodwin 2008). PPT aims to increase tourism’s contribution to poverty elimination and to making poor people partners in tourism development. Research commissioned by the ODI showed that tourism has already made positive gains in many destination countries (Harrison, 2008) and special focus on poor communities would bring yet more benefits. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which represent a global partnership in terms of trying to address some of the world’s main development challenges, provide comprehensive definitions of development and poverty which are reflected through the goals and targets. These goals and targets paint a wider a picture of poverty. According to Ashley et al., (2001) the linking of tourism to poverty reduction and the MDG agenda provides a platform for the emergence of the ‘pro-poor tourism’ concept 3

www.propoortourism.org.uk accessed:11.12.2013

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(Ashley et al., 2001). United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2004) emphasises that the national tourism strategies and policies of developing countries should give poverty issues proper attention. In developing countries the ‘PPT’ paradigm has already started to gain currency. At present, with the growing tourism sector in developing countries and their need to address poverty, a renewed focus on tourism as a tool for poverty alleviation has received considerable attention (Chok, et al., 2007, Scheyvens and Momsen 2008) among international, national, non-governmental and private sector institutions. This is reflected in national tourism development plans of developing countries.

Research design and method The research presented in this chapter relies mainly on descriptive and exploratory tools to collect, analyse and present data. Phillimore and Goodson (2004: 5) encourage “tourism researchers to adopt a more sophisticated approach to thinking about and using qualitative research”. In this particular study the author found using qualitative research in studying tourism in Arugam Bay was appropriate due to the lack of systematic or readily available quantitative data on tourism and poverty in the region. At the beginning of the project, an exploratory pilot study was conducted, providing a very interesting and detailed account of the village context. A questionnaire was administered to obtain basic socioeconomic information of the participants and tourism-related economic activities in the area. Questionnaires were administered to 50 respondents who were selected randomly from the Samurdhi recipients list. Samurdhi is a national poverty alleviation programme introduced by the government in 1994 to alleviate poverty. Families identified as ‘poor’ in this study are recipients of Samurdhi. In order to examine the factors influencing participation of the poor in tourism and to identify the impacts of tourism on the wellbeing of poor people, individual interviews were conducted and observations were performed. Data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. When presenting quotes, pseudonyms are used to protect anonymity.

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Findings and Discussion Socioeconomic background of informants Table 10.2 shows the age and sex of respondents. During the pilot visits it was understood age and gender are important dimensions to be considered in this research as tourism activities were influenced by these factors. Table 10.2: Age and sex composition of the participants Age

Total

15-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66 and above

12 16 10 06 05 01

Sex Males 12 15 09 05 04 01

Females -01 01 01 01 --

Source: Field survey 2011

The above table shows that the majority of the participants belong to 15-25 and 26-35 age groups. Only four4 women participating in tourism are represented in the sample. Respondents identified agriculture, fishing and tourism as their main sources of income. Apart from these activities, people are also engaged in craft making, livestock keeping, and trade. However, not all residents are directly connected to tourism5.

Participation in tourism Poor people in the village are connected to tourism mainly through different economic activities they perform for their personal benefit, which are driven by individual attempts and targets. Table 10.3 shows how they are connected to tourism by different types of employment.

4

Few women who participate in tourism directly and indirectly wanted to participate in the research. 5 It was difficult to get information on the exact number of people who are indirectly connected to tourism for various reasons.

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Table 10.3: Participation in tourism by employment Sector Agriculture Fishing Services Making crafts Day paid labourers Others

Percentage 19% 13% 50% 3% 12 % 3%

Source: Field survey 2011

The majority of the people who are employed in tourism are engaged in the service sector. Tourism-related service sector employment was found to be particularly attractive to young people. Among the respondents who were engaged in service-related tourism employment, 37% were between the ages of 26-35 and 28% were between the ages of 36-45. In terms of service-related employment, people are engaged in making traditional food; working in tourist hotels and restaurants as cooks, store keepers and cleaners; providing transport services for tourists (car, taxis, vans, three wheelers, boats); working as tourist guides, and translators. These jobs are semi-skilled low paid jobs and menial in nature. As these jobs are seasonal, people engaged in the service sector get a low salary during the off season or some of them go without any jobs at all during these periods. During the off season, young people often look for alternative sources of income. Although youth are often interested in pursuing non-farm employment activities, such opportunities are largely absent in the village. As a result some are forced to go back to fishing and agriculture. Though the majority of the poor people in the village are involved in agriculture, not all of them are directly connected to tourism. It was noted that 19% of the respondents participate in agriculture related to tourism. They are mainly aged 56 and older. They grow papaya, banana and mango, selling this produce to restaurants and hotels. However, these farmers tend to have little knowledge about what hotels and restaurants require. Demand for their products is largely decided by chefs in the tourist hotels and restaurants, or by middlemen. Within agriculture some respondents were engaged in poultry related income earning activities too. They sell eggs, chicken and milk to hotels. Those who were engaged in fishing (13%) also belong to the same age group. While some of the fishermen sell their catch to tourist hotels, some of them work as tour guides and hire their boats for tourists, diversifying income earning

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opportunities. During peak seasons fishermen earn a good income as they get a relatively high price, by selling their catch to tourist hotels and restaurants. Fishermen interviewed indicated that tourists value locally caught fresh fish more than frozen fish. Apart from agriculture, people in the village have traditionally been involved in making crafts. Craft making is a labour intensive sector, predominantly populated by women, making up just 3% of the sample in this study. These women are engaged in small-scale production in their homes. Tasks include weaving mats, hand bags, caps, making coconut shell spoons and handmade ornaments, and are mainly targeted at the local market and, more recently, tourists. However, these women find it extremely difficult to obtain raw materials and necessary capital to start and continue these types of income-earning activities. They also lack market-oriented business strategies and training on packing, marketing or selling. 3% of the respondents were engaged in various other types of employment connected to tourism. Ongoing infrastructural development activities have also provided some local people with temporary employment. In addition to outsiders who come to Arugam Bay as masons, some residents were also employed in ongoing construction activities related to tourism development, mainly in unskilled or semiskilled positions. Their daily pay is comparatively low for similar jobs in other areas of the country.

Factors influencing participation Figure 10.2 was constructed based on informants’ responses to a question regarding factors influencing their participation in tourism. In order to illustrate these issues further, quotes taken from interview records are presented below.

Education Arugam Bay is a remote village and does not have good facilities in terms of education or skills training. One of the obstacles to the engagement of local people in tourism is the absence of these facilities in the village. The jobs occupied by local people in this study are menial and lowly paid, as a result of low educational levels within the local population. Among the informants only 30 % had studied up to GCE

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Figure 10.2 Factors influencing participation

(A/L)6 . When asked about the educational facilities in the village, Jaufer, 27, who works as a chef, commented: Educational facilities are very poor in Arugam Bay. As tourism is developing, it is good if the government can provide English and other foreign language training for the youth, who want to work in tourism. Some want to work as tourist guides. The problem is lack of English knowledge. Most of the tourists coming here are from English speaking countries like England and Australia.

Similar concerns were raised by other young people in the study. Along with language training, youth were also worried about training and skills for the hotel industry, which would help them access employment in 6

General Certificate in Education (Advanced Level) is the university entrance examination in Sri Lanka.

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tourism. In Sri Lanka most of the tourism related hotel schools are located in urban areas and access to such institutions is expensive and difficult for poor people in rural villages.

Assets Access to land and ownership of land are important assets in tourism. The majority of poor people in the study highlighted the problem of land ownership and access. Without formal land rights people cannot directly claim many of the benefits of tourism. Although 19% of the respondents were engaged in tourism-related agricultural activities, many of them do not own the land they farm and are instead tenants. Since the economic benefits of tourism started to become apparent, local people have had to use different strategies to try and make the best of available opportunities, as Seyyadu, 49, a farmer, explained: I sold half of my agricultural land as I needed money to build a house for local tourists. The importance of agriculture is decreasing due to tourism. Further, we can’t fight with brokers. During the peak season we can earn a lot compared to what we earned through agriculture, if we can rent out a room or a house to tourists.

As agriculture and fishing are weakly attached to the tourism industry, people are looking for different options that could bring more profit. Among the people interviewed, many were reluctant to engage in agriculture in the future as they felt that they do not get a good price for their products, even though they are sold in restaurants and hotels for much higher prices to tourists. A woman who was engaged in papaya plantation raised her concern as follows: I started to grow papaya in 2004 after tsunami. I got some money from an NGO to start this business. I have been doing this for nearly 8 years. The main problem is marketing. Now everybody, especially women in the village, are interested in growing fruit for tourist hotels. As a result supply is high and we are getting very marginal profit.

‘Home Stay’ is one of the tourism related businesses done by local people, in which they take tourists into their homes. It is done both on a ‘bed and breakfast’ basis or as continuous stays with a full meal package. With growing tourism in the village, several people have allocated one or two of their rooms for tourists. However, due to poor facilities in their homes, many poor people in the village cannot engage in this type of income earning opportunity. Some poor people among the respondents

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managed to engage in this income generating activity as they could target local tourists who came to the village looking for low budget packages. As a result some poor people could earn additional revenue during peak seasons, but for many this option was not a possibility. According to informants, tourists who come to Arugam Bay for surfing are backpackers, who look to travel on a budget. They may stay in one place from anything between two weeks and six months. Therefore, they are not looking for expensive hotels. These tourists want cheap accommodation with at least some basic facilities, as Fazly, 24, explained: Some tourists who visit our village are not coming to see its beautiful beaches only. I know a little bit of English. Some tourists, especially foreign students coming to our village, want to learn about our culture and the village life. We can provide homestay facilities for them, at least if we have good toilets and bathrooms in homes. But even to renovate or to build a new one, people do not have money.

Some informants expressed their willingness to accommodate ‘home stays’ for such tourists, but they did not have the financial capacity to build a house or a room. They also accepted that they often cannot arrange ‘home stays’ in their homes due to poor conditions.

Financial assets Start-up financial assets for tourism-related activities are a common challenge faced by all people interested in tourism, and especially the poor. Zubair is running an internet café. He said: I borrowed some money from one of my friends to start this business. At first I was selling sim cards. But when tourists come and look for internet facilities, I thought of starting my internet café. As this is a remote village, charges are a bit expensive. I want to expand this café, but my tenure contract period will be over soon. I want to move to another place and rebuild my business. But I do not have access to any credit facilities.

Increasing access to savings, credit, insurance and remittances are important in terms of financial assets for poor people to escape poverty. Most of the respondents did not have savings and they could not accumulate assets. They faced obstacles in obtaining credit to start a tourism-related business as they did not have assets as sureties. Microfinance services, banks and insurance companies often are not accessible to the poor.

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Gender Ashely et al. (2001) cite UNED (1999) that while tourism-related jobs are often filled by women in some countries, such as Bolivia where female participation is at least 60%, in Muslim countries this figure is less than 10%. Gender is an important factor in relation to career opportunities in tourism in Arugam Bay, largely due to its religious landscape. As the area is predominantly a Muslim village, religious factors influence women’s participation in tourism sector employment. I quote the concerns of one of the four women in the sample engaged in tourism: Before the development of tourism in the village, we did not have good income as we did not have a good market to sell our products. We have to take our products out of the village and sell. If you consider the time and transport cost, what we earn is very little. We sell our products to tourist shops and some beach vendors who are buying our products. Although we get a small profit we can happily spend that on our family needs such as children’s education, tuition classes, medicine and food as it is our own earning.

Other women engaged in tourism expressed similar sentiments. The findings show that tourism can play an important role in the lives of women, though many are still not actively involved. The main problem preventing many women from direct access to the tourist market is the social construction of tourism in the village with respect to women, which marginalises women and limits their participation. Further, as the village is predominantly Muslim, tailor-made programmes may need to be established in order to tap the economic potential of women in a culturally sensitive manner. Although Muslim women in urban areas such as Galle Fort, a popular tourist destination in the South, actively engage in tourism by selling hand embroidery works, ornamental products and even offering homestays for tourists, Arugam Bay is a rural community restricted by unwritten laws of culture when it comes to women’s role in tourism.

Middlemen, power and politics In relation to poor people’s access to the tourism industry, the role of middlemen is inevitable due to the absence of proper channels for connection between the industry and local people. Informants revealed that the local tourism business is under the influence of certain power groups which consist of middlemen and a few local politicians. Local peoples’ products are bought by middlemen and sold to tourist hotels and

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restaurants for higher prices. One of the respondents, Meera Lebbai, a farmer, expressed: I have a farm and have chickens and cows. As I do not have proper facilities to sell my products, a broker {Middle man} comes to my home and buys our products. We are getting a very low price for an egg and litre of milk from him. But we know he sells that to hotels for higher prices. We can’t take our products directly to the hotels.

Like in the case of Meera Lebbai, small scale producers depend heavily on such networks. Illiteracy limits their ability to directly access the market without the help of middlemen. They require technical advice, support and, particularly, understanding of the tourism industry, as well as assistance with marketing and promotion.

What are the impacts of tourism on the poor? In order to understand the impacts of tourism on poor people in the village, a question was asked about their opinion regarding the impacts of tourism on alleviating poverty and improving their living standards. Findings derived from the questionnaire are summarised in Table 10.4. Table 10.4: Opinion on tourism’s impacts on poverty alleviation Does tourism have a positive impact on poverty alleviation? Yes No Can’t say Total

Frequency 27 10 13 50

Source: Field survey, 2011

Good income According to the above table, the majority of respondents said tourism has helped them to improve their standard of living and alleviate poverty. It was pertinent to note this group was dominated by young people. A young man said; During the peak season, I worked day and night to save some money to build a small house to rent for foreign tourists. Tourism gives us a good income. I have just started to build the house. I think I can earn some

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Another young man who has completed the GCE (O/L) exam said: My parents cannot afford my education any more as we have a large family. My father is giving some money to learn English. I have already started to do a part time job in a restaurant. I think if more tourists come to Arugam Bay, people will get a good income. Rather than going for other jobs we can earn a good income from tourism.

School dropout rates are high after GCE (O/L) due to poverty and lack of good schools in the village. Many young people from poor families find tourism sector employment, especially service-related jobs, to be more attractive and beneficial to them than traditional work in agriculture or fishing. Although the majority of respondents said that tourism is helping them to move out of poverty, some were sceptical about its sustainability as they noted that the state support system to improve tourism is not propoor. They also feared that business in the future will be taken over by rich people from Colombo and by foreigners.

Loss of traditional livelihoods Rapid growth in the tourism sector is replacing the traditional livelihood of the village. A cold war is going on between the fishermen and hoteliers, as hoteliers like to keep beach fronts as private spaces. On several occasions conflict has erupted between the two parties regarding the occupation of beach space. Sulaiman and Mohamed are fishermen in Arugam Bay, both in their sixties. They expressed their concern over new tourism development activities in their village: We have been engaged in fishing for generations. We came to know that the government has made plans to move us to the lagoon. While our people are suffering few others are catching big fish in tourism business. Poor people are side-lined in tourism.

Like Sulaiman and Mohamed, other fishermen also raised concerns over newly emerging tourism activities in the village as it challenges their survival. They said fishermen’s access to the beach in surrounding areas has already been curtailed due to massive tourism projects. They fear new projects will further curtail their fishing space in the future.

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However, a key informant associated with private sector tourism had a rather different view, indicative of the conflict between these different groups in the area: Traditional fishing is losing importance. Because of traditional methods of fishing, the beautiful beach areas of Arugam Bay are getting polluted when fishermen dry fish and dispose of garbage on the beach. This situation may lead to a bad environment that will not be liked by tourists. If fishermen are moved to the lagoon for fishing, hoteliers can attract more tourists.

Increasing employment in the informal sector Opportunities for informal sector jobs7 are increasing in tourism. 25% of the respondents, who mainly belong to the age group 46+, were worried that informal jobs may keep poor people in poverty for a long time. One of them reflected: The sea is our main resource. When people are moving out of fishing and agriculture, they have to think whether they will be able to do other jobs continuously. As tourism is seasonal, many people engaged in tourism become unemployed during the off seasons.

The above respondent’s concerns were reiterated by many people. Tourism creates a wide range of employment opportunities and the number of informal sector opportunities is also high, but is seasonal. However, instead of considering informal sector employment as a problem in tourism, the government could support the people engaged in this sector as it is very productive in generating employment to people who are poor, illiterate or less well educated.

Conclusion and recommendations The findings of this study show that poor people are participating in tourism directly and indirectly through different types of employment. Poor people have identified level of education, assets, gender and politics, power and middlemen as major factors influencing (and limiting) their participation. They also have identified lack of finance, credit, or loan facilities to set up new tourism related businesses or to improve the 7

The ‘informal sector’ is difficult to define though a significant proportion of the Sri Lankan labour force is engaged in this sector. This sector provides insecure, unsafe, unprotected, low quality, low paying, labour intensive jobs. In this unorganised sector, poor employment practices dominate.

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existing ones as major problems they face. Arugam Bay has great potential to capitalise on the benefits of tourism. While the government is concentrating on supporting large scale tourism-related infrastructure developments in the Eastern region as a whole, it should not undermine the potential of small scale business enterprises in which poor people can become involved. In this study it was revealed that small scale enterprises are operating on the margins of the tourism industry. In order to contribute to poverty alleviation through tourism, government authorities can promote tourism-related activities that help poor communities’ access to the market; create and promote new and traditional income-generating activities; and support the traditional methods of livelihood upon which local people’s lifestyles are based. Tourism has been identified as a major driver for economic growth and job creation by GoSL in the postwar context. The Government has already prepared plans for tourism development in Arugam Bay. While these plans are mainly targeted towards capitalising on tourism to provide quality services to tourists, less attention is paid to people involved in the supply side, and especially those who are at the bottom end of this. Capitalising on the opportunities that tourism can bring could really benefit the village, in terms of upward economic mobility, regional development, income distribution, employment, improvement in living conditions, and so on. Any such attempt should incorporate a systematic approach, involving all the main stakeholders including the local community. It is important to consider that opportunities for participation in tourism are not equally accessible to all in the village and especially for the poor. Gender, age and power are some of the other dimensions which should not be overlooked in developing tourism in Arugam Bay. As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, the government and others who work with tourism and poor people should have a broader picture of PPT. Pro Poor Tourism calls for diversity of action, from planning, policy making, product and development to marketing. However, PPT strategies do not always work positively for the poor (Torres and Momsen 2004). PPT should go hand in hand with changes in the conceptualisation of development and poverty. Croes (2012), when assessing Sen’s capability approach in tourism development, argues that tourism growth often neglects broader human development issues. Human development is essential for reaping the benefits of tourism as identified by the respondents in this study. Although there are some NGOs engaged in such activities in the village, they are underfinanced and so restricted from expanding any such programmes. Key informant interviews emphasised the need for a well-organised tourism plan for the area

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focusing on human resource development as well as tourism development. Their concerns were also related to the fact that tourism in the area should connect fishermen, farmers, and all others who are involved in different sectors related to tourism. Although there is no open commitment to PPT in Arugam Bay yet, the research here suggests that tourism can contribute to poverty alleviation if handled properly. Positive attitudes towards tourism benefits show that local people are willing to get involved in tourism. It is important to acknowledge that Arugam Bay’s tourism is based not only on its natural resources but also on its human resources. The political wish for economic benefits from tourism in the area may marginalise the local poor people and increase social and economic inequality further if poor people are not fully involved in the process. There is an urgent need for the government to draft a more systematic, comprehensive and coherent policy and legislative framework to guide tourism planning in a sustainable manner to raise the standard of living of poor people in the region. Arugam Bay will be a ‘gold mine’ in tourism if proper and careful tourism planning is done and it is important that local people can share in this glittering future.

References Ashley, C., Roe, D., and Goodwin, H. (2001) Pro-poor tourism strategies: Making tourism work for the poor: A review of experience (No. 1). Iied. Ashley, C. and Roe, D. (2002) Making tourism work for the poor: Strategies and challenges in Southern Africa. Development Southern Africa. 9(1): 61-82 Brown, F. and Hall, D. (2008) Tourism and development in the Global South: the issues. Third World Quarterly. 29(5): 839-849. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. (2012) Annual Report 2012. Colombo: Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Chok, S., Macbeth, J. and Warren, C. (2007) Tourism as a tool for poverty alleviation: A critical analysis of ‘Pro- Poor Tourism’ and implications for sustainability. Current issues in Tourism. 10(2-3): 144-165 Croes, R. (2012) Assessing tourism development from Sen’s capability approach. Journal of Travel Research. 51: 542-54. Department of Census and Statistics. (2011) Population and Housing Data. Colombo: Government Press. Goodwin, H. (2008) Tourism, local economic development and poverty reduction. Applied Research in Economic Development. 5,(3):55.-64 Grama Niladhari Report (2012) Arugambay GN Division. Pottuvil.

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Guruge, K. G. (1988) The growth of coastal tourism and its socio economic impact: A comparative study of three regions selected from the south coast of Sri Lanka. Unpublished M.A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. —. (2009) The impact of International Tourism on peripheral regions: The case of Sri Lanka. Kelaniya: Research Centre for Social Science (ROSS). Harrison, D. (2008) Pro-poor Tourism: a critique. Third World Quarterly. 29(5): 851-868. Honey, M. and Krantz, D. (2007) Global Trends in Coastal Tourism. Washington DC: Stanford University. Ministry of Finance and Planning (2006) The Mahinda Chintanaya; Ten Years Horizon Development Framework, 2006-2016, Vision for a New Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka. Colombo: Ministry of Finance and Planning, Department of National Planning. —. (2010) The Development Policy Framework, Mahinda Chintana Vision for the Future, Sri Lanka, The Emerging Wonder of Asia, Sri Lanka. Colombo: Ministry of Finance and Planning, Department of National Planning. Phillimore, J. and Goodson, L. (eds) Qualitative research in tourism: Ontologies, Epistemologies and Methodologies. Oxon: Routledge. Robinson, L. and Jarvie, J.K. (2008) Post-disaster community tourism recovery: the tsunami and Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka. Disasters. 32(4): 631í645 Scheyvens, R. (2007) Exploring the tourism – poverty nexus. Current Issues in Tourism. 10(2-3):231-254. Scheyvnes, R. and Momsen, J.H. (2008) Tourism and poverty reduction: Issues for small island states. Tourism Geographies. 10(1): 22–41. Sofield, T., De Lacy, T., Lipman, G. and Daugherty, S.A. (2004) Sustainable tourism - eliminating poverty: An overview. University of Tasmania: Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (2012) Annual Statistical Report of Sri Lankan Tourism -2011, Sri Lanka. Colombo: Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. —. (2008) Tourism Development in Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Colombo: SLTDA. Torres, R. and Momsen, J.H. (2004) Challenges and potential for linking tourism and agriculture to achieve pro-poor tourism objectives. Progress in Development Studies. 4(4): 294-318.

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United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2006) Poverty alleviation through tourism: A compilation of good practices. Madrid, Spain: UNWTO. Zhao,W. and Ritchie, J.R. B. (2007) Tourism and poverty alleviation: An integrative research framework. Current issues in Tourism. 10(23):119-143.

CHAPTER ELEVEN WILDLIFE TOURISM EXPERIENCES: CASE STUDIES FROM RURAL TANZANIA EMMANUEL SULLE, HOLTI BANKA AND JANEMARY NTALWILA

Introduction For almost two decades, both the government and conservation organisations in Tanzania have been working on the development of community-based wildlife tourism, hoping to enhance earnings from tourism ventures, reduce poverty, and thus promote rural participation in wildlife conservation. This endeavour has been part of a wider reform undertaken in many sub-Saharan African states to implement communitybased natural resource management (CBNRM) aimed at decentralising ownership and management of wildlife and tourism sectors. Conservation stakeholders in Tanzania embarked upon the establishment of Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in village lands to enable villagers to manage wildlife, and earn revenue from both consumptive and non-consumptive tourism activities within their village lands. Although WMAs have resulted in increased tourism investments in a number of villages in which they have been established, tourism activities are also taking place in villages without WMAs. In this chapter, we underline the potential of wildlife tourism to help lift communities out of poverty. However, we suggest that this potential is not being realised, as a result of factors such as corruption, centralised decision making and conflicting interests of consumptive and non-consumptive tour operators. The majority of tourists who visit Africa’s protected areas do so mainly for game viewing purposes. This has led many African governments to invest in the conservation of wildlife resources as they significantly contribute to a country’s GDP. However, communities residing adjacent to protected areas often have different views about the

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impacts of these tourism activities. While some see the conservation of wildlife as a source of loss of their livestock, crops and to some extent, loss of people’s lives (Neumann, 1998; Davis 2011; Snyder and Sulle 2011), others see it as an opportunity for income generation. Nevertheless, the recent initiatives adopted by many African countries to engage communities in community-based wildlife conservation can bring some benefits to those communities residing near protected areas (Goldman, 2003; Ntalwila, 2007). In Tanzania, the economic reforms of the 1980s resulted in increased local and foreign investment (Nelson et al 2009; Nelson 2011). As a result, significant growth of the tourism industry was observed in the country and, by 2001, the industry generated approximately US$725 million (World Bank, 2002). By 2012, the revenue from tourism rose to approximately US$ 1.7 billion (URT, 2013). This growth in the tourism industry highlighted the need to develop tourism and investment alternatives outside the popular areas of Tanzania’s national parks (Nelson, 2004). Loliondo division in Ngorongoro District in northern Tanzania, with its rich diversity of both wildlife resources and cultural values, was among the first areas that pioneered a community-based tourism model with major activities including walking safaris, photography, and camping (Nelson, 2004). Informed by the authors’ recent research and field experience in Tanzania (Nelson et al 2006; Ntalwila 2007; Sulle 2007, 2008; Sulle et al 2011; Snyder and Sulle 2011), this chapter provides an analysis of wildlife tourism in Enduiment WMA, and village–tour operator arrangements in Ololosokwan Village in northern Tanzania. We discuss the impacts of these wildlife tourism initiatives on the livelihoods of rural communities, their sustainability, policy enablers and constraints. Through these case studies, a major issue concerning the operation of wildlife tourism in rural areas comes to light: communities are over-charged by the national government on the revenues generated from wildlife tourism conducted in their areas, thus leaving them with few benefits. This in turn discourages many rural communities from participating in conservation and tourism initiatives. Wildlife tourism in rural Tanzania provides an opportunity for participating communities to generate income whilst also improving the sustainability of conservation in those areas. In practical terms, however, wildlife tourism is largely state-run through patronage and control over revenue generated from related activities and local people do not benefit fully from the activities taking place within their communities. We argue that until the communities have realised tangible benefits from wildlife

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tourism, they will not ‘buy into’ the conservation elements linked to tourism activities. As such, the benefits of tourism will be only be felt by a few local and national elites in partnership with some private national and multinational companies. This argument has been made by a number of other scholars who have demonstrated the corruption practices in this sector (See Cooksey, 2011; Nelson, 2011; Benjaminsen et al., 2013). In this chapter we argue that the current status of community-based wildlife tourism in Tanzania illustrates how well-intentioned initiatives have been altered following policy changes and inadequate implementation of the existing legal and institutional frameworks. This is to the detriment of both local communities and conservation initiatives.

The role of wildlife tourism in Tanzania’s economy Wildlife tourism is the major source of revenue for Tanzania, particularly from non-consumptive (game viewing) and consumptive tourism, which includes hunting concessions and trophy licenses, as well as the export of live animals. It is estimated that 90 percent of tourism is based on wildlife (Development Partner Group – Environment, 2006). Wildlife hunting is seasonal, from July to December, and usually takes place in game reserves, game controlled areas and in ‘open areas’ some of which are now incorporated in WMAs. Citizens and local residents usually hunt for bush-meat, while trophy hunting is only possible under a more expensive tourist-hunting license. The Tanzania Tourism Board (TTB) is determined to push Tanzania’s global tourism position from 90th to 75th place, by strengthening the local tourism infrastructure (Ippmedia Oct 11, 2013). Indeed, as illustrated in Table 11.1 below, the number of tourist arrivals has been rising and the contribution of tourism to the national economy has been steady. The revenue patterns in the table do show a slight decline in revenue accrued from tourism during the financial crisis of 2008/2009. There are many reasons why Tanzania is an attractive place for viewing wildlife. An unparalleled one-quarter of its surface area has been set aside for conservation purposes, with the world-renowned Serengeti National Park and the vast Selous Game Reserve heading a rich mosaic of protected areas that collectively harbour an estimated 20 percent of Africa’s large mammal population (URT, 2013). These conserved areas are not enclosed, thus allowing the natural movement of wildlife from the parks to village lands and WMAs adjacent to these parks. This has thus enabled tour operators to bring in tourists for game viewing, walking safaris and many other tourism activities in these areas.

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Table 11.1: International Visitor and Receipts in Tanzania, 1995-2012 Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Number of Visitor Arrivals 295,312 326,188 359,096 482,331 627,325 501,669 525,000 575,000 576,000 582,807 612,754 644,124 719,031 770,376 714,367 782,699 867,994 1,077,058

Annual Change (%) 12.89 10.46 10.09 34.32 30.06 -20.03 4.65 9.52 0.17 1.18 4.8 5.12 11.62 7.14 -7.27 9.50 10.89 24

Receipts (US $ Mill) 259.44 322.37 392.39 570.00 733.28 739.06 725.00 730.00 731.00 746.02 823.05 950.00 1,198.76 1,288.70 1,159.82 1,254.50 1,353.29 1,712.75

Receipts (TZS Mill) 155,663.00 194,220.00 235,446.00 370,500.00 586,624.00 628,201.00 665,115.001 705,618.002 759,070.403 812,676.894 929,058.845 1,079,137.006 1,290,542.257 1,520,429.10 8 1,511’704.599 1,767,967.8510 2,107,613.85 2,691,929.18

Source: Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT), Tourism Division, 2013

Since wildlife tourism in rural areas is taking place on village lands, it is vital that the villagers’ access to land ownership and other land-based resources are clearly defined. Any form of tourism activity that excludes villagers’ access to such resources and tangible benefits is unlikely to work. It is also crucial that forms of revenue sharing are clearly (re)defined to suit the interests of the villagers and other participants in the process. The current benefit sharing system does not seem to encourage villagers adjacent to protected areas to engage in conservation activities, resulting in increased illegal activities such as poaching and logging.

The origins of wildlife tourism in rural Tanzania Many have argued that the presence of pristine wilderness in parts of Africa is the result of colonial conservation ideologies (Neumann, 1997; Robbins, 2004), later sustained by international conservation organisations

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(Neumann, 1998; Neumann, 2000; Mkumbukwa 2008; Minwary 2009). Under these ideologies, wildlife resources are policed by the game rangers and the central government discharges the managerial and revenue collection roles. As a result, in the mid-1980s Tanzania experienced widespread poaching resulting in the loss of almost half of the country’s elephant population and almost half of its black rhinos (WSRTF, 1995). In response to increased poaching incidences, the government formed the Wildlife Sector Reform Task Force (WSRTF). The WSRTF’s suggestion was the establishment and implementation of Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) as a means towards the devolution of natural resource management and transferring responsibilities to communities in collaboration with other stakeholders, such as the private sector and NGOs. The underpinning idea behind the CBNRM is recognition that communities surrounding protected areas are better placed to safeguard them than state policing. As such, community-based conservation was designed as a way to encourage the participation of local communities and to create space for income to be earned from the tourism activities occurring on their land as an incentive. This scheme was further reinforced through the implementation of the 1998 Wildlife Policy, which created an opportunity for local people to participate, manage, control and benefit from wildlife and other resources found within their localities (URT, 1998). The 1998 Wildlife Policy was the first government document to recognise the importance of local communities’ participation (Shauri, 1999; Nelson et al., 2006; Wilfred, 2010) and the need for communities to earn income from their conservation efforts. The recognition of communities’ access to wildlife and other natural resources was re-emphasised in the Wildlife Policy of 2007: The government will ensure that Tanzanians have right to legal access to wildlife and wetland resources. The government will also promote development of village communities living in or close to wildlife and wetland areas (except in NCA) through facilitating establishment of WMAs. (WPT 2007: 27)

Nonetheless, the WPT 2007 removed many clauses that encouraged the participation of rural communities that were provided in the WPT 1998 and re-affirmed the old style of state control over natural resources (Benjaminsen et al., 2011). Although the revised Wildlife Conservation Act (2009) formalised wildlife conservation in village lands through WMAs, it also strengthened state intervention in the management of WMAs, including the unfair revenue sharing procedures.

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Following on from this, wildlife tourism in rural areas is yet to realise its potential as an effective strategy to raise conservation awareness among rural communities and create broad-based growth – which is much needed to reduce poverty. This potential may be realised, however, if the longtouted decentralisation of wildlife1 is practically implemented in the country’s second largest economic sector - tourism. Decentralisation in Tanzania can work if the power and money are shared with local people, and thus in the long run it may change local community attitudes towards wildlife conservation, and may result in reduced poaching in these areas. In the following sections we present two case studies that illustrate some of these issues, based on research in Enduiment WMA and in Ololosokwan Village.

Enduiment WMA Enduiment WMA comprises nine villages. It lies in Olmolog and Tinga Tinga Wards, Enduiment Division in the West Kilimanjaro Basin of Longido District in northern Tanzania (Figure 11.1). Enduiment WMA falls in the Lake Natron Game Controlled Area, which occupies about 95 percent of the Longido District land. The WMA is located within wildlife rich areas, home to over 40 species of wildlife and a high variety of bird life, including migratory flamingos which have their only breeding area at Lake Natron (Nelson et al., 2006; Ntalwila, 2007; Minwary, 2009). As a result, the district attracts a lot of tourists for game watching (night viewing, walking safaris and bird watching). The Enduiment Division covers an area of 128,179 hectares of which 86 percent is set aside for the wildlife management area (WMA). All nine villages share, in different percentages, the remaining 14 percent of the land (HDIC, 2010). Sinya Village, for instance, has allocated more than 95 percent of its land to the WMA (Sulle et al., 2011). The area has a touristhunting block. Tour operators manage a number of lodges and camps from which tourists conduct photographic and walking safaris, as well as specialist bird watching (HDIC, 2010).

1

Decentralisation in this context means the transfer of administrative and managerial powers over wildlife resources found in WMA or village land to those grassroots authorities.

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Figure 11.1: Map of Enduiment WMA. Source: www.honeyguide.org

The WMA was proposed in 1997 following stakeholder meetings, organised by the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) – a Washingtonbased NGO. National and international researchers had reported that a large number of elephants had been lost in the area, and this motivated a variety of stakeholders to establish the WMA as one of the solutions to address this problem. Like other WMAs, the whole WMA formation in the District was financed and supervised by the AWF, in collaboration with District Natural Resources officials. The WMA was awarded ‘user rights’2 in 2007. The establishment of the WMA in Enduiment was a catalyst for further development of the already existing photographic, walking safaris and bird watching tourism in the area. Since the establishment of the WMA the 2

Here‘user right’ means permission granted by the Director of Wildlife to an Authorised Association (AA) to utilise wildlife resources in a Wildlife Management Area in accordance with the WMA’s Regulations (URT 2005).

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number of tourists visiting the area has increased, with the number of lodges also increasing and the existing ones expanding. In the past five years, the WMA has increased its revenue rental fees and quota revenue from the hunting company, as shown in Table 11.2. Table 11.2: WMA income from photographic tourism Year 2007 2008 2009 2010

Income (US$) 10,713 18,973 37,324 25,545 3

Source: Enduiment WMA implementation report 2003-2010

Revenue is equally distributed among the WMA member villages. Villages spend the money according to their priorities. During the year 2010-2011, villagers’ focused on education and each village picked eight students whose secondary school education fees were paid by the WMA. However, Enduiment WMA still lacks good infrastructure, such as roads and social services. There are few teachers and only one secondary school servicing about four villages with more than 33,000 people (HDIC, 2010). As a result of increased conservation efforts in the WMA, the number of wildlife has increased as well. This has led to increased awareness about the benefits of conservation among the villagers who have set aside their land for the WMA. Increased patrols by the Village Game Scouts have also contributed to raising awareness. The WMA Authorized Association employs Game Scouts from each of the member villages. It is one of the WMA constitutional requirements that each member village should benefit equally from opportunities arising from the WMA. While this equal sharing of benefits amongst the WMA member villages is good news for ecologists, conservationists, tour operators, WMA leaders, and some of the local community, it is somewhat a burden to common pastoralists. Due to poor control systems, there is an increasing number of human-wildlife conflicts in the WMA area. Human-wildlife conflicts in Tanzania remain a major challenge that faces communities practicing conservation initiatives and/or those living adjacent to major national 3

The decrease in the income figures might be as a result of CITES getting 35 percent of income generated in the WMA, and also the impact of decline in the number of tourists visiting the country due to the global financial crisis of 2008/2009.

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parks, game reserves, and/or game controlled areas. Wildlife destroy crops in peoples’ farms, eat domestic animals and attack people. For instance, the 2010 HDIC survey conducted in the WMA found that more than half of the people interviewed (124 or 73.8 percent) consider animal destruction of crops to be their main conflict with the wildlife programme in the WMA. The survey found that human attacks ranked second (HDIC, 2010: 34). Minwary (2009) also observed high levels of human-wildlife conflicts in the WMA. This is substantiated by the Budget speech of the Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism. During the financial year 2010-2011, a total of approximately TZS 37 million (roughly US$ 23, 758) was paid to 371 farmers whose farms, estimated at 5,390 hectares, were destroyed in Longido, Karagwe, Morogoro, Siha and Iringa rural districts (URT, 2011). The report further states that the ministry has continued to implement its programme of giving ‘consolation’ to citizens whose crops have been destroyed by wildlife and to families that have had members injured or killed by dangerous animals. The majority of the people in wildlife rich areas, however, remain unhappy with the current state of the Wildlife Policy and Act which only offer ‘consolation’ payment and not full compensation. This makes many people believe that the government is pro wildlife, because when an elephant is attacked many forces will be deployed to arrest the culprit, but once a villager is harmed, no quick response is provided and the affected family has to wait a long time to receive an insignificant amount of money as consolation. As wildlife and the revenue from the WMA increases, management challenges arise. Villagers in Enduiment WMA are also trying to understand how the revenue from the WMA is shared, and how these revenues could help address the growing human-wildlife conflicts (HDIC, 2010; Sulle et al., 2011). Our observation, which can be extended to all WMAs and not just Enduiment WMA, is that the successes of WMAs cannot be clearly assessed yet. WMA revenues keep growing, but the conservation efforts among the participating villages and individual villagers remain low or absent. Sulle et al. (2011:2) observe: WMAs have thus played a central role in Tanzania’s wildlife management, policy and law for more than a decade. Despite such experience, it remains unclear how WMAs are fulfilling their objectives related to rural economic development, enterprise development and wildlife conservation. Many WMAs have been relatively slow to develop, and a number of reviews and independent research during the past five years since the first WMAs were

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gazetted in 2006, have detailed a range of institutional and management challenges facing WMAs.

Indeed, as we illustrate above, although the local communities have been gaining some benefits from wildlife tourism occurring in the WMA, these benefits are limited and they still suffer from poverty, inadequate resources and wildlife-based conflicts. Until these issues are resolved, it is difficult to see how villagers will be incentivised to engage further in conservation efforts.

Community-based tourism in Ololosokwan Village Ololosokwan village, within Loliondo Division, Ngorongoro District offers another example of some of the conflicts and tensions that can occur between local communities and authorities keen to promote tourism and/or conservation. The village borders both Serengeti National Park and Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya (Figure 11.2), and is one of the richest villages in Tanzania in terms of wildlife resources. The village is within migratory routes and hundreds of wildebeest pass through the village as they migrate from Serengeti plains to Maasai Mara in Kenya and back. Apart from migratory species, the village harbours other resident species such as elephants, Grant gazelles, Thomson gazelles, zebra and many predator species. More than 90 percent of people living in the village are agro-pastoralist Maasai (Nelson, 2004: 10). For many years, the Maasai community in this area has been in conflict with the government and the wildlife management authorities over resource management, especially wildlife (Homewood and Rodgers, 1991; Shivji and Kapinga, 1998). Land disputes over village and park boundaries are continuous and have resulted in increased conflicts between local communities and the park management authorities. Ololosokwan Village was one of the first areas to pioneer ecotourism (Nelson, 2004) in northern Tanzania through joint ventures between the village and photographic tour operators. The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding on resource management activities that were to be undertaken in the area and payments to be given to the communities. Through the new Village Land Act No. 5 of 1999, which provides power to the Village Council and Village Assembly to manage and administer the village land as they consider necessary and desirable, Ololosokwan Village was able to use its legal mandate to enter into successful joint ventures with tour operators, offering them direct benefits from the natural resources available in the

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Figure 11.2: Map of Ololosokwan Village. Source: Map prepared for authors by Hamza Kija, TAWIRI GIS Expert, 2014.

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village. As a result, the village has gained a substantial amount of revenue from tourism that has contributed to the improvement of community livelihoods. Ololosokwan Village has earned significant revenue from wildlife viewing and photographic tourism, through partnerships with tour operators. Ololosokwan has contracts with Conservation Cooperation Africa (CCA), Sokwe Asilia, Nomad Tanzania and Unique Safaris. The village earns annual land rent and bed night fees from CC Africa, and bed night fees from Sokwe and Nomad. Unlike CC Africa which owns a lease, and was thus able to build a permanent structure (lodge), the last two companies (Nomad and Sokwe) only have permission to use village land for temporary camping. The village’s earnings from these investments have increased: between 2000 and 2002 the village earned an average of US$ 57,000 per annum (Nelson, 2004). The earnings increased significantly in 2006-2007 up to approximately US$ 96,000 per year (Sulle, 2007; also see Figure 11.3 below). The village’s revenue comes from the tourists’ bed fees and land rent. In addition, as part of their employment strategies and corporate social responsibility, the tour companies provide jobs for the local communities. For example, CC Africa employs doctors and nurses permanently based in the village health centre. Between 2006 and 2007, 33 staff with CC Africa were from Ololosokwan Village, with 30 being permanent employees and three in training, earning a total income of US$ 200,643 (approximately TZS 249.5 million) (Sulle 2007). From our research, we have observed that rural communities seem more interested in non-consumptive tourism, than consumptive uses, because non-consumptive tourism activities, such as cultural tourism programmes and photographic safaris, are managed by villages’ councils. On the other hand, consumptive tourism, such as tourist hunting, is an activity that is carried out in Game Controlled Areas (GCA), and is directly managed by the Wildlife Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. Communities feel that under consumptive tourism, which seems to generate more tourism income, they are not fully engaged and do not receive tangible benefits from businesses, even though the hunting takes place on their village land. Ololosokwan Village earned roughly US$ 165,000 (approximately TZS 210 million) in six years from photographic (non-consumptive) tourism between 1998 and 2003 (Ololosokwan Village Council, 2004; Sulle 2007). In contrast, the village was able to collect only US$ 17,650 (TZS 22.5 million) from Otterlo Business Corporation (OBC) a hunting company (consumptive tourism) over ten years, between 1994 and 2003 (Ololosokwan Village Council, 2004). This low level of income has

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contributed to local communities’ negative attitudes towards hunting companies operating on the village land. Ololosokwan village-Revenue from Tourism, 2000-2010

Revenue received (Tanzania shillings)

200,000,000.00 180,000,000.00 160,000,000.00 140,000,000.00 120,000,000.00 100,000,000.00 80,000,000.00 60,000,000.00 40,000,000.00 20,000,000.00 2010 (Jan-May)

2009 (Jan-Dec)

2008 (Jan-Dec)

2007 (Jan-Dec)

2006 (Jan-Dec)

2005 (Ag-Dec)

2003 (Jan-Apr)

2002 (Jan-Dec)

2001 (Jan-Dec)

2000 (Jan-Dec)

-

Figure 11.3: Revenue trends from tourism business at Ololosokwan village. Source: Ololosokwan Village Office (obtained by Sulle, August 2012)

Using the revenue generated from non-consumptive tourism, communities in Ololosokwan Village were able to send their children to school by paying for their fees and other expenses, from secondary schools to universities (Sosovele, 2005; Sulle, 2007). This achievement has been a result of the community’s ability to use political processes in claiming benefits accrued from natural resources within their village land. Community members in Ololosokwan Village have benefited from social services such as schools, dispensaries, and the village office for individual grants for healthcare and school fees at both secondary school and university. For example, since the formulation of community based

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tourism in Ololosokwan Village, revenue received has supported 140 students with their school fees, (128 at secondary school and 12 at the university level), payments for hospital bills, and construction of community social service infrastructures such as primary and secondary schools, and dispensaries. Furthermore, the community-based tourism programme has created employment for more than 37 villagers and has helped in the creation of serial banks and microcredit schemes (Olosokwan Village Council records). This has increased the motivation for community members to support the conservation of wildlife with a feeling that wildlife resources play a significant role in the community’s livelihood improvement. Based on the above benefits accrued by the communities, it is clear from a financial and social point of view why communities support photographic tourism over hunting tourism. Not only does the former earn them significant amounts of revenue, but, more importantly, it co-exists with the rest of the communal (human) activities, i.e. pastoralism. In contrast, hunting tourism is naturally restrictive. Sport hunters do not want to see cattle or humans disturb them while shooting their trophies. Government support for hunting tourism is controversially based on both ecological and revenue generation motives in village lands, as the communities believe that hunting companies do pay higher revenues to the central treasury in comparison to what the community receives (Sulle, 2008). Suddenly, though, in mid-2010, Ololosokwan Village lost its opportunity to engage in lucrative photographic tourism after two of the main operators (Nomads and Sokwe) significantly reduced efforts to take tourists to the village because of the on-going conflict between the village and the hunting company (OBC). The core cause of this problem has been the conflicting policies and legislation regarding management of natural resources in the country (Sachedina. 2008, Nelson. 2011; Benjaminsen et al., 2013). These contradicting regulations frustrated the non-consumptive tour operators, forcing them to leave the area. As shown in Figure 11.3 above, the departure of the two non-consumptive tour companies in Ololosokwan led to a sharp decline in the village earnings. Conflicts between the hunting and photographic tour operators is attributed to the fact that the latter want their clients to photograph live animals, while the hunting operators want to use the same resources consumptively (Sachedina, 2008) i.e. to hunt them for trophies and/or sports. Although the revised Wildlife Policy of 2007 gives some power to communities to manage wildlife resources on village land, the tourist hunting regulation of 2000 prohibits the operation of any tourist

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businesses within a specified hunting block. Unfortunately, the majority of the hunting blocks are found in Game Controlled Areas which overlap with village lands. According to Nelson (2013), these conflicts are not about conservation per se, but rather about who benefits from conservation in a context where wildlife is one of the most economically valuable natural resources. While many village lands still fall under GCAs and some are still operating photographic and hunting tourism activities, it is unclear how the two will operate in harmony. The Wildlife Conservation Act of 2009 prohibits both livestock grazing (Section 20) and crop cultivation (Section 21) in GCAs, activities that previously were never legally restricted. Thus, there is an urgent need to harmonise the Village Land Act of 1995 and the Wildlife Conservation Act of 2009. In addition, the village is experiencing a serious land dispute with the on going re-demarcation of Serengeti National Park. Some parts of village lands are currently falling into the park and vice versa, thus increasing conflict between the two. This, to some extent, has resulted in less engagement in tourism business and more in resolving the disputes, thus losing further revenue. The case of tourism in Ololosokwan Village provides significant lessons that once conducted in a clear and participatory way, nonconsumptive tourism has higher benefits to communities than consumptive tourism does. This can thus contribute positively towards sustainable conservation of wildlife in their village lands, but may not be as financially lucrative to outside investors and the government.

Conclusions In this chapter, we have illustrated how wildlife tourism operates in rural Tanzania. This kind of tourism can and does benefit local communities through revenue generation, and provision of jobs and services. When villagers absorb these benefits, they are more inclined to support conservation efforts, as they see the value of wildlife to their own lives and well-being as a result of associated tourism activities. However, due to a combination of corruption, centralised decision-making, conflicting interests of consumptive and non-consumptive tour operators and other issues of power and control, we have shown that local communities often do not receive concrete benefits from tourism in their villages, and so are not inclined to support conservation efforts. The two cases discussed in this chapter show that wildlife tourism remains an important economic and conservation opportunity for rural communities and the nation at large. However, in its current form of state

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control, rampant corruption and unfair distribution of resources, it is not a very effective or appealing economic, social and conservation activity for rural communities. We argue that relevant authorities should harmonise and reduce these differences and ensure that communities living adjacent to protected areas benefit equally from wildlife resources, especially tourist activities that are undertaken on their village lands. This will help ensure the success of both tourism and conservation initiatives such as WMAs. However, emerging resource-based conflicts pose a significant threat to the sustainability of these initiatives as well as the whole tourism industry in the country. It is important for policy makers, politicians and all other stakeholders in this industry to understand that the sustainability of the tourism industry is attached to the country’s peace and stability. As such, all conflicts - including human-wildlife conflicts - must be addressed in a comprehensive and participatory manner.

References Benjaminsen, T. I, Bryceson, I.,F., Maganga, F. and Refseth, T. (2011) Conservation and land grabbing in Tanzania. Paper presented at the International Conference on Land Grabbing, 6-8 April 2011, at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK. Benjaminsen, T. A., Goldman, M. J., Minwary, M. Y. and Maganga, F. P. (2013) Wildlife management in Tanzania: State control, rent seeking and community resistance. Development and Change. 44: 1087–1109. Cooksey, B. (2011) Public goods, rent and business in Tanzania. Africa Power and Politics Programme, Background Paper 01. London: Overseas Development Institute. Davis, A. (2011) “Ha! What is the benefit of living next to the Park?” Factors limiting in-migration next to Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. Conservation and Society. 9(1): 25–34. Goldman, M. (2003) Partitioned nature, privileged knowledge: Communitybased conservation in Tanzania. Development and Change. 34 (5): 833-862. HDIC (Health and Development International Consultants) (2010) Socioeconomic baseline studies in selected Wildlife Management Areas under the Financial Crisis Initiative/Cash-for-Work Program. Report prepared for WWF – USAID fund. Homewood, K. M., and Rodgers, W.A. (1991) Maasailand ecology: Pastoralist development and wildlife conservation in Ngorongoro, Tanzania. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Sachedina, H. (2008).Wildlife is our oil: conservation, livelihoods and NGOs in the Tarangire ecosystem, in Tanzania. PhD thesis: University of Oxford. Shauri, V. (1999) The New Wildlife Policy in Tanzania: Old wine in a new bottle? Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT) Policy Brief No. 3. Dar es Salaam: LEAT Shivji, I. G. and Kapinga, W. B. (1998) Maasai rights in Ngorongoro, Tanzania. London: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Snyder, K. and Sulle, E. (2011) Tourism in Maasai communities: a chance to improve livelihoods? Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 19(8): 935951. Sosovele, H. 2005. Tourism development and poverty reduction initiatives from Tanzania: Lessons for practice. University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Institute of Resources Assessment. Sulle, E. (2007) The contribution of tourism to local communities (Tanzania unpublished report) Arusha: Sand County Foundation. —. (2008). Wildlife-based revenue transparency performance in Longido and Simanjiro Districts. HAKIKAZI CATALYST report. Sulle, E., Lekaita, E. and Nelson, F. (2011) From promise to performance? Wildlife Management Areas in Northern Tanzania. a Research Report for Tanzania Natural Resource Forum, Arusha. URT (United Republic of Tanzania) (1998) The wildlife policy of Tanzania. Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Wildlife Division, Dar es Salaam: United Republic of Tanzania. —. (2007) Wildlife Policy of Tanzania; Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dar es Salaam: United Republic of Tanzania —. (2011) Hotuba ya Waziri wa Maliasili na Utalii Mheshimiwa Ezekiel M. Maige (MB), Wakati Akiwasilisha Bungeni Makadirio ya Matumizi ya Fedha kwa Mwaka 2011/2012 (Speech by the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Hon. Ezekiel, M. Maige (MP) Presenting the Ministerial Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure to the National Assembly for the Financial year 2011/2012. —. (2013) Tourism Statistical Bulletin, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dar Es Salaam: United Republic of Tanzania Wilfred, P. (2010) Towards sustainable Wildlife Management Areas in Tanzania. Tropical Conservation Science. 3(1): 103-116. World Bank Group/MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) (2002) Tourism in Tanzania: Investment for growth and diversification. MIGA and United Republic of Tanzania in cooperation with The Promote Africa Program, Washington D.C

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WSRTF (1995) A review of the wildlife sector in Tanzania Volume 1: Assessment of the Current Situation. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Ministry of Tourism, Natural Resources and Environment.

CHAPTER TWELVE RURAL TOURISM AS A TOOL OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A MULTI-SCALAR ANALYSIS OF RESPONSIBLE, HOME STAY TOURISM IN RURAL PERU JANE CARNAFFAN

Introduction Tourism is arguably the world’s largest industry and as such is a high priority in developing countries’ plans for economic development (Scheveyns, 2011; UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation), 2012). Discourses of responsible tourism (which include ‘home stay’ tourism, where tourists experience life in local homes) claim to address the concerns surrounding mass, packaged tourism: not least its lack of environmental and cultural sustainability (Lonely Planet, 2014; Patullo, 2009; Responsible Travel, 2014a; Responsible Travel, 2014b; Responsible Travel, 2014c; Tourism Concern, 2014; UNWTO, 2014). Rural, home stay tourism promises to fulfil responsible tourists’ desires to experience the authentic ways of life of traditional agricultural communities while having positive economic and social impacts. Proponents of rural, home stay tourism claim that these benefits are spread beyond the centres and enclaves created by mass tourism. This chapter examines responsible, rural tourism as a more equitable way of sharing the benefits of tourism. It takes a multi-scalar approach to the study of tourism, seeing tourism as constituted by diverse actors at different yet interconnected geographical scales. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Peru, I examine both policy documents and interviews with NGO consultants, travel agents and rural community leaders from three communities in Peru. I focus on the Peruvian government’s recent plans to

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decentralise and diversify its tourism products. These are to be achieved by establishing tourist routes linking centres of mass tourism to nearby rural communities in order to distribute the economic benefits of tourism more widely. Moreover, rather than pursuing mass tourism models, Peru has favoured sustainable tourism polices where tourists’ demands for unspoilt environments and authentic cultures contribute to their conservation (Responsible Travel, 2014c; UNEP and WTO, 2002; WTO, 2002). The Peruvian Tourism Ministry therefore aims to attract high-paying niche markets of responsible tourists who are interested in authenticity as a ‘value-added’ experience (Mincetur, 2012). This chapter challenges this model of sustainable development through tourism, arguing that the contingencies of tourism itself increase socioeconomic differentiation and conflict within communities. This is because communities need to be connected to centres of mass tourism and cater for higher paying tourists’ demands for certain standards of comfort, service and authenticity. This means that developmental impacts are limited to more developed communities which are geographically closer to urban centres. Equally, benefits go to wealthier and more well-connected members of communities who are able to invest in tourism facilities, attract funding from development agencies and work with travel agents. There are several studies of rural home stay tourism in Peru (Gascón, 2005; Zorn, 2004; Zorn and Farthing, 2007; Zorn and Ypeij, 2007) which indicate that communities’ pre-capitalist egalitarian structures are threatened by the increasing socio-economic differentiation brought by neo-liberal development through tourism. Equally, there are established critiques of development which argue that participation in community projects is often dominated by local elites who benefit disproportionately from such interventions (Cooke and Kothari, 2001; Cornwall, 1998; De Kadt, 1990). However, Andean anthropologist Michael Taussig (1997) suggests that community traditions of sharing and reciprocity are the exchange mechanism whereby elites maintain their status in return for community cohesion. I argue that while rural home stay tourism builds on elite power within communities, traditions of reciprocity help to mitigate the uneven effects of neo-liberal development and contribute to the sustainability of rural tourism. The policy implications of these findings are that rural home stay projects should build on egalitarian traditions in order to share benefits more equitably and to promote projects’ sustainability. From the point of view of methodology, tourism is studied as a set of interactions between diverse actors from a multi-scalar perspective (international, national and local) in order to explore the workings of power across these scales. This approach follows the post

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development critiques of development as a network of power (Crush, 1995; Escobar, 1992) and more recent work on neo-liberalism as functioning through multiple scales and actors (Bondi and Laurie, 2005; Larner et al., 2007). This chapter is divided into four sections. Firstly, the international and national scales are examined through the Peruvian State’s plans for tourism development (which are influenced and supported by international development agencies). Secondly, established critiques of development interventions (including community based tourism projects) disproportionately benefitting community elites are explored. Also, the geographies and histories of the home stay projects in this study are outlined. Thirdly, the ways in which the contingencies of tourism and development increase socio-economic differentiation within communities are examined through interview data with the tourism development consultants and community leaders of the tourism projects in this study. Then the methodological implications of the multi-scalar approach taken here for the study of tourism in an international context are discussed. Finally, the policy suggestions for mitigating the uneven effects of tourism development in rural areas of developing countries are outlined.

International and national plans for development through tourism Peru is one of the most prominent Latin American countries in tourism imaginaries. It boasts the instantly recognisable, iconic site of Machu Picchu, which is a World Heritage Site and on numerous ‘must-see’ lists. As a country, it is incredibly diverse in terms of both cultural and natural heritage: it has 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including archaeological sites and national parks (UNESCO, 2013). It has an equally rich ethnic mix of peoples, whose colourful images appear on many tourist brochures and websites. The Peruvian State recognises that these assets make Peru ideally placed to attract higher paying, middle-class tourists who form the growing niche markets for alternative tourism. According to Mincetur, the Peruvian Ministry of Tourism, the majority of actual and potential tourists visiting, or considering visiting Peru from abroad are interested in combining cultural and nature tourism (Sariego López and García Santillán, 2008). It also notes that these tourists are not typical mass tourists or sight-seers, but are looking to participate in new experiences and activities. About half of international tourists to Peru are from Latin American countries, while the other half comes from the major world tourism markets of the US, the UK, Japan, France, Germany and

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Spain (Sariego López and García Santillán, 2008). Reflecting global growth in tourism, and particularly niche tourism in developing countries (UNWTO, 2012), Peru has experienced a substantial increase in tourists in the past decade. Between 2002 and 2012 international tourist arrivals almost trebled from 1.1 to 2.8 million and the income generated from these visitors quadrupled from US$837 to US$3,288 million (Mincetur, 2012). Moreover, in 2012 government sources estimated that tourism generated 10, 81035 jobs and contributed 3.7% of GDP (Mincetur, 2012). These growth rates, tourism’s compatibility with hegemonic neoliberal approaches to development, and Peru’s potential for fashionable, higher-end sustainable tourism, mean that tourism has been adopted by the Peruvian State as a major strategy for economic growth. Within neoliberal agendas for development (promoted by the World Bank and UNWTO, as well as other international bodies), tourism is seen as an ideal development strategy for developing countries such as Peru. This is because it relies on natural and cultural resources, which developing countries have in abundance and which are free (Bookman, 2006). These assets can therefore be commodified cost-free and ‘add-value’ to a country’s tourism products through their promotion as sustainable tourism destinations (Vich, 2006; 2007). Moreover, sustainable tourism discourses claim that markets can preserve fragile natural environments and indigenous cultures by creating a demand for their consumption by tourists who value authenticity (Oliart, 2004; Goodwin, 2005; National Geographic, 2014; Responsible Travel, 2014d)1. Sustainable tourism further fits neo-liberal agendas of ‘rolling back the state’(Harvey, 2005) by exerting minimal demands on state investment because it requires fewer, higher paying tourists who do not demand the levels of infrastructure expected by their mass counterparts (for example, large resorts, high standards of facilities and on-site activities and entertainment). Moreover, sustainable tourism is implemented through hybrid models of public and private investment and internationally-funded NGO-led project-based models (De Lacy et al., 2002; Lapeyre, 2011; Zapata and Hall, 2012), which are consistent with current neo-liberal development models of minimal state involvement (Bondi and Laurie, 2005; Harvey, 2005). With these contingencies in mind, Mincetur launched a series of ten year plans for tourism development, Pentur, in 2005, 2008 and 2012. The most recent plan proposes that the Peruvian state ‘consolidate competitive 1

See Goldman (2006; 2007a; 2007b) for a critical genealogy of the ways in which neo-liberal paradigms have come to dominate the international development stage and how sustainable development, which originated as an alternative to market-led development, has been co-opted by capitalism.

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and sustainable tourism’ (Mincetur, 2012: own translation). This assertion mirrors word for word the UNWTO’s (2014) current approach to tourism development and marries markets with environmental and cultural preservation. Moreover, Mincetur (2012) insists that tourists visit Peru because they want to experience authenticity in the form of unspoilt natural environments and friendly contact with local people. Mincetur therefore focuses on promoting Peru’s distinctive environments and cultures as integral to establishing the country’s competitive advantage on the international tourism stage. Sustainable tourism development is defined here from a neo-liberal perspective: the protection of the natural environment and traditional cultures are delivered through market-based incentives to provide good quality tourism products with staying-power in the market. While Pentur 2008-2018 (Sariego López and García Santillán, 2008) recognises that the majority of Peru’s tourists visit iconic sites on established tourist routes, the Peruvian state seeks to decentralise and diversify Peru’s tourism products in order to maximise market and development opportunities. The delivery of diverse tourism products and decentralised employment follow neo-liberal models of administration and funding. Pentur 2008-2018 advances the implementation of tourism policies through decentralised tourism networks which are funded through PPP (Public Private Partnership) models promoted by the UNWTO and international funding bodies. A series of tourist circuits that open up regions away from established areas of mass tourism, and that also develop sites on routes between popular tourist destinations, are promoted. Rural, home stay tourism fits into the state’s promotion of Peru as an authentic tourist destination through its pre-Columbian heritage and presence of indigenous peoples who represent a living link to this past. Within these imaginations, home stays create a space for tourists to encounter indigenous people and learn about traditional ways of life. They also provide an alternative to mass tourism, which for many tourists contributes added value to an otherwise conventional tour. Tourists are offered the opportunity of staying with a family for a night or two without ‘missing out’ on seeing the major sights or doing the ‘classic’ treks. Home stay tourism also corresponds to government plans to diversify Peru’s tourism products and develop niche markets, and requires little initial investment, while promising positive economic and social impacts for rural communities.

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Developmental and socio-economic differentiation: the geographies and histories of three home stay tourism projects The following describes the socio-economic structures of the three home stay sites in this study. I argue that their geographical situations, histories and funding models work together to increase socio-economic differentiation between and within rural communities involved in tourism. Geographically, all sites are near mass tourism centres, and one is being developed as part of a ‘corridor’ (or route) between two major tourist destinations. Those involved in tourism come from the communities’ elites, who have gained positions of leadership through migration and education. These histories are also linked to the ways in which community leaders have gained funding for their tourism projects. In terms of this funding, each project reflects the neo-liberal agenda of hybrid state, third sector (NGO) and private funding. Before describing each site in detail, it is important to note the widespread critique of participation in development being appropriated by elites (Cooke and Kothari, 2001; Cornwall, 1998; De Kadt, 1990). Many studies provide evidence that elites within communities benefit disproportionately from tourism initiatives (Akama, 1996; ; Mowforth and Munt, 1998; Southgate, 2006; Ashley and Goodwin, 2007; Ashley and Mitchell, 2007a; Ashley and Mitchell, 2007b); Scheyvens (2002: 9) noting that communities are often divided by: a complex interplay of class, gender and ethnic factors, and certain families or individuals are likely to lay claim to privileges because of their apparent status. In such circumstances it is unlikely that community members will have equitable access to involvement in tourism development and the benefits this can bring.

Moreover, Scheyvens (2002: 58) sees elites benefiting more from tourism because of their superior abilities to contact and communicate with development practitioners from outside the community: “Elites within communities often become wealthier than others simply because they have the power and confidence to deal with outsiders and ensure that development opportunities offer particular gains for themselves and their families.” Previous studies of community based home stay tourism in the Peruvian Andes have shown that particularly migration and education combine to create elites, and to help them to develop tourism in their communities (Mitchell and Reid, 2001; Zorn, 2004; Gascón, 2005; Zorn and Farthing, 2007; Zorn and Ypeij, 2007). These studies have shown that

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migrating to urban areas for work and education increases both the monetary and cultural capital necessary for tourism development. Increased financial capital gained through work enables investment in tourism projects. Equally, better Spanish (as opposed to Quechua, the main Andean indigenous mother tongue) and literacy skills gained through formal education provide the tools for communicating with funding agencies, travel companies and tourists. We can see these factors play out in the following descriptions of the sites in this study.

A brief note on methodology I spent six months in Peru studying rural, home stay tourism through multi-scalar, multi-sited and multi-method approaches. Inspired by the principles of Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2006; Glaser and Strauss, 1967), I set out to gather data in order to develop theories from it (rather than proving or disproving pre-defined hypotheses). I took a Grounded Theory approach to sampling and representation which resulted in a multiscalar, multi-sited study. That is, I continued to interview a wide range of actors at multiple sites (found through processes of ‘snowballing’) until I reached the point where I had the impression that people were ‘telling the same story’. In order to gain insights into the interactions of tourism at multiple scales, I conducted interviews with actors from various scales of the industry: the Ministry of Tourism, Promperu, travel agents, NGO consultants, community leaders and tourists2. I also gathered and analysed policy documents and promotional materials, as well as engaging in participant observation of home stay tourists at the sites studied. I conducted almost all the interviews in Spanish, as I am a fluent Spanish speaker. In terms of theory, this multiscalar approach allowed me to explore the ways in which neoliberal discourses permeate every level of the tourism development industry ( Escobar, 1992; Crush, 1995; Bondi and Laurie, 2005; Larner et al., 2007). I have changed the names of the sites, and all persons named in this study, in order to preserve their anonymity. This is in order to protect any project and anyone involved in it from undue criticism which may affect future funding or visits from tourists. In Spanish Amistad means Friendship, Bienvenido, Welcome, and Encuentro, Encounter.

2

See Long’s (1999) study of UNESCO through interface analysis.

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Amistad Amistad is a rural community near the mountain town of Huaraz which is an 8 hour bus ride on good roads north of the capital, Lima. The town receives high numbers of international trekkers and mountaineers in the dry season, which is May to September, and national tourists during the Easter festivals and in July for the festival of the town’s patron saint. The home stay project was instigated by a US-based NGO, the Mountain Foundation, who gained funding from USAID. The leaders of the home stay tourism project at Amistad are all prominent male community leaders who have more recent experience of working with another NGO. The Mountain Foundation chose to work with the community leaders who had worked with this previous NGO on reviving their traditions and reaffirming pride in their culture. Therefore, prior success in accessing NGO support and funding, by fulfilling the NGO’s criteria of being committed to cultural revival, enabled the group to access further funding. A travel agent also became involved in supporting the development of home stay tourism on the grounds of its commitment to cultural authenticity; Winding Roads (a small, ethical US-based travel agency) is involved with Amistad, establishing a hostel and educational centre in Huaraz which is managed by Amistad community members.

Bienvenido Bienvenido is at the mid-point on the road between Cusco and Puno, both top tourist destinations. The home stay project at Bienvenido was created as part of the regional development agency ‘Corridor Cusco-Puno’ which was established to spread the benefits of tourism beyond its centres of mass tourism. It is principally funded by the Peruvian State agencies FONCODES (Fondo de Cooperación para el Desarrollo Social, Social Development Fund) and MIMDES (Ministerio de la Mujer y Desarrollo Social, the Women’s and Social Development Ministry), although the families involved in the tourism project also invested personal funds. Travel agents were also involved in consultancy and training. The founders of the project are community leaders, some are teachers and others also have market stalls in the nearby tourist market, this meant that they have higher status within the community. Moreover, they have the Spanish language and literacy skills (due to migration and education) to communicate with NGOs and other mediators of funding and training.

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Encuentro Encuentro is near Puno, on Lake Titicaca, and the islands of the Urus, Taquile and Amantaní, form part of a popular circuit which goes to/from Lima-Cusco-Puno-Arequipa-Nazca-Lima. It is also on an overland route to/from La Paz in Bolivia to Lima (and beyond to Ecuador). Encuentro’s home stay project is funded by an individual indigenous leader/entrepreneur, Valeriano Quispe. His personal history attests to common patterns of social mobility for Peru’s rural communities. He left his community by joining the army and then worked in local government in Puno as a promoter of various development projects, focusing on agriculture and tourism. This period earned him the financial resources and connections he would later use to establish his tourism business; he forged an alliance with a major Peruvian travel agent to develop adventure and home stay tourism. He continues to draw on his contacts with regional state agencies and international development agencies to gain funding for community development projects. For example, the community has a water sanitation scheme, funded by the Italian government and a library which was built by All Paths Travel agency.

The contingencies of home stay tourism, sustainable development and socio-economic differentiation within communities In this section I examine how the demands of tourism and sustainable development principles lead tourism development agencies to favour community elites. Tourists demand certain standards of service, comfort and the presentation of authenticity, which are achieved through investment and training. These needs are fulfilled by community elites who, through their higher economic and educational status, develop contacts with consultants and travel agents. These external agents can provide funding and training, essential to a project’s sustainability. Sustainability can be conceptualised here in terms of both cultural preservation and economic viability. Economic viability depends on tourists coming to stay, which in turn depends on tourists being satisfied with the authenticity of the home stay experience and its levels of comfort and service. The following draws on interviews with these actors to explore the ways in which they conceptualise these intersecting issues. In order for a home stay project to function within sustainable tourism principles of preserving the cultural authenticity of a community, the

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consultants at Amistad, Bienvenido and Encuentro comment on the need to work with community members who display confidence in their culture, leadership and higher levels of education than others in the community. For example, Miranda Toledo, the NGO tourism consultant at Amistad, explains that her organisation needed a group of people who had a strong sense of pride in their culture. This is because she thinks that tourism impacts negatively on weakened cultures and that the introduction of tourism in the community could impact harshly on those who already suffered from low self-esteem: We started the project with families. Why these families? For various reasons, one because Amistad seemed enormous to us and we didn’t know where to start, how to promote people, and, on the other hand, we were certain that tourism could impact negatively on country people whose values and self-esteem were weakened, so this NGO came to work a while ago with, I don’t know, 100 families, on cultural affirmation, on the understanding of their cultural richness, and we said we wanted to work with this group of people who had demonstrated that they could work and who were confident in their culture, so the risk would be less with tourism.

Toledo, in describing the families the Mountain Foundation chose to work with at Amistad, depicts an established male leadership within the community which had gained further status in its work for cultural revival, instigated by a previous NGO: So these families . . . were already promoters of their culture in their community, for example, Mr. Alvaro Medina is a leader in the recuperation of native varieties of potato, Manolo Medina was the one who started to recuperate traditional dress, Mr. Manolo Medina is a former tailor, he’s one of the few who make traditional clothing in Amistad. So they are the people we chose, we got those people together who we already knew valued themselves without being influenced from the outside, because we thought that this would avoid some of the negative impacts on their culture, because they already had high self esteem and a certain amount of standing within their community.

Roberto López, former tourism consultant for Promperú (the State’s tourism board), and for the Bienvenido project, cites the educational level of community members as an important criterion in their selection for home stay tourism projects. He says that more educated families give better service to tourists, they speak Spanish better, and they have more capacity for understanding business. They will therefore be less dependent on the funding agency, be it an NGO or the state, and the project will be more viable commercially:

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Which criteria should be used to select a community? I think for example that one of the variables to take into account is the educational level. The educational level makes a big difference in the standard of service . . . the language level, for example, and well, educated people are more capable of having business sense than those who are less educated. Less educated people are more dependent on the NGO or the state. Look, this sounds simple, but it’s true, the level of education determines a project’s viability.

Standards of service, comfort and presentations of authenticity all require investments of time, effort and money, which favour community elites. Families need to be able to dedicate time to receive training in tourism as time which represents an opportunity cost, because during this time they could have been economically active elsewhere. Training in tourism focuses on hygienic food preparation (tourists are fearful of getting ill), standards of comfort and cleanliness in tourist accommodation, and authenticity (activities during the home stay include displays of traditional farming techniques, handcraft production and often culminate in traditional dance parties where tourists participate in the festivities.) Those involved in home stay tourism also need a surplus of income to invest in the building of tourist facilities to acceptable standards of comfort and buying traditional clothing. These costs were often discussed by community members as problematic. Community members need to put a lot of effort into developing a tourism product out of their traditional skills. For example, they train to learn how to produce local dishes to the hygiene standards and tastes of tourists. Tania Morales, a tourism consultant in gastronomy at Bienvenido, comments on the amount of work that goes into producing dishes for tourist consumption: “for them (the community) to produce a dish of corn or quinoa (traditional grain) puree, they’ve had to go through a lot, to completely improve their presentation, they’ve had to overcome a lot.” Community members build separate accommodation for tourists, which match tourists’ standards of (basic) comfort and perceptions of authenticity. These facilities require investment, and not all costs are covered by external funding bodies, for instance, community members at Amistad complained of the costs of buying beds. Valeriano Quispe, the community tourism association leader at Encuentro, who invested in his accommodation personally, says that he had originally built tourist chalets using ‘modern’ building materials such as corrugated iron, cement and plastic. However, when tourists commented that they preferred traditional, locally sourced materials he built new chalets with adobe and stone bricks and wooden window frames: “so the tourists told me ‘we don’t want corrugated iron, cement, plastic, we want to see authenticity, this is why

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we come here.’” Another important marker of authenticity for tourists is the wearing of traditional dress, as Abelena Inca, from Bienvenido explains: “Before we didn’t (wear traditional dress), but now we do, since we’re working with tourists, because of this we’ve also recuperated our [traditional] dress. They like these clothes, otherwise I’d be like you, something like that, I’d wear the same clothes as you [jeans and a t-shirt] with these clothes we’re more, improved.” This ‘improvement’ means a costly investment for those involved in tourism and the cost of buying hand-made, woollen traditional clothing, as opposed to cheap and practical mass produced ‘Western’ clothing is a common complaint in communities involved in home stay tourism3. In conclusion, economic and educational status underlines the creation of tourists’ experience of authenticity. Jean Veron, hotelier and director of Vida Travel, based in Cusco, and who works with the community at Encuentro, highlights the problems of working with very poor families. He says that, while tourists seek an authentic experience during a home stay, they do not want to see or experience another person’s poverty: “The problem is that if the family is really miserable, tourists don’t want to see misery. They want to feel a little or understand a little how things are, but they’re not there to live another’s poverty.”

Community structures and mechanisms: sharing and sustainability This final section draws on interviews with community leaders to explore communities’ traditional structures as a response to uneven development. Community traditions of sharing and reciprocity are conceptualised as the exchange mechanism whereby elites maintain their status in return for community cohesion . This mechanism ensures that some of the benefits of tourism are shared more evenly. It also means that dissent and conflict within the community are pacified, which allows tourism to function. It is therefore this mechanism that contributes to the sustainability of home stay projects, in terms of economic viability. Rural communities in the Andes are based on egalitarian structures and traditions of collective work for the overall benefit of the community. These communitarian ways of life have been threatened by successive waves of integration into global markets from colonial times to the present 3

Weismantel (2001) notes that female market traders in the Andes wear traditional dress as a symbol of their economic status because of its high cost.

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day. Development through neo-liberal principles, of which home stay tourism is one such intervention, puts a strain on community cohesion as it increases socio-economic differentiation. However, traditional community structures are utilised by both consultants and communities as a model for the more even distribution of the socio-economic benefits of tourism. Moreover, communal mechanisms of exchange and reciprocity are employed as strategies to pacify dissent and unrest through meeting communities’ demands for a share of these benefits. Strategies for spreading the socio-economic benefits of tourism function both within the tourism association and outside the tourism association. Within tourism associations, leaders divide tourists up equally among families and take turns to be hosts. They also divide work among specialised associations, for example, cooks, musicians and artisans. These mechanisms of turn-taking build on traditional structures of shared, communal works (Mayer, 2002). Alvaro Medina, a tourism association leader at Amistad, explains how this system works: “we work according to lists, by turn, and if others are lucky to have a group for two or three days, or have more tourists, I even the numbers out”. Leonora Mamani, the treasurer for the home stay tourism association at Bienvenido also describes dividing tourists among its members using a turn system: “we have to share [the tourists] out by the list, we have a note book, and according to the book, the list, we have to attend [to tourists].” Outside of home stay tourism associations, strategies to share some of the benefits of tourism include offering work to other community members and making donations to community funds and development projects. Alvaro Medina, a community leader at Amistad, describes distributing the support work within tourism to other people in his close community (his relatives and neighbours). This also reinforces the status of elites within the community, with community leaders, who are also leaders of the tourism association, acting as gatekeepers to employment through tourism. Alvaro Medina expresses feelings of pride in being able to distribute work and pay wages: We can feel even prouder because we can give work to other people, like, making the pachamanca4 and they can work, and they can teach other people and we can pay their wages and buy products from other

4

A traditional celebratory meal of meat and vegetables that is cooked by burying the food in the ground and covering it with hot stones. The tourism association at Amistad cooks this and organises a party with dancing and traditional musicians for the last day of a home stay package.

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Community tourism associations often make donations to a community fund, to provide the wider community with educational materials or communal facilities. In this way, home stay tourism’s agenda to spread the benefits of tourism is etched onto the traditional obligations of elites who are responsible for funding community works, such as repairing roads and bridges and also community celebrations (Holmberg, 1964). Alvaro Medina, a tourism association leader at Amistad describes keeping a communal fund, from which they can share some of the gains made from tourism. For example, they host parties for the community, which are a traditional form of maintaining group cohesion: “The communal fund also gains, . . . we save a little for a party, to do pachamanca or other things.” They also make donations of educational materials to local schools. Moreover, members of tourism association projects use their connections with external funding agencies, principally the state, NGOs or travel agencies, to gain funding for community projects. The leaders at Amistad gained funding for a community museum and Valeriano Quispe, the leader at Encuentro, uses his contacts to gain state and international funding for development projects, such as a clean water system, and has received help from travel agencies to establish a community library. Generating work and fulfilling obligations are also strategies employed by tourism association leaders to avoid conflict and ensure the smooth functioning of tourism businesses. As Taussig (1997: 197) notes the Andean mechanisms of “reciprocity aim … to buy peace”. There are examples of conflict over tourism projects in each of the communities studied. In Amistad, the windows of the tourist chalets were broken, in Bienvenido, a group of tourists were ‘“stolen”’ by a rival community group and in Encuentro, the project’s telephone lines were cut in its tourist office. All projects found that, by investing in community projects, these incidents subsided. For example, at Encuentro, Valeriano Quispe states that it his tourism association’s policy to share work ‘“equally’” throughout his immediate community, both as a matter of principle and as a strategy to avoid conflict: In principle it’s our policy to generate work fairly, so that there’s work for everyone, that’s our policy, that work should be equal for everyone, so, for example, I can’t have boats to transport people, or boats to rent, all I can have is a restaurant and accommodation, because if I do everything I’ll have social problems. Why him? Why (not) us? They might say, and I want to avoid this.

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While Quispe stresses the fairness and equality in distributing this work, he maintains control of the most profitable aspects of the business, in having a greater proportion of the accommodation and the restaurant that serves all visitors. This was also the case in the other projects studied, so, although communal mechanisms even out the divisive effects of neoliberal development, they do not ensure a totally egalitarian system. As Andean anthropologists note, the ability to fulfil traditional obligations both reinforces the social positions of community elites (Abercrombie, 1998) and the community spirit of group solidarity (Nash, 1993). Therefore, distributing some benefits among the immediate community maintains elite status, as well as community harmony.

Conclusion This chapter has taken a multi-scalar approach to the study of rural, home stay tourism in Peru in order to explore tourism as a set of interactions between actors at different levels (international, national and local). This approach reveals the ways in which power, in the form of neoliberal approaches to sustainable tourism development, pervades each level. This chapter therefore looked at the ways in which the international scale interacted with the national and local scales through the influence of international policy generators such as the UNWTO and funding bodies such as USAID. For example, the Peruvian State’s plans for development through tourism are heavily influenced by sustainable development discourses at the international level (they echo UNWTO approaches), and Amistad’s tourism project was funded by USAID. The national and local scales also intersect in a myriad of ways: national plans for the decentralisation and diversification of tourism have meant that communities on routes between tourist centres have received funding for tourism projects. The Peruvian State’s promotion of Peru to niche tourism markets, to tourists who search for authenticity, has also opened up possibilities for rural communities to market their ways of life as a ‘value added’ experience in home stay tourism. The aim of these policies is to spread the economic benefits of tourism beyond mass tourist centres, as well to give an economic value to authenticity. However, dominant neo-liberal approaches to development through tourism have led to increased socio-economic differentiation and conflict within communities. The contingencies of sustainable tourism mean that communities need to be easily accessible and able to cater for higher paying tourists’ demands for certain standards of comfort, service and authenticity. This limits developmental impacts to more developed

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communities which are geographically closer to urban centres. Equally, benefits go to wealthier and more well-connected members of communities who are able to invest in tourism facilities, to attract funding from development agencies and work with travel agents to attract tourists. While this chapter demonstrates that rural, home stay tourism in Peru builds on elite power and disproportionately benefits elites in rural communities, I have argued that it may also be possible to extend some of these benefits to the wider rural community. I suggest, following Andean anthropologists such as Taussig (1997), that community traditions of sharing and reciprocity be conceptualised as the exchange mechanism whereby elites maintain their status in return for community cohesion. I propose that these mechanisms help to mitigate the uneven effects of neoliberal development and contribute to the sustainability of rural tourism. I therefore propose that, given the contingencies of neo-liberal development and sustainable tourism, rural home stay projects need to be built on community structures and traditional mechanisms in order to ensure a more equitable division of the economic and social benefits of this kind of niche tourism. The communities in this study provide examples of specific ways in which benefits can be shared. Community leaders can distribute work to other community members (as the leaders in Amistad and Encuentro did). Those involved in tourism can set money aside to donate to a communal fund (as seen in Amistad). They can also use their connections with development agencies and travel agents to gain funding for development projects that benefit the wider community (as Valeriano Quispe did in Encuentro). To conclude, while rural tourism increases socio-economic differentiation within communities, we should look to these same communities for ways of sharing its benefits.

References Abercrombie, T. A. (1998) Pathways of memory and power: ethnography and history among an Andean people. Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press. Akama, J. S. (1996) Western environmental values and nature-based tourism in Kenya. Tourism Management. 17(8): 567-574. Ashley, C. and Goodwin, H. (2007) 'Pro poor tourism': What's gone right and what's gone wrong? Opinion. London: ODI, Overseas Development Institute: 80. Ashley, C. and Mitchell, J. (2007a) Assessing how tourism revenues reach the poor Briefing Paper. London: ODI, Overseas Development Institute: 21.

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PART FOUR: COLLABORATION AND CONFLICT IN RURAL TOURISM

CHAPTER THIRTEEN FEEDING COUNTRYSIDE TOURISTS: EXPLORING COLLABORATIVE ACTOR STRATEGIES IN RURAL DENMARK PENNIE F. HENRIKSEN AND HENRIK HALKIER

Introduction Food is an essential component of life, including when holidaying, and represents an important part of the tourist budget. Whereas some tourists regard food merely as a necessity without any specific experience value, for other tourists food experiences may be the key motivation to visit a specific destination (Blichfeldt and Therkelsen, 2010). The economic synergy between food and tourism has increasingly gained the attention of policy-makers, especially in more peripheral regions where the need for maximising income generated by tourism is pressing (e.g. Hall and Sharples. 2003, Cawley et al., 2007; Halkier, 2012). However, in order to realise these synergies a number of preconditions need to be in place (Holloway et al., 2006; Blichfeldt and Therkelsen, 2010; Sims, 2010): local food experiences must be produced, and they must be made accessible and communicated to tourists – who, hopefully, will appreciate the offer. This chapter explores organisational features that facilitate and/or impede the accessibility of local food experiences to tourists in rural Denmark, focusing on exploring if and how food-related actors collaborate in order to grow markets for local food as part of the visitor economy. The chapter proceeds in three steps. First a conceptual framework based on network theories is outlined, then the case-study area and the methods employed are presented, and finally the results from the empirical studies with regard to key actors relevant for increasing synergies between food and tourism, their resources and interactions, are discussed.

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Conceptual framework The tourism industry can be described as a networked industry, due to its fragmented characteristics with different actors – tour operators, accommodation, eateries, transportation etc. – that make up a destination’s total tourism product (Grängsjö, 2003; Scott et al., 2008). Within tourism studies, network theories have been applied to illustrate tourist destinations defined as successful, based on collaboration and cooperation between public and private tourism actors and other interests (Buhalis, 2000; Tinsley and Lynch, 2001; Morrison et al., 2004; Novelli et al., 2006; Scott et al., 2008; Shapira, 2008; Shaw and Williams, 2009; Baggio and Cooper 2010; Henriksen 2012). This study contributes to the network-tradition in tourism studies by investigating the local food experience chain by means of a network approach that takes into account links between private actors in different parts of the experience production chain, as well as links between private and public actors. A growing literature has explored synergies between tourism and food in recent years, often concerned with the supply of food experiences for tourists and the changes in existing practices needed to bring these about. Some studies have been concerned with issues of branding, authenticity, and food-related events (Ilbery et al., 2005; Tregear et al., 2007; Gyimóthy and Mykletun, 2009; Sims, 2009), while others have focused on the creation of new food experience production chains in relation to tourist and other non-local consumers (Parrott et al., 2002; Renting et al., 2003; Montanari and Staniscia, 2009; Sims, 2010). This literature clearly suggests that different types of food experiences involve different local actors as gatekeepers: self-catering tourists in holiday homes or campsites rely on supermarkets or farm shops selling local products, while tourists eating out rely on restaurants using local produce and products. This implies that developing food tourism is not just a marketing exercise but also presupposes the creation and maintenance of a local cross-sectoral food experience chain that brings together actors from both the food and tourism industries. Applying a network approach to investigate the organisational features facilitating and/or impeding the integration of local food in the tourism experience requires an understanding of different network elements, the connection between these elements, and the different levels of analysis that make up this study. Based on social interaction among individuals from a relational perspective, networks may be formal or informal in character. However, whether formal or informal in character, networks are argued to be constructed of three basic elements, namely actors, resources

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and activities (Håkansson and Johansson, 1992; Hjørdie, 2006; cf. Henriksen, 2012). Network activities and outcomes occur when actors have relational ties to one another and interact by pooling, developing, exchanging, or creating resources by utilising existing resources. These resources can for instance be network actors’ knowledge, influence, status, authority, time, finance, or technology. Bearing in mind the strong connectivity between Håkansson and Johansson’s (1992) basic network elements, the analysis in this chapter is conducted on three levels (cf. Halkier, 2006): x the organisational level concerning key aspects internal to each of the actors, e.g. food producers, tourism firms, and public promotional bodies, x the relational level concerning the way in which organisations interact with one another and about what, e.g. network activities and outcomes, x the contextual level concerning the way in which the organisational and relational dimensions are inscribed into a larger socio-economic and political-cultural context, e.g. integration in inter/national business organisations, and the degree of centralisation/decentralisation of the system of political governance. All in all this should allow us to account for the interactions between key actors of relevance to the building of food tourism within the locality studied and set this in the wider context of the local destination and beyond.

Methods A qualitative research strategy has been applied in order to obtain detailed accounts of the workings and network relations among key actors in the setting for this study, Skive in Denmark. The primary data of the study is the result of in-depth personal interviews with key representatives from three different actor groups of the local food experience chain in the municipality: x small producers of food branded as being local and of superior quality x distributors of food (retailers, restaurants)

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x local public bodies promoting tourism and economic development (DMO/local tourism bureau and local business development organisations). Small local food producers have been identified as a central informant group as they represent the members of the publicly initiated networks relating to food experiences which are central to this study. In this municipality, publicly-sponsored tourism and business development bodies are closely interlinked, which in terms of the interviews has resulted in just one interview being conducted in relation to this group, with the head of business development. The ten interviews were carried out in November and December 2011. The interviews were semistructured and individually tailored in order to access as rich and detailed information as possible.

Exploring food tourism in Skive Based on the oral and written empirical data collected, this section analyses the organisational features that facilitate and/or impede the accessibility of local food experiences to tourists. The contextual level will be analysed first to provide an overall understanding of the larger socioeconomic context in which attempts to create a food experience chain are placed. Then, at the organisational level of analysis, individual actors, their resources and strategies, are examined. Finally, at the relational level, network constellations between actors in the food experience chain are discussed, focusing especially on resources mobilised and the outcomes of collaborative efforts.

Setting The municipality of Skive in Denmark provides the framework for the empirical analysis; it has about 48,000 inhabitants and has some 200 km of coastline. The weather is temperate and makes June, July and August the high tourist season, with May and September as shoulder seasons. Due to the Limfjord surrounding the municipality, nature and water are key resources for tourism experiences such as sailing, fishing and cycling, but “remarkable food experiences” are also highlighted as a specific asset of the destination (VisitSkive, 2012). The municipality can be characterised as a low profile tourist destination, and the municipality had a tourism revenue of 436 million DKK in 2008, predominantly generated by domestic leisure tourists staying in holiday homes (Skive Kommune,

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2010a). In other words, the vast majority of visitors are not only potential guests in local restaurants, cafés and shops but can also prepare food themselves or take local products home after the holiday. Within the municipality a wide range of products are being produced, such as meats and delicacies, vegetables, fruit, honey, beer and dairy products (Skiveegnens Erhvervs- og Turistcenter, 2010, 2011). Much of this is supplied by small food producers - who are more or less unknown outside the region - but the municipality also has a number of large and internationally well-established quality brands, e.g. Thise Mejeri (organic dairy products), two breweries (Fur Bryghus and Hancock), and Glyngøre Shellfish that export oysters and mussels from the Limfjord.

The contextual level In Denmark political and strategic tasks relating to tourism planning, development and marketing - internationally and nationally - involves three administrative levels: VisitDenmark, the national tourism organisation, has the task of marketing Denmark as a whole on the international market, whereas tasks concerning product development, competence development, collaboration between different stakeholders, and marketing of local areas, are handled at regional and local levels (Halkier, 2011). In a national and regional tourism context, the municipality of Skive has received little political or administrative attention (Skive Kommune, 2010a; Region Midtjylland, 2011), and in Skive the local information bureau and municipal destination management organisation has been merged with the municipal business development council, creating Skive-egnens Erhvervs- og Turistcenter (the Skive Area’s Business and Tourism Centre, SABT). The overall task of SABT is to guide both newly started and existing businesses within tourism, trade and industry, primarily through providing information, advice and support for network activities. SABT also includes a tourism information bureau that works with product development in relation to tourism and the visitor economy, including local food experiences, as examined in this study. In 2010 the municipality of Skive launched a marketing and branding campaign levelled at the local population and local businesses, business partners, potential newcomers and tourists. The aim of this campaign was to highlight features that make Skive a uniquely appealing place to live, to do business and to visit when holidaying. The strategy’s overall theme was ‘Pure Life’ and it was focused around four local strengths: ‘the good life’; the fjord; food; and energy (Skive Kommune, 2010b). The overall development and promotion of food-related actors within the municipality,

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and this place branding strategy emphasising quality food experiences, thus sits well with the wider discursive terrain within and beyond Denmark, characterised by national and international media coverage of ‘new Nordic cooking’, Danish restaurants with Michelin Stars, and a Danish chef winning the ‘World’s best Chef’ title (Hjort and Maach,2012; Larsen, 2011; VisitDenmark, 2013; Ritzaus Bureau, 2013 ). Interestingly, unlike many other city brands (Therkelsen and Halkier, 2011), Skive’s ’Pure Life’ is still in existence after more than three years, something that suggests that despite the absence of formal evaluations (Skive Kommune, 2013), local decision makers retain faith in their chosen branding strategy.

The organisational level This section discusses the three key categories of actors involved in the process of bringing food to tourists, namely: small producers of food; distributors of food; and, local public bodies. First, the resources key actors have at their disposal are presented. Second, the strategies they pursue to ensure the future success of their organisations are discussed i.e. what is the current status concerning local and distant markets, and what role does the link between food and tourism play when considering the future of their organisations. All the local food producers interviewed for this study represent smallscale businesses, varying from 1 to 10 employees (Farmshop, Micro brewery, Orchard, Restaurant, interviews). For these small businesses, human and financial resources are mentioned as limitations concerning investments made in marketing efforts perceived to result in additional sales, and venturing into new markets. The local distributors interviewed for this study include local supermarkets that are part of national chains, as well as small restaurants, some of which are focusing on creative cooking and others on more traditional Danish fare. Similar to the food producers interviewed, the restaurants represented are also smaller businesses with limited financial resources (Restaurant, Hotel, interviews). Finally, the third category of actors is represented by SABT, the local development body for business and tourism. SABT has the political and financial resources to initiate, facilitate and implement activities aimed at promoting economic development, including the authority to function as a formal network initiator with the aim to foster collaborative activities between public and private actors, including within food tourism. In terms of strategies for the future, the municipality and its business community are clearly interested in strengthening their market position as a tourist destination. The link between local food experiences and tourism

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is acknowledged as a strategic priority, especially at the political level, as the municipality’s branding strategy discussed above demonstrates. The municipality’s trade promotion officer said that the best ambassador for promoting local products is the local community (Business development officer, 2011, interview), suggesting that when local food experiences are sought and desired by local residents it signals quality, even authenticity, for visitors as well (Hall and Sharples, 2003; Long, 2004). From this perspective, the existence of a solid local market is an important pivotal resource in providing local food experiences to tourists. Both small food producers and food distributors within the municipality generally claim to have experienced an increase in demand for local food products, not just from tourists but also - and perhaps especially - from local residents. Firms are still highly dependent on local resident consumption (Farmshop, Orchard, Hotel, Supermarket, Restaurant interviews). A newly started restaurant owner, for instance, stated that she hopes to attract more tourists in the summer seasons to come but that it is the local community’s demand that determines the menu, in terms of food and beverages, as they are the restaurant’s primary customer segment (Hotel, interview). Given the destination’s characteristic as a low-profile tourist destination, local residents providing a stable all-year round customer-base are viewed as critical for the development of local food experiences within the municipality. In fact, a local restaurant and speciality shop owner said that it would probably be more profitable for businesses to close down during the cold winter months (Restaurant 2011, interview), but the fear that valuable local customers will find other places to buy their fine wines and food specialities as a result has prevented this from happening. Seen from a tourist perspective, the local food producers interviewed also pointed to the fact that tourists visiting the area and buying local products attach value to the use of local products by local people, and the local stories that come with the products (Micro brewery, Farmshop, Restaurant 2011, interviews): Where and how the ingredients for the products are harvested, how the products are produced and by whom, are examples of the type of information that interests tourists in relation to local food. This indicates that locals and tourists alike appreciate local products with a local history. However, some local food producers interviewed felt that the potential appeal of the products to tourists is limited: “our apples are outside the tourism season, so that is why it is not that interesting for us.” (Orchard, 2011, interview) Often the remote locations of small food producers are seen to be an impediment to the development of increased interest in local produce by tourists (Orchard 2011, interview).

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Chain supermarkets were questioned about their sales in the tourism season, and they referred to tourists as mainly locals who live in holiday homes by the Limfjord during the summer period. One of the supermarket managers said that “It is the locals who stay in the holiday homes. We don’t earn extra in the summer period, not at all, not due to tourists” (Supermarket, 2011, interview). The local community is by far the primary strategic target group of the supermarkets, and what they stock is a reflection of what the local community demands (Supermarket, interviews). The significance of stocking local food is recognised by local retailers, and they generally view the municipality as having the potential to demonstrate a strong commercial potential in terms of delivering quality culinary experiences to tourists on the back of local demand for such products.

The relational level This section discusses the way in which organisations interact with one another, who they collaborate with, and about what. First, local public activities are analysed in this respect, followed by an analysis of collaborative strategies that are initiated by private food producers and distributors. SABT has initiated several collaborative strategies with the aim of increasing accessibility and commercialisation in the food experience chain. In 2006 the public development body undertook a mapping of local food and craft producers in order, with financial aid from one of the local banks, to develop a food and craft market in the town of Skive each Saturday during the summer months. This entailed a strategic collaboration between local food and craft producers through the so-called Food Network, a loosely organised network association, with the seasonal Saturday markets in Skive as its main activity (Business development officer, 2011, interview). The network was characterised by having a very loosely defined aim to increase exposure and sales, and a limited private network involvement or commitment. In practice the network ended up resembling a “small coffee club-like network” for business gossip (Business development officer, 2011, interview), and it was subsequently abandoned by larger, more well-established firms because “they did not feel that they got anything out of the network” (Business development officer, 2011, interviews).

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In 2010 the Food Network was dissolved and replaced by The Experience Network “which was to have a new dimension and work in a different way” (Business development officer, 2011, interview). A network seminar with 65 firms present marked the launch of the new network which included a wider range of ‘experience’ producers, concert and event organisers, hotels, B&Bs etc. The seminar had a professional and development-oriented profile, with business-to-business relations as the main focus of the seminar and discussions, facilitated by external professionals such as knowledge institutions and consultants. Discussions focused on how to transform collaborative ideas or a small business concept into something economically viable. The new Experience Network comprised food-related firms, as well as tourism-related businesses such as accommodation, attractions, and eateries. As such local people were framed not only as consumers, but also as tourists. Activities within the network were focused on the generation of ideas, boosting competences, providing constructive feedback and reciprocal collaboration, together with joint marketing efforts. One of the main aims of the Experience Network was to promote cross-referrals with the hope that tourists would move more freely around the destination, and that network members would become aware of and promote the use of each other’s products (Business development officer, 2011). An additional advantage of The Experience Network, according to local food producers, was that it provided them with opportunities to meet other businesses and knowledge providers related to the tourism industry, and hence gain new knowledge and insights into different ways of thinking and approaching business development (Micro brewery, Farmshop, Orchard, interviews). Moreover, compared to the previous Food Network, members were involved to a higher degree in the planning and execution of network activities, and specific demands were made on network members relating to meeting attendance, preparation for and active participation during network meetings and in relation to other activities (Business development officer, 2012, interview). All in all this gave the network an air of exclusivity, as members were expected to and perceived to be (by each other as well as by extra-network) highly dedicated and committed businesses. Interestingly, the seasonal Saturday markets were inherited from the previous Food Network and were still a central activity for the new network. The cost of participation in the markets was limited by means of public subsidies, and according to the network members interviewed local food producers felt 2000 Danish Kroner (260 Euro) was a fair price for exposure, marketing and the use of mobile stands displaying their products. The local trade director did, however, stress that there are small

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producers outside the network who think the price is too steep, and with limited time and manpower they chose not to partake in market activities. Out of 53 potential local businesses relating to food and crafts, it was always the same 10-12 firms that were represented at the Saturday market, and SABT has therefore proposed to hire a local voluntary group who then would sell the products of local producers unable to attend themselves. However, the response to this suggestion was negative, as local producers were not comfortable with the idea of someone else selling their products, and thus pride in their own products becomes an impediment in terms of developing new sales channels. The local business development body saw economic potential in promoting cross-sectoral synergies between food and tourism in collaboration with surrounding municipalities in order to provide a stronger and more varied product to tourists, but at the time of this research The Experience Network remained limited to the territorial boundaries of the municipality in order to avoid fears among local actors about additional (external) competition. It is, however, important to stress that SABT is not the only initiator of attempts to build collaborative relationships in order to increase the market for local food experiences, as private food producers and distributors have also taken on a proactive role, partly inspired by participation in The Experience Network and have created relational ties that stretch outside the boundaries of Skive municipality. Concerning collaborative business-tobusiness relations, one of the food producers interviewed (Micro brewery, interview) pointed to relational ties being made more easily with businesses with whom there exists a shared frame of reference – e.g. background, experiences, challenges, business size, and world views. A central condition relating to collaborative efforts being established among private food producers was that they shared the same understanding of product quality, and that their products complemented each other rather than competed for the same consumers and tourists. A food producer interviewed (Orchard, interview) contemplated that producers of food, as businesses, saw themselves being more closely related to specialty shops and other small food producers, than to large hotels or the local business school. The local food producers had great pride in their products and the fact that these products were locally produced was seen to be of considerable value. For example, special minerals in the soil that have a positive effect on fruit and vegetables, or the use of self-produced honey and local herbs in beer production, were seen to add value to local produce (Orchard, Micro brewery, interviews). One food producer would even not sell his products in low budget supermarkets because he felt it compromised the quality of his product, and instead relied on placing his

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products in his own web shop and specialty shops that sell premium quality products. The study also, however, identified impediments in relation to such collaborative cross-sector activities: local food producers are small firms with limited resources, and they claimed that they do not have the man-hours needed to deliver or promote their products to other local businesses. Concerning the eateries interviewed, providing a premium quality food experience is central. Overall, a tendency seemed to be that local products are used whenever possible. One of the restaurants highlighted the significance of product quality and local origin: “Because it is good quality and because it is local. Here we cannot sell [national brands] Carlsberg and Tuborg beer, that won’t do… and it is not our concept. We offer [local brands] Thy, Hancock, and Staarup beers. Even the Norwegians have heard about Fur beer, so that is what they want” (Hotel, interview). The quote demonstrates the existence of a local business culture supporting local products and, according to the manager of a major chain supermarket, local residents are a crucial group of customers (Supermarket, interview). This underlines the fact that market influences have a substantial impact on distributors’ choice to stock local products. As suggested by one of the restaurants interviewed (Restaurant, interview), the use of local products not only supports the local community economically, but hopefully, it also has the effect that cross-referrals and reciprocal use of products and services are encouraged among local firms. Overall, a positive attitude existed among the food distributors in this study toward the idea of stocking local products and using them as an integrated part of the dishes on restaurant menus. The municipality was generally viewed as having the potential to demonstrate strong commercial potential in terms of delivering a good variety of quality culinary experiences to locals and tourists. However, from the viewpoint of the local distributors, there were also impediments to achieving this potential, especially concerning the smaller providers, who were represented in this study. A local distributor interviewed specifically said that “they don’t come and tell us what products they have . . . you almost have to beg to get to buy their products . . . they do too little to sell their products . . . they just want to mind their own business, not get involved [in the local trade]” (Restaurant, interview). The practical delivery of products was a central issue regarding accessibility: local distributors expected the local providers to deliver products to the restaurants, whereas the producers expected the local distributors to come and collect their bought products themselves. Conflicting expectations relating to logistics are, in other words, an

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impediment to making local food experiences available, even, in local markets. Limited product quantity was another recurring challenge mentioned by local distributors (Hotel, Supermarket, interviews). For instance, the two supermarket chains interviewed both benefit from economies of scale through national purchasing and marketing procedures which small local suppliers cannot match in terms of volume requirements. Moreover, centralised purchasing and marketing make it difficult to stack, promote and sell local products as this would require individual, and hence extra, marketing investments for the local supermarkets. One of the two chain distributors interviewed did not use local producers, except with regard to the much-in-demand local beer, Hancock: “Yes, excuse me, but it is damn well almost the only beer they will drink in this area. No matter how cheap Tuborg and Carlsberg beer are then they will rather pay a bit more and buy local beer. They don’t care about the price” (Supermarket, interview). In contrast to this, the manager of the other supermarket chain incorporated local food products in the store’s product range, stocking both the municipality’s larger and nationally well-branded products and those of smaller suppliers of fruit and vegetables, despite the fact that large quantities could not be delivered on a regular basis. However, this supermarket saw the benefits and marketing possibilities related to smaller batches e.g. potatoes and strawberries being delivered several times during a day, as this signalled that the products are fresh and local – a quality that both tourists and locals appreciate and acknowledge (Supermarket, interviews). In terms of local distributors using and selling local products - and thereby enabling tourists to benefit from local food experiences - the empirical data indicates that the distributors’ approach to using and having local produce is crucial. For distributors, such as local restaurateurs and one of the supermarkets, local produce is equated with quality. Local produce functioned as a seal of approval, which was highly appreciated by the attractive tourist segment willing to pay extra for a premium food experience.

Conclusions Based on the analysis of the empirical data it can be concluded that that there is a market for local food experiences in Skive. Local food production is strong, with some products even being (inter)nationally known, and there is a high degree of support from local consumers to buy locally produced products, just as there is a growing tendency for local

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food distributors to use and distribute local produce and products, despite challenges about logistics and small-scale production. From an organisational perspective, increased coordination between individual actors through networks and other means appears to be crucial, and three main points need to be addressed. Firstly, in term of strategies, three avenues through which local food can be brought to visitors are in existence: x direct sales from food producers to tourists (farm shops, markets) x local sourcing by supermarkets that are members of national chains x local sourcing by local eateries The first avenue is clearly supported through public policy initiatives, primarily the support for the seasonal Saturday market, and, secondarily, through inclusion of existing farm shops in the general promotional materials for the destination. The third avenue is also promoted through The Experience Network which brings food and tourist actors together and encourages business-to-business relations. Interestingly, the second avenue, local sourcing by national chain supermarkets, is as yet not covered by a policy initiative, despite self-catering holiday homes constituting the main form of accommodation in the destination. The reason for this may be an assessment of the likely response by managers of local supermarkets, or simply reliance on the competitive pressures being generated by some supermarkets beginning to source locally and thereby gaining competitive advantages. However, it still means that the main culinary practice by tourists within the destination - cooking in their selfcatering holiday home - is only partly supported by policy initiatives. Secondly, in terms of network organisation it is striking that the original sectorally-oriented approach of the Food Network was much less successful than the ensuing cross-sectoral and much more inclusive approach taken by The Experience Network. While the original idea would seem to have brought together businesses of a similar nature, namely small-scale craft-style producers with complementary products, the second-generation network instead focused on creating a framework for business-to-business links, something that supported the creation of a local food experience chain because it ran in parallel with perceived changes in local consumer demand and hence prompted trade between food producers and distributors in the locality. Last but by no means least, despite protestations to the contrary, the local food tourism experience chain mainly serves local consumers rather than the visitor economy. While local food producers, food retailers and

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public economic development bodies agree that tourists visiting the municipality do have an interest in local food experiences, the central challenge still seems to be how to make a strong local market for local food more appealing to visitors. As the basic ingredients for food tourism – local quality products and incoming tourists – are clearly present, it would seem to be time to follow the successful back-stage revamping of the destination’s network organisation by a more consistent branding of the destination as a place for quality culinary experiences. The study would seem to suggest that a network-based approach to studying the organisational preconditions of food tourism can be productive and well-worth pursuing in other semi-rural destinations. It is, however, also clear that more work remains to be done, both with regard to understanding the detailed operations of food tourism initiatives – what changes to existing practices of producers are more or less likely to succeed – and, of course, the extent to which such initiatives appeal to current and prospective visitors.

References Baggio, R. and Cooper, C. (2010) Knowledge transfer in a tourism destination: The effects of a network structure. Service Industries Journal. 30(10): 1757-1771. Blichfeldt, B. S. and Therkelsen, A. (2010) Food and tourism: Michelin, moussaka and McDonald's. TRUprogress. (8). Buhalis, D. (2000) Marketing the competitive destination of the future. Journal of Tourism Management. 21(1): 97-116. Cawley, M., Marsat, J.B. and Gilmore, D. A. (2007) Promoting integrated rural tourism: Comparative perspectives on institutional networking in France and Ireland. Tourism Geographies. 9(4): 405-420. Grängsjö, Y. (2003) Destination networking. Co-opetition in peripheral surroundings. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management. 33(5): 427-448. Gyimóthy, S. and Mykletun, R. J. (2009) Scary food: Commodifying heritage as meal adventures in tourism. Journal of Vacation Marketing. 15(3): 259-273. Hall, C. M. and Sharples, L. (2003) The consumption of experiences and the experience of consumption? An introduction to the tourism of taste. In C.M. Hall, L. Sharples, R. Mitchelll, N. Macionis and B. Cambourne (eds) Food tourism around the world: Development, management and markets. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1-24.

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Halkier, H. (2006) Institutions, discourse, and regional development: the Scottish Development Agency and the politics of regional policy. P.I.E.-Peter Lang: New York. —. (2011) Erhvervspolitik mellem det lokale og det globale? Dansk turismepolitik under forandringspres. Økonomi & Politik. 84(4): 11-24. —. (2012) Networking and food knowledge dynamics: Towards an understanding of factors and strategies in bringing regional food to international tourists. In M. Mair (ed.) Culinary tourism. Vienna: Springer Verlag, 67-80. Henriksen, P.F. (2012) Small tourism firms’ inter-organisational relations and knowledge processes: The role of social embeddedness in networks. The case of the Municipality of Vibrog, Denmark. PhD dissertation, Aalborg University. Hjort, A. and Maach, M. (2012) Verdens bedste kok får endelig sin Michelinstjerne. Politiken 2012. (Online) Available from: http://politiken.dk/ibyen/nyheder/restauranter/ECE1568992/verdensbedste-kok-faar-endelig-sin-michelinstjerne/ [Accessed April 15, 2013]. Hjørdie, M. (2006) Netværkskogebogen. Aalborg Erhvervsråd: Aalborg. Holloway, L., Cox, R., Venn, L., Kneafsey, M., Dowler, E. and Tuomainen, H. (2006) Managing sustainable farmed landscape through 'alternative' food networks: A case study from Italy. The Geographical Journal. 172(3): 219-29. Håkansson, H. and Johanson, J. (1992) A model of industrial networks. In B. Axelsson and G. Easton (eds) Industrial networks: A new view of reality. Routledge: London, 28. Ilbery, B., Morris, C., Buller, H., Maye, D. and Kneafsey, M. (2005) Product, process and place: An examination of food marketing and labelling schemes in Europe and North America. European Urban and Regional Studies. 12(2): 116-132. Larsen, H. P. (2011) Performing tasty heritage: Danish cuisine and playful nostalgia at restaurant noma. Ethnologia Europaea. 40(2): 90-102. Long, L. M. (2004) Culinary tourism. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. Montanari, A. and Staniscia, B. (2009) Culinary tourism as a tool for regional re-equilibrium. European Planning Studies. 17(10): 14631483. Morrison, A., Lynch, P. and Johns, N. (2004) International tourism networks. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 16(3):198-204

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Novelli, M., Schmitz, B. and Spencer, T. (2006) Networks, clusters and innovation in tourism: A UK experience. Tourism Management. 27(6):1141-1152. Parrott, N., Wilson, N. and Murdoch, J. (2002) Spatialising quality: Regional protection and the alternative geography of food. European Urban and Regional Studies. 9(3): 241-261. Region Midtjylland (2011) Ny vækst i turismen -en strategi for en mere fokuseret og professional turisme i Region Midtjylland frem mod 2020. Region Midtjylland. Renting, H., Marsden, T. K. and Banks, J. (2003) Understanding alternative food networks: Exploring the role of short food supply chains in rural development. Environment and Planning A. 35(3): 393411. Ritzaus Bureau (2013) Dansk madeventyr: Turister spiser for 10 milliarder. Ritzaus Bureau Monday 29th April 2013. Scott, N., Baggio, R. and Cooper, C. (2008) Network analysis and tourism: From theory to practice. Clevedon, England: Channel View Publications. Shapira, P. (2008) Learning to innovate: Building regional technology development learning networks in midsized cities. European Planning Studies. 16(9): 1207-1228. Shaw, G. and Williams, A. (2009) Knowledge transfer and management in tourism organisations: An emerging research agenda. Tourism Management. 30(3): 325-335. Sims, R. (2009) Food, place and authenticity: Local food and the sustainable tourism experience. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 17(3): 321-36. —. (2010) Putting place on the menu: The negotiation of locality in UK food tourism, from production to consumption. Journal of Rural Studies. 26: 105-15. Skiveegnens Erhvervs- og Turistcenter (2010) VisitSkive – Oplevelser for alle sanser. Skive: Skiveegnens Erhvervs- og Turistcenter. —. (2011) ’Skive Rundt’ giver inspiration til unikke oplevelser”. Press release (Online) Available from: Http://www.skiveet.dk/files/Institutioner2/Skiveegnens%20Erhverv%2 0og%20Turist/Projekt/Skive%20Rundt/Presse%20Oplevelsesnetv%C3 %A6rket%20vers%20%202.pdf. [Accessed May 2012]. Skive Kommune (2010a) Skive Kommunes turisme- og oplevelsespolitik 2010-2014. Skive: Skive Kommune. —. (2010b) Rent Liv . English version. (Online) Available from: http://issuu.com/kulturskive/docs/www.skiverentliv.dk

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[Accessed April 2012]. —. (2013) (Online) Available from www.skiverentliv.dk [Accessed December 2013]. Tinsley, R. and Lynch, P. (2001) Small tourism business networks and destination development. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 20(4): 367-378. Therkelsen, A. and Halkier, H. (2011) Branding provincial cities: The politics of inclusion, strategy and commitment. In A. Pike (ed.) Brands and branding geographies. London: Edward Elgar, 200-212. Tregear, A., Arfini, F., Belletti, G. and Marescotti, A. (2007) Regional foods and rural development: The role of product qualification. Journal of Rural Studies. 23(1): 12-22. VisitDenmark (2013) Michelin- starred restaurant in Denmark. (Online) Available from: http://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/michelinstarred-restaurants-denmark [Accessed April 15, 2013]. Visit Skive (2012) (Online) Available from: http://www.skiveet.dk/visitskive/ [Accessed October 16, 2012].

CHAPTER FOURTEEN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN MALAYSIA NORLIZA AMINUDIN

Introduction The dense tropical rainforest which houses much of the world’s unique flora and fauna is an attraction highly sought after by tourists. Researchers and tourists alike yearn to investigate and witness the secrets of what is often referred to as the ‘lungs of the planet’; it supplies oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Both researchers and tourists are ‘outsiders’ to the forest, yet this significant and diverse natural environment has been co-existing with its own special human population for thousands of years – the indigenous peoples. The indigenous peoples are generally shy communities, depending on the forest’s rich biodiversity for their survival. The forest supplies space for hunting and gathering of non-timber forest products that are essential for the indigenous peoples’ daily needs. All over the world and for hundreds of years the forests have been shrinking and slowly losing their value, under the pretext of ‘development’, by indigenous and non-indigenous peoples alike. The forest’s natural resources, including timber, have been used and exploited, whilst deforestation has continued apace in the interests of agriculture, industrialisation, and residential development. Although deforestation looks unlikely to stop, there is growing national and international awareness of the importance of sustaining the rainforest and its inhabitants, including the rights of the indigenous communities. Ideally, the so-called development of the tropical rainforest should be a win-win situation; the interests of the ‘owners’ of the forest (including indigenous peoples) should not be jeopardised when the non- indigenous come to

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explore the forest’s kaleidoscope of resources. Tourism - including both sustainable and indigenous tourism - can sometimes be seen as intruding into an uninvited area, disturbing a community otherwise living in a sustained environment. Yet tourism can also offer opportunities for economic growth and development for a variety of groups, including indigenous communities (Ashley et al., 2000). This chapter draws on ethnographic research to illustrate various ways in which indigenous communities in West Malaysia interact with tourism and the implications this has for their ways of life. The indigenous communities discussed here include those who are living in the forest and non-forest areas of the country. In Malaysia, there are three main groups of indigenous peoples, known as bumiputera (literally translated as prince of the land or son of the soil): the local Malays, found throughout the country; the aborigines of the Peninsular Malaysia or West Malaysia, known as the orang asli (original people); and the anak negeri (natives) of Sabah and Sarawak (these two states are located in East Malaysia, in the Island of Borneo). The indigenous communities within this study are all based in Peninsular Malaysia, which consists of three major tribes: the Senoi, Proto-Malays and Negritos. As the following sections of the chapter illustrate, different tribes and subtribes interact with tourism in different ways with consequences for the development of sustainable tourism and the continuance of traditional ways of life in these areas of Malaysia.

Sustainable tourism Indigenous communities and the tropical rain forest co-existed long before the development of the tourism system (Leiper, 1979), and subsequent tourist demands for novel experiences. Various tourism vocabularies have been used to try and explain the relationship between indigenous communities, the tropical rainforest and tourists: sustainable tourism, indigenous tourism, eco-tourism, responsible tourism, green tourism, alternative tourism, niche tourism, and soft and appropriate tourism. Admittedly, most of these terms have a wider scope than that applied in this chapter but many of them cross over with the issues discussed here. Internationally, the concept of sustainability was formally conceptualised with Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report, by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987). In relation to tourism, the UN World Tourism Organisation has defined the concept of sustainable tourism as ‘tourism that is based on the principles of sustainable development’, recognising the

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needs of the economy, society and the natural environment. It can be applied to many forms of tourism in many types of destinations, including mass tourism and various niche tourism segments (UNEP and WTO, 2005). It is a concept focused around attempts to meet the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing the environment and opportunities for the future. Tourism, with its many far-reaching tentacles (Gunn, 1994), can have both positive and negative effects on the community, the economy, and the environment (Byrd, 2007). Ideally, economic development and environmental protection should not be seen as opposing forces. Nonetheless in many cases challenges arise from the different interests of multiple stakeholders, ranging from adhering to the practices of sustainable development and environmental protection to being driven primarily by the profit motive. Although the concept of sustainability can apply to all forms of tourism, its connection to the natural environment is important because of the environment’s finite characteristics, and treasures that cannot be replaced. The natural environment is greatly appreciated not only by those whose lives directly depend on it but also by tourists. The negative impacts of development on the environment of the rainforest include deforestation, soil erosion, littering, wildlife disturbances and of course effects on the life of indigenous communities too. Many tourists are becoming concerned about environmental issues and would like to see investment in sustainable tourism, focusing on the environment, community and economy. Within the sustainable tourism model, any tourism exploration into the world of the tropical rainforest - or even at its fringes - must also look to maintain the quality of the natural environment and the lives of the forest’s inhabitants – flora, fauna and human. Considerations of the relationship between indigenous communities and tourism has highlighted issues related to the ability of indigenous communities to adapt to changing surroundings as a result of tourism development, from environment, socio-cultural and economic perspectives (Zeppel, 2006). Critical world-wide issues surrounding indigenous communities’ land rights, land use and resource management are important to these debates, although are beyond the scope of this chapter. Although there are no standard guidelines for sustainable tourism involving indigenous communities, there are similarities to the standards which have been outlined for ecotourism (Blamey, 2001; CeballosLascurain, 2003; Witt et al., 2012):

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1. Tourism activity is carried out in a relatively undisturbed natural setting. 2. Negative impacts of tourism activity are minimised. 3. Tourism activities assist in conserving the natural and cultural heritage. 4. It actively involves local communities in the process, providing benefits to them. 5. It contributes to sustainable development and is a profitable business. 6. Education/appreciation/interpretation component (of both natural and cultural heritage) must be present. These standards can act as a guide for the development of sustainable tourism practices involving indigenous communities, although further research is required to determine if and how these guidelines may need to be adapted to local contexts.

Indigenous communities and tourism in Malaysia Malaysia is a relatively young country that gained independence in 1957. Its economy was initially commodity-based, with heavy dependence on rubber and tin. Subsequently, as in other developing countries, industrial development was introduced as a strategy to expand the economy beyond the basic resource-based industries. The tourism sector was seen as a path to economic diversification and its economic contribution began to be felt in the 1970’s, since then tourism has become one of the country’s prominent growth strategies. With a population of about 28 million people and covering a comparatively small geographic area, Malaysia’s position as the 10th most visited country in the world in 2012, according to the UNWTO, is rather impressive (Kim, 2013). The tourism industry is Malaysia’s second largest foreign exchange earner, after manufactured goods, and the seventh largest contributor to the national economy. Tourism is thus a high-yield sector that looks likely to continue to drive Malaysia’s economy, providing income and opportunities to the population (Speech by the Minister of Tourism, 2014). In diversifying its tourism offering and attractiveness beyond mass tourism, niche areas have been identified and promoted. One of the enduring attractions of Malaysia to international tourists is its world’s oldest tropical rainforests, estimated at 130 million years old (Tourism Malaysia, 2014). In addition to natural beauty, the unique melting pot population of Malaysia offers tourists many social and cultural

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experiences to encounter. Currently, about 10 percent of tourist arrivals into Malaysia are eco-related. Linkage between the world’s oldest forest and the existence of the indigenous communities is a magnet in attracting tourists. Indigenous tourism may be defined as “tourism activity in which indigenous people are directly involved either through control and/or having their culture serve as the essence of the attraction” (Hinch and Butler, 1996: 5). Either ‘through control’ or having their culture ‘watched’ by tourists, indigenous communities can become involved in tourism, either directly or indirectly. This involvement becomes direct when tourists are brought into the settlement of indigenous communities, to watch or experience their culture and heritage. In some cases, the culture and heritage is being staged at a commercialised centre, away from the indigenous community settlement, such as at art galleries, cultural villages and places where events are held. Through these practices, the indigenous people become direct suppliers in the tourism system. The showcase of indigenous culture has been planned and the expectations of the spectators/tourists can be realised. An example of this is the celebration of World Indigenous Day, an event celebrated yearly since 1995. This event celebrates the beauty of indigenous cultures, bringing people from all communities together in the hopes of building relationships, and acknowledging their pride and diversity. The indigenous peoples are the main ‘actor’ in this event. Another type of direct involvement in tourism is when indigenous communities are visited at their villages; tourists like to look at the ‘life exhibits’, to feel like they are partaking in authentic experiences. Indigenous communities are also often involved in tourism indirectly. For example, some members of indigenous communities are working in the broader field of tourism that is not related to indigenous tourism specifically. This happens when tourism activities take place not far from indigenous settlements. ‘Settlement’ in this context refers to land officially recognised by the government in Malaysia as being specifically for use by the indigenous community. This action was partly an effort undertaken by the government to eradicate poverty among indigenous communities, regrouping most of them in recognised settlements. In general this land cannot be sold and non-indigenous people are not allowed to reside or make a living there. Strictly speaking, selling even part of the land will have to go through numerous committees and procedures. Nonetheless this arrangement is not as simple as it sounds. There have been negative incidents of cases involving ‘greediness’ of outsiders trying to reap the rewards of indigenous land, and occasions when changes have been made to the land

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title, under the name of development. The Malaysian Aboriginal Peoples Act, 1954, determines who can settle on these lands. As of 2012, about 27,800 hectares of land have been recognised as reserved land for the indigenous community; an additional 26,600 hectares of land, currently under the state’s authority, has been approved to be designated for the indigenous communities. The official body with responsibility for the indigenous community is the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA), under the umbrella of the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (Orang Asli is the local term for indigenous people). The primary goal of the early establishment of JAKOA was to protect the indigenous community and their way of life from rapid development and exploitation by external parties, as well as to provide facilities and assistance for these communities in relation to education, health and socioeconomic development.

Research approach This chapter is based on an ethnographic study of indigenous communities at four settlements in Malaysia. Ethnographic methods included a series of interviews, observations and document reviews at each site. The participants in the study included tour guides, Tok Batins (headman) and several other indigenous people at each of the four settlements. The first case presented is that of the Mah Meri tribe, who appear to be embracing indigenous tourism and becoming directly involved in the tourism product and experience. Next is the Semai tribe at a well-known highland destination of the country who have direct and indirect contact with tourists. The next case is that of the Jakun and Semoq Beri tribes at Kampung Mas Orang Asli Settlement. This settlement is located near to other nature attractions and occasionally receives passing tourists. Finally, the case of the Batek tribe is discussed, as they have become part of the attractions offered to tourists at the country’s oldest national park. As of 2012 there are estimated to be about 178,000 indigenous people in Malaysia, representing about 0.6 per cent of the population, living in about 870 settlements or villages in mostly Pahang and Perak. Sadly, 76.9% of these people live below the poverty line, with nearly one-third classified as living in hard-core poverty (Department of Statistics, 2010). The indigenous community in Malaysia used to live a nomadic lifestyle, based around self-sufficiency, trade and barter trade. Traditional selfsufficiency activities include fishing, hunting and gathering of forest products. Meanwhile barter trade includes the exchange of blowpipes and

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blowpipe-bamboo among local groups and with the neighbouring Malay communities. Other barter trade products include jungle products and products sourced from outside the jungle, such as salt, knives and metal axe-heads. The indigenous people are well known for their reclusiveness and shyness towards outsiders, and they value compassion, kindness and gentleness. They may find these values to be lacking in outsiders and this may have encouraged them to stay away from their Malay neighbours, except for trading at the forest edges before retreating back to the forest (Nicholas, 2007). However, now it is no longer a rarity to see indigenous people assimilating themselves into the economic activities of the region along with the rest of the population, thus influencing their socio-culture and contributing to changes to the environment and economy. Gradually, modernisation has stepped into their daily lifestyles. Part of modernisation includes tourism, and the following case studies illustrate the involvement of indigenous communities in tourism in Malaysia.

Culture and heritage as attraction The uniqueness of any indigenous community is a pull factor for most cultural tourists and ethnographers. The history of their language, food, dance, crafts, costume and beliefs in gods and spirits are among dimensions that hold enduring attraction for tourists. Whether these dimensions are real or myth does not matter, they are considered mysterious and a link to ancient civilisations by many tourists. If there is a chance to have direct contact with the indigenous community, tourist demand pours in. This is true in the case of the Mah Meri tribe, a subgroup under the main group of Senoi. In terms of presenting culture as a tourism product, the Mah Meri is perhaps the most commercialised indigenous community in Peninsular Malaysia. Four generations ago, they were known as the ‘sea gypsies’, leading a lifestyle that was similar to a few other ethnic groups in South-East Asia, yet now they are settled in an area designated for them on Carey Island, situated in the west coast of Malaysia. Although near to a port, sadly there is no direct access to the sea now due to land reclamation works. However, line-fishing still goes on, partly for leisure and partly for food. One of the tribe’s main achievements in relation to tourism and heritage is the attainment of the UNESCO Seal of Excellence for their wood sculptures (Mah Meri Cultural Village, 2013). Tourists can visit the Mah Meri Cultural Village, which is built and managed by the tribe. Initially the village was just a showcase for song and dance performances to tourists in an effort to show the tribe’s culture.

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However, with the help of relevant authorities and partners, which include non-governmental organisations such as the Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation, the village has developed, with the latest addition being the establishment of a cultural learning centre. This centre is fully equipped with learning facilities that are used to demonstrate and teach tourists about the skills of dancing and music, mangrove timber sculpturing, palm leaf origami, pandanus leaf weaving and tree bark cloth making. With grants from Regional Network for Indigenous Peoples (RNIP) and the Ford Motor Company, the Mah Meri have replanted pandanus seedlings and other plants needed for future handicraft production. The grant from RNIP also helped them to purchase audiovideo and computer equipment which have been used to document their heritage (Rahim, 2007). A day trip package, including lunch, is available for tourists. One of the peak times to visit the village is during the celebration of Hari Moyang (Spirit’s Day) which is celebrated for one month. Other than the willingness of the Mah Meri to be involved in tourism, the location of their settlement (which is not far from Kuala Lumpur city centre) helps in showcasing their culture to tourists. This group has reached a high level of understanding in depicting their culture through arts, dance and handicrafts, in ways that appeal to tourists. The Mah Meri tribe do not feel they are being exploited or degraded by showing off their culture in these ways. The headman explained, “we feel proud and happy to be able to show our culture and to be able to get extra income out of these tourism activities”. As is the case for many other suppliers in the tourism sector, the indigenous communities in Malaysia are not forced to open up their lifestyle for tourists to watch and experience. In the case of the Mah Meri tribe, opening their door to tourists actually helps to sustain their culture in several ways. The cultural village and its cultural learning centre act as a preservation centre for Mah Meri cultural heritage, not only for tourist consumption but also to raise awareness within their own people. Many of the older generation worry that only they have the knowledge and skills of their ancestors, and that this cultural knowledge may be lost unless younger generations can be encouraged to learn these skills and histories. Thus, the cultural learning centre is also a place for these few elderly tribes people to pass along their knowledge while supporting and guiding the community, especially the younger generation, towards sustaining their cultural heritage. Efforts to sustain and improve the people’s lifestyles are on-going, involving projects undertaken with concerned partners that focus on

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reforestation, health, use of modern machinery in production, disposal of toxic waste from craft activities and sustainable use of resources. The Mah Meri learnt that partnerships are a basis for achieving more together. A few years ago, there was a situation where supplies of pandanus leaf were being rapidly depleted, nearly resulting in the loss of interest in pandanus weaving. The supply of the leaf was being reduced as a result of the clearance of land in the nearby area. Fortunately, in part as a result of tourist interest in the craft, efforts were taken to revive the weaving practices by replanting pandanus. This was followed by improvements being made to the processes of weaving and dyeing. Similarly, due to the scarcity of Pulai wood - a lightweight whitish wood ideal for mask making - an alternative wood, Nyireh Batu - a reddish hardwood - is being used instead. Although initially these masks were carved for ritual purposes, inspired by spirits appearing in the carver’s dream, now the Mah Meri have accepted that they are producing the masks for commercial purposes too, as they are popular products with visiting tourists, as well as to keep practising their carving skills. There are continuing efforts to develop curriculum for this mask-carving project, which will continue to teach both students and older community members the value of utilising and maintaining available resources – from the land to the sea – in a sustainable way, for the social, cultural, economic and environmental benefit of the community.

Tourism is just on the door step Unlike other tribes who are either settled far away from tourism attractions, or who have a cultural village like the Mah Meri tribe, another group - the Semai tribe - has settled right in the centre of an established tourism area, the Cameron Highlands. Cameron Highlands was named after William Cameron, who mapped the area, as commissioned by the then British colonial government in 1885; however, the indigenous community was already there at this time. Cameron Highlands has a different ecosystem from the rest of the country, due to its altitude. Various attractions are available in this region, from tea plantations, strawberry and vegetable farms, to golf courses, in addition to opportunities to experience the natural attractions of waterfalls, flora and fauna whether through guided tours or solo adventures. The popularity of Cameron Highlands as a tourism destination has made the indigenous community familiar with the presence of tourists. Some of the indigenous people work in the hospitality industry. Although there is no formal tourism package for visiting the Semai‘s settlement,

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unofficial visits have taken place for many years. In 2009, a package was developed that included visiting the indigenous settlement in Sungai Ruil, one of the 27 villages in the Cameron Highlands. This settlement was chosen due to its accessibility, openness in accepting visitors and ability to showcase its uniqueness in terms of their way of living, including displaying handicrafts, weapons, food, dance, song and musical instruments. One of the aims of the development of this tourism package was to improve the indigenous community’s standard of living, in line with the government’s aspiration to develop their social and economic standards. However the programme was short-lived due to the landslide disaster of 2011. Although the cause of the landslide was not directly related to tourism, it had repercussions for the development of indigenous tourism in the area. The area was also affected by land clearing activity, which had a domino effect in relation to the degradation of the biodiversity of this beautiful highland area. These land clearances were conducted as part of the further development of Cameron Highlands, which was partly a result of increased tourist interest in the region. At the time of writing, the indigenous community is still staying in a temporary settlement while waiting for their permanent settlement to be rebuilt. This is being built with the help of the government and is expected to be equipped with facilities such as electricity, water supply, a village road, a multipurpose hall and a kindergarten. Some of the indigenous people in this region can be seen selling forest products, such as wild orchids, bamboo, petai (parkia speciosa or stinky bean), roots, and honey. They also sell crafts including chopsticks, food covers and pine baskets. These individuals seem to welcome tourism, as explained by one participant, tourists brought some gifts for us, usually it’s tit-bits. They want us to tell them about our ancestors, about animals in the jungle and more . . . sometimes they ask us to sing . . . yes we entertain them and at the same time our younger generation also learn from our explanations . . . No, they did not ask us to practise other than what we are doing now.

Tourism is not far away In some cases, tourism development in a nearby area is bringing tourists nearer and nearer to indigenous settlements. Questions remain regarding how affected these communities are by this development. The encroachment of tourism near to the areas of the indigenous community settlements has affected them both directly and indirectly, whether or not

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they are open to the idea of tourism. The next two cases are indigenous communities in the biggest state in Peninsular Malaysia, Pahang. In an area known as Sungai Lembing that used to be known as the El Dorado of the East, there is one of the largest and deepest subterranean tin mines in the world. The mine was opened by the British in the 1880s and closed in 1986, as it was no longer economical to continue its operation. The deserted mine is now a living museum and Sungai Lembing is becoming a town that appeals to both history and nature lovers, since the place is also blessed with natural beauties of caves, waterfalls and hills. Popular activities in the area include picnicking, camping and hiking, watching the sunrise and sunset, and photography activities. These activities are popular both for local and international tourists. Existing among the man-made and natural attractions, at the edge of the lush tropical rainforest, is a settlement of two indigenous tribes, the Jakun and Semoq Beri. The Kampung Mas Orang Asli Settlement (Village Mas Indigenous Settlement) is located along the route to Pasir Kubur (Sandy Graveyard), a favourite tourist campsite by a river. Tourists can often be seen passing by the settlement on their way to the campsite. According to the headman of the settlement, tourism development of Sungai Lembing is thus far not affecting their way of life. Their daily activities remain the same; they are still engaged in hill rice cultivation, hunting and gathering of forest products. In fact, they appreciate many of the outcomes of modernisation in the region, such as the establishment of a school at their settlement, which is one of few indigenous settlements with a primary school. The government bears the costs of education expenses such as stationery, text books and uniforms. With pride the headman mentioned that a few of the teachers at the school are from their own community. The existence of the school has at least reduced the difficulty of educational attainment due to poverty. The indigenous peoples are known to be living below the poverty line, thus affecting their diet, education and health. These three factors are inter-related and are very much dominated by their poor economic position. As a result of modernisation processes that have been implemented in part as a result of increased tourism traffic in the region, these indigenous communities are benefiting from improved facilities and education. A more remote indigenous community that has seen development of tourism on their door step would be the Batek tribe in the Taman Negara National Park in Pahang. With its vast area of rainforest, this is the largest National Park in Malaysia, and is used for conservation purposes and as a symbol of national pride. Unlike some of the other indigenous communities in Malaysia, the Batek tribe can be said to still be leading a

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semi-nomadic lifestyle. The Batek tribe is in the family of Negritos, which is the smallest ethnic group; approximately only three per cent of the total indigenous community in Peninsular Malaysia. There are about 13 settlements of the Bateks in this region and for most visitors to the National Park visiting the Batek tribe is one of the main attractions, although some tourists have commented that they do not feel very welcomed by the indigenous community. To the tourists, visiting this deep-interior area requires help from a tour guide to ensure a safe and enjoyable journey. The use of a tourist guide may contribute to the tourists’ expectation that they will be openly welcomed by the indigenous community, but this is not the case. The unwelcoming feeling that some tourists have picked up on is not because the Bateks do not welcome tourists but more a result of their cultural disposition. The Batek are a reclusive community. Although they are not as open as the Mah Meri in Carey Island and the Senoi of the Cameron Highlands, this does not mean the Bateks have rejected indigenous tourism completely. Rather, the idea of indigenous tourism has been partially embraced since they do sometimes showcase simple activities for tourists to observe and experience, such as the traditional way of igniting fire and opportunities to try their hunting weapon by blowing darts through blowpipes. Handicrafts such as bracelets, bangles, combs and hair clips are also being sold to tourists. However, for the Bateks, the income obtained from tourists is considered to be just a side income. The monetary income from tourism is only small, yet they consider it sufficient to get by, since they still practice traditional activities and self-sufficiency. Taman Negara is a source of sandal wood which will suffice the Bateks in terms of money, as for them, money holds little appeal or value. The money they get is used for buying groceries from the nearest town of Jerantut, although they do not need many groceries due to their self-sufficient lifestyle. The younger generation of the Bateks is more open towards modernisation, sometimes becoming nature guides (with or without license) and boat men. A few of them have migrated to urban areas, leaving their jungle homes. It remains difficult for tourists to arrange to sample indigenous cuisine or to sleep communally in a hut in this region, and special arrangements are required for such experiences. The Bateks sustain their culture and heritage and, although they support the younger generation venturing into tourism, the elder community members hope that their people will continue to preserve their culture in future times. The Bateks believe that no one should claim land ownership, that land was created for everybody to use and that no one has the right to exclude anyone else from living or working wherever they wish. These beliefs have contributed to their attitude towards accepting

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tourism in Taman Negara, even though many community members do not wish to be actively involved in tourism in the region.

Conclusion Miners going into the mines often used to carry small birds, such as canaries, which were highly sensitive to the buildup of toxic gases. If the birds died, the miners quickly fled. Today, the world's 500 million indigenous peoples are the miners' canary; and the Earth, particularly the tropical rainforests, is the mine. That the canary is dying is a warning that the dominant cultures of the world have become toxic to the Earth. In this case, however, we cannot flee the mine. (Clay, 1990: 106)

Even though they may be far away from the hustle and bustle of urban living, it is impossible to say that the lives of the indigenous communities in Malaysia are not affected by the country’s modernisation in recent years. Modernisation has developed gradually since the country achieved independence in 1957. Modernisation and commercialisation have profoundly affected the lives of Malaysia’s indigenous communities, as the land surrounding community settlements has been eroded and encroached upon in the name of ‘development’. Life as nomadic huntergatherers is a thing of the past. Although evidence suggests that indigenous communities have been settled in the Malaysia region for 40,000-50,000 years, there are now less than 200,000 indigenous people in the country (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2010). Time has witnessed a dramatic decline in population numbers and, with this, indigenous culture and heritage has often been eroded and diluted. Many factors have contributed to this, including voluntary conversions from animism to Islam or Christianity, intermarriage (a small percentage) and depleting resources to conduct certain rituals and ceremonies. Traditional healers suggest that there are about 6,500 varieties of tropical plants in the rainforest to treat illnesses including malaria, syphilis and stomach ulcers, but that many of these species are disappearing. As Clay (1990) suggests in the quote above, indigenous communities are sending out a clear message to the developed world, although the extent to which this message is being heard is debatable. Tourism has brought some positive outcomes for some of the indigenous communities in Malaysia, in that it has managed to stimulate the interest of the indigenous peoples towards reviving and preserving their own culture and heritage. Tourism does not only help to save aspects of their culture, it also provides jobs for some within indigenous communities. However, monetary value is less appreciated by these

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communities than their traditional, simple ways of living, and the peace of mind that accompanies this. Indigenous communities thus welcome the opportunity to be involved in tourism if that involvement helps them to sustain their traditional ways of life, through preserving their culture and providing additional income to supplement their subsistence lifestyles. Indigenous tourism may, in some cases, act as a catalyst to prompt the indigenous peoples to sustain their culture and heritage. As much as tourists want to venture into the tropical rainforest, it is still home to the indigenous peoples. Conservation of the environment, including the lifestyles and settlements of indigenous peoples, should be a priority in terms of future development. Tourism may play a role in such future development, however, this role should be supplementary to the primary goals of maintaining the natural environment and indigenous communities. It has been said that tourism in Asia, including Malaysia, is highly influenced by politics, and often has a short-term focus (Nicholas, 2007). Additionally, ethnic minorities, in this case the indigenous communities, are often excluded from the tourism consultative process. Power is still in the hands of those with more resources and political and financial influence, and the indigenous communities are thus vulnerable to encroaching demands of modernisation, commercialisation and ‘development’. A worrying development, in terms of social, cultural and environmental sustainability, is that parts of rural Malaysia with valuable natural resources are starting to look increasingly urban, Cameron Highlands for example. The highland and the tropical rainforest are part of a delicate ecosystem which, if managed effectively, can continue to benefit future generations. Who knows the best ways to sustain these regions other than the indigenous communities themselves? Practices to promote sustainability of the forest, which are core to the success of sustainable tourism in this area, can be learned from the indigenous people, since they survived for thousands of years living in the forest without disturbing the balance of the natural environment that sustains the rainforest. Let them live in the forest on their own terms, working about five hours per day to sustain their basic needs. If they choose to become involved in tourism their knowledge and experience of co-existing with the forest for thousands of years should be welcomed and acted upon by those involved in tourism development.

Acknowledgements The author would like to thank all those that have helped in completing this chapter which include students of HTT712 Tourism Destination Analysis. A special appreciation goes to the indigenous community of the

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Mah Meri at Carey Island; the Jakun and Semoq Beri of Kampung Mas Orang Asli Settlement; the Semai at Sungai Ruil, Cameron Highlands; and the Bateks at National Park in Pahang. Gratitude also goes to a few individuals who were willing to be interviewed but preferred not to be named.

References Ashley, C., Boyd, C., and Goodwin, H. (2000) Pro-poor tourism: putting poverty at the heart of the tourism agenda. Natural Resource Perspectives, (51): 6. Blamey, K.R. (2001) Principles of ecotourism. In D.B. Weaver (ed.) The Encyclopaedia of Tourism. New York : CABI Publishing, 5-22. Byrd, E. T. (2007) Stakeholders in sustainable tourism and their role: Applying stakeholder theory to sustainable development. Tourism Review. 62(2): 6–13. Ceballos-Lascurain, H. (2003) Preface. In M. Luck and K. Torsten (eds) Global ecotourism policies and case studies: Perspectives and constraints. Clevedon, UK: Channel View Publications, viii-xii. Clay, J. W. (1990) Indigenous peoples: The miner’s canary for the twentieth century. In S. Head and R. Heinzman (eds) Lessons from the Rainforest. San Francisco : Sierra Club, 106-117. Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2010) Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia - Monograph Series No. 3. Putrajaya : Department of Statistics Malaysia. —. (2010) Population and housing census of Malaysia 2010: Preliminary count report. Putrajaya : Department of Statistics Malaysia. Gunn, C. A. (1994) Tourism planning: Basic concepts and cases, 3rd edition.. Washington D.C.: Taylor and Francis. Hinch, T. and Butler, R. (1996) Indigenous tourism: A common ground for discussion. In T. Hinch and R. Butler (eds) Tourism and Indigenous Peoples. London : International Thomson Business Press, 3-19. Indigenous People of The Rainforest. (n.d.) [Online} Available from http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/background/people.htm [Accessed May 28, 2013]. International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. (2013) United Nations. [Online] Available from http://www.un.org/en/events/indigenousday/ [Accessed May 28, 2013]. Kim, K. (2013) The 10 most visited countries in the world. The Global Post. [Internet] Available from

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http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/culturelifestyle/traveltourism/130509/the-10-most-visited-countries-theworld-photos [Accessed May 1, 2014]. Leiper, N. (1979) The framework of tourism: Towards a definition of tourism, tourist, and the tourist industry. Annals of Tourism Research. 6(4): 390–407. Mah Meri Cultural Village. (n.d.) [Online] Available from http://mmcv.org.my/ [Accessed May 28, 2013]. Nicholas, C. (2007) Center for Orang Asli concerns. [Online] Available from www.coac.org.my. [Accessed May 28, 2013]. Rahim, R. C. (2007) Culture, crafts and customs of the Hma’ Meri in Kampung Singai Bumbon, Pulau Carey. Subang Jaya, Malaysia: Center for Orang Asli Concerns and Tompoq Topoh. Tourism Malaysia (2014) [Online] Available from http://www.tourism.gov.my/en/Master/WebPage/Places/States-ofMalaysia/Pahang/Taman-Negara [Accessed May 28, 2013]. United Nations Environment Programme & World Tourism Organization. (2005) Making tourism more sustainable: A guide for policy makers. Available from http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx0592xPATourismPolicyEN.pdf [Accessed May 28, 2013]. Witt, L. D., Merwe, P. V. D., and Saayman, M. (2012) An ecotourism model for South African National Parks. Tourism & Management Studies. 1138-1142. World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987) Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press. World Indigenous Day. (2013) Vancouver Lifestyles. [Online] Available from http://www.vancouverlifestyles.com/leisure/world-indigenous-day [Accessed May 28, 2013]. Zeppel, H.D. (2006) Indigenous Ecotourism: Sustainable development and management. Oxfordshire, UK: CABI.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN RURAL TOURISM POLICIES AND EXISTING CONFLICTS IN SOUTH AFRICA LINDISIZWE M. MAGI AND NOTHILE P. NDIMANDE

Introduction Since the advent of the new democratic order in South Africa, politicians and various state legislators have seen tourism as ‘the goose that lays the golden egg’ and a cure-all human activity, particularly as an antidote to increased unemployment, poverty, spatial inequalities and poor service delivery in various municipalities. Several tourism writers and social commentators (Lubbe, 2003; Rogerson and Visser, 2004; Ramphele, 2008) have noted the influx of tourists into the country since the democratic dispensation, as well as perceived over-reliance on tourism developmental capacities, and have advocated for the introduction of new transformational tourism policies. Under these circumstances, tourism has been acknowledged as a ‘virgin discipline’ that relies on literary sources from western countries (Wahab and Pigram, 2000: 7). Tourism officials in South Africa argue that tourism will provide jobs and alleviate poverty, whereas local rural communities do not necessarily agree. Rural people in depressed areas tend to favour commercialisation of resources, as opposed to their conservation. For many local people, ‘the rural’ is seen in terms of the character of local landscapes, the identities and lifestyles of indigenous people, and what is thought to be the antithesis of urbanity and peri-urbanism. Often, this lifestyle is attached to local history and culture. Tourism in KwaZuluNatal has created pressures for rural people to live up to stereotypes of what is ‘rural’. The notion of rurality that many recreators and tourists (consumers) have in mind is that of spatial purity and authenticity (Bell, 2006). However, the rural entrepreneur is more likely to see an

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opportunity to ‘stage’ rurality through the creation of cultural villages. These villages are a form of recreating artificial rurality, history, culture and lifestyles of indigenous people. They lack authenticity and are places of performance, narration, education and money-making. The apartheid period has also exerted its own influence on what is seen as the ruraltourism environment. Legislation during that period advocated that most, if not all, black Africans originate from rural areas and should stay there. They should only go to urban areas for work purposes and after being granted a permit to do so. For example, the infamous Group Areas Act of 1950 (Native Urban Areas Act, Section 10) prescribed that all black Africans were the main inhabitants of rural areas, and had to work hard and long to achieve urban status. This policy influenced regional demographics, with high numbers of black people living in rural areas, and was hated by most black Africans, thus distorting the conception of rurality. This chapter seeks to explore the perceptions, tensions and conflicts existing between officials, service providers and local rural communities, regarding job opportunities, employment and livelihoods in rural areas. The existence of policies does not mean that every community member understands or accepts them. The chapter also seeks to address the viability or otherwise of policies and strategies that attempt to uphold employment in tourism and service delivery for the benefit of local communities. It also discusses the main sources of conflict resulting from the exclusion of local people from participating in nature conservation decision-making processes. The nature conservation authorities and tourism businesses are struggling to uphold the philosophy of conservation amidst high levels of ignorance, poverty and unemployment within local communities. Conflict is also demonstrated in the distinctiveness and paradox of the South African rural tourism landscapes. The chapter hopes to not only highlight the status of existing rural tourism and related policies and counter-arguments associated with tourism resources, but also to point towards possibilities for more transparent management and equitable development. The chapter also proposes some suggestions relating to the application of cultural authenticity, effective tourism service delivery and minimising the commercialisation of natural resources and culture in rural areas. The achievement of these goals may alleviate many of the existing tensions, conflicts and protracted debates in the South Africa rural landscape, which may then lead to all stakeholders benefiting more from rural areas.

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Evolution of tourism policy issues in South Africa The evolution of the development and promotion of tourism policy regimes in South Africa may be seen in terms of three distinct periods, namely the pre-Mandela period; the Mandela period of national unity and the post-Mandela period. The pre-Mandela period is synonymous with the pre-democracy period (1970-1990), wherein most nature and tourism resources were directed through apartheid policies. Most of these resources were under the sole preserve and privilege of white South Africans (Magi and Nzama, 2008). This state of affairs was not achieved and encouraged by discriminatory legislation alone, but also by the socioeconomic inequalities prevalent in South Africa, especially in rural tourism areas. Some commentators (Ramphele, 2008) have argued that the basis for poor service delivery was rooted in this period of South African history, the pre-Mandela period. Rural people are usually the last to get good educational, health, housing, electricity, transport and employment opportunities. The Mandela period of national unity, short as it may be (1990-1999), was the basis for initiating the transformation of the South African political landscape. At the same time the tourism landscape was remodelled on the basis of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (ANC, 1994) and Tourism White Paper (DEAT, 1996). These policy documents were the basis for mapping guidelines for the development of nature-based tourism resources, with a view to benefit rural communities. Finally, the post-Mandela period (2000-2014) is identified as the period seeking to consolidate and implement the new policies established by the government of national unity. The period sought to align itself with the ideals of the African Renaissance and the African Recovery Programmes. Plans of this period viewed rural tourism as playing a significant role in achieving economic growth, rural development and increased employment, as well as African integration and unity. In the post-Mandela decade, the development of various tourism policies, strategies and programmes for rural areas were expected to be of primary importance for both the South Africa authorities and local people. The government’s main intention has been to bring about a more equitable and non-discriminatory society in South Africa (Spenceley, 2004). To achieve this goal - founded in part on effective tourism delivery - the government has had to introduce policies and strategies aimed at creating opportunities for economic rural development, poverty alleviation and community participation.

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A number of important policy documents have been published that illustrate the government’s commitment to using tourism as a means to drive economic prosperity and reduce poverty. Some of the most important policy documents published thus far, include: the White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa (DEAT, 1996); Tourism in GEAR (Growth, Employment and Redistribution) Strategy (DEAT, 1998); The Transformation Strategy for South African Tourism (DEAT, 2000); The Responsible Tourism Guidelines (DEAT, 2002); and, The Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment [BBBEE] and Tourism Growth Strategy [SA] 2008-2010 (DTI, 2004; Rogerson and Visser, 2004). More recently there are documents, such as the Strategic Framework for Sustainable Tourism Development (DEAT, 2006); Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA) of 2007; National Minimum Standard for Responsible Tourism (NMSRT) of 2011; and the Rise of Responsible Tourism in South Africa of 2012 (NDT, 2012b). These policy initiatives were the basis for tourism transformation and change in South Africa, and Wahab and Pigram (2000: 28) have argued that “change is a powerful and positive force which, when harnessed constructively, challenges individuals, groups and organisations to perform to their optimum capability.” However, although there have been a number of policy initiatives to try and stimulate tourism development, it is also important to pose the question of whether the rural people living near to natural tourism resources are able to appreciate the value of the policies that were designed supposedly on their behalf. The People and Parks Programme (P&PP), which is run by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), is an attempt to create linkages between park authorities and local communities. The ultimate goals of the P&PP are to (a) Facilitate the resolution of land claims; (b) Encourage comanagement of natural parks between conservation authorities and local communities; (c) Give communities the right to choose people to act on their behalf during conflicts; and, (d) Facilitate good leadership from communities and conservation agencies (DEA, 2010: 25). It is important to note that despite the laudable attempts of the P&PP programme, there are still many challenges related to tensions, conflicts and debates in the rural areas of South Africa. Some natural tourism areas, such as the Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve [VCNR], iSimangaliso Wetland Parks and the UkhahlambaDlakensberg World Heritage Site are seen by both government agencies and local communities as national resources that should benefit local rural communities. Some stakeholders believe these protected areas have to be

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conserved, whereas others believe they need to be commercialised for the benefit of local communities. In essence, the organisations responsible for managing some of these public nature parks aim “to ensure that the intrinsic value of the parks, wildlife, land and seascapes of KwaZulu-Natal are sensitively protected as a source of spiritual and long-term sustenance for future generations” (Derwent and Porter, 2003: 11). However, it may be suggested that some natural resources are not perceived as worthy of conserving in the eyes of local people, simply because they are surpassed by poverty, unemployment and the necessity to earn a living. Given the harsh realities of everyday life for many people living in these regions, is it reasonable to expect local rural communities to understand and support conservation policies, whilst they suffer the ravages of poverty and unemployment? How long can local rural communities expect to get some direct or indirect benefits from the existence of the nature reserves? This chapter therefore seeks to establish the extent to which the tourism policies and strategies put in place in recent years by successive South African governments actually enhance tourism development and benefit local communities. In the context of South Africa, governments have demonstrated positive attitudes towards the principle of biodiversity conservation in rural areas, but there is an obvious lapse in the implementation of policies that also benefit rural communities (Magi, 2009; Magi and Nzama, 2009). Planning, as a tourism related policy issue, is concerned with anticipating and regulating change in a system, so as to promote orderly rural development to increase the social, economic and environmental benefits of the development process (Viljoen and Tlabela, 2006). Community participation in the rural and tourism development processes differ in developing countries from developed countries. Wahab and Pigram (2000: 135) have argued that in developing countries, these differences manifest themselves in three ways: (1) Local communities devote minor attention to issues of tourism, rural development and planning as they are more troubled by inadequacies of basic needs, such as health, food, water, education and shelter. (2) Lack of democracy in many developing nations means that the will of the ruling class dictates how the public good should be determined and the majority of the community continue to be disadvantaged. (3) There is no system that is geared to allow for socio-economic benefits to be determined by the community most immediately

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affected by them, even where the local government comes from that very community. For example, in South Africa, the benefits of democracy and what has come to be known as Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) have largely come to profit only a few individuals in society at large, and even fewer in rural areas. It is mainly the previously disadvantaged people in urban areas who are mostly involved in empowerment deals and fronting as company directors. According to Ramphele (2008), the BEE initiative seems to be a method of compensating the previously disadvantaged elite, rather than creating opportunities for all citizens in urban and rural areas, using their energies in developing South Africa. Whilst the rural people in South Africa are struggling with issues of poverty, inequalities and unemployment, amidst abundant natural resources, most people from urban areas are benefiting from the BEE deals located in rural areas. In summarising the state of inequalities in South Africa, Biko (2013: 73), suggests that the ruling party (government): in its rush for power, chose power over the people instead of power of the people. The leadership, in their policy-making decisions, chose selfsufficiency of the leadership over self-sufficiency of the people, and ultimately history will judge them harshly.

Rural landscapes and distinctiveness In South Africa, rural tourism development has been at the centre of conflict and debate between rural residents, tourism planners and developers, and the state. The main sources of conflict resulted from the direct exclusion of local communities from nature conservation activities and disregard for the norms and values of local communities, in relation to natural resources. In some areas conservation authorities have attempted and succeeded to incorporate local communities in the management of natural areas. The latter has succeeded in those areas where local communities have successfully lodged land claims, where the land was forcibly taken away by the apartheid government. Conflict also revolved around commercialisation of local cultures to meet the needs of the tourism industry, as well as the inability of the government to effectively manage rural development in relation to tourism. The government had sought to encourage tourism investment in areas which were underdeveloped so as to create job opportunities for local rural communities. It seems unfortunate that although the government tries various developmental schemes it is often let down by the inexperienced

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officers charged with implementing those schemes, who appear more interested in holding positions of influence than actually having the ability to deliver on these tourism projects. In many western nations, particularly the United Kingdom (Scott, Gilbert and Gelan, 2007: 12), representations of ‘the rural’ are through positive images surrounding many aspects of rural lifestyles, communities and landscapes. The rural idyll represents happy, healthy and problem free images of countryside lifestyles, with a close social community living harmoniously with the natural environment. Bell (2007: 404) refers to this representation as “the first rural”. The conceptualisation of both ‘rural’ and ‘tourism’ within the South African context is slightly different. Tourism depicts rural South Africa as the wilderness of the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi game environment, the undisturbed seascapes of Sodwana-Bay, the rolling hills of the Drakensberg Mountains or the untamed cultures of the South African tribes. Rural tourism spaces in South Africa have been romanticised and marketed to promote the rural idyll to foreign tourists. Such descriptions tend to ignore the rural South Africa that rural inhabitants are familiar with. Rural villages, which are homes to the majority of the indigenous people, simply become invisible. South Africa has at least two major types of rural areas. First, is the former homeland rural, dominated largely by black South Africans. Second, are the commercial farming areas which are dominated by white farmers and small communities of Africans who are employed as farm workers. Commercial farmers are part of the South African elite and have access to resources that most urban communities have. The former type of rural area is what the majority of South African people identify with - the rural village. According to the South African National Development Plan 2030, 40% of South Africa’s total population lives in rural areas. The provinces that host former homelands house more than 50% of the rural population. South Africa’s rural areas are characterised by deprivation, poverty and exclusion. A number of rural areas are excluded from the mainstream economy because of underdeveloped infrastructure, poor economic opportunities and weak pools of human capital, as well as disorganised spatial planning. Rural residents battle with the quality of both health and education systems.

The paradox of South African rural tourism This section outlines some sources of controversy, debate and conflict in understandings and depictions of South African rural tourism settings, which have evolved with the transformation of local political landscapes.

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Cultural Villages Van Veuren (2001:139) defines cultural villages as purpose-built complexes intended, with the help of cultural workers, as a simulation of aspects of the way of life of a cultural grouping, as it was at a specific period of time. They are distinct from their environment in their neat and idealised layouts. Carefully sanitised and removed from the way of life of the vast majority of the population, they represent the fictional and idealised recreation of tribal lifestyles and activities (Schutte 2003: 473). This definition highlights two important points: first, a village is a socially constructed place meant to satisfy tourists’ desires for authenticity; second, cultural villages involve the design of cultural performances and the display of artefacts and cuisines, which are fictionalised and romanticised to be aligned with a specific historical era. According to MacCannell (1973: 595), tourism authenticity is staged and superficial, and this concept of staged authenticity can easily be applied to cultural villages, which are associated with both ethnic and heritage tourism. Yang and Wall (2009: 235) define ethnic tourism as tourism motivated primarily by the visitor’s search for exotic cultural experiences through interaction with distinctive ethnic groups, and authenticity is an important attribute of this. Furthermore, they argue that authenticity is not an absolute concept, but rather a relative, interpreted, and socially constructed concept. Cultural villages have got nothing to do with the current lifestyle of the rural people of South Africa. The 'real' African villages of South Africa are characterised by poverty, remoteness, lack of infrastructure, unemployment and spatial inequalities. These rural villages have both traditional and western-style housing structures and are mainly occupied by black Africans. According to Schutte (2003: 479) these villages are modified traditional structures which attempt to epitomize forward-looking lifestyles in trying to catch-up with modernity. In the case of South Africa, cultural villages and the culture or heritage displayed in them are disconnected from contemporary villages. Cultural villages focus on the re-creation of the past. Hayward (2007: 2) points out that the focus on commoditisation of heritage is pursued within an entirely ahistorical framework. One can argue that ahistoricism of cultural villages is multi-fold: firstly, it stems from the fact that the idea of cultural villages was conceived by entrepreneurs and not the custodians of that culture – local communities. The entrepreneurs are in a better position to finance tourism development and they command other skills such as product design, packaging and marketing. This leaves the custodians of the culture as passive participants in business planning and management (Viljoen and Tlabela, 2006). Secondly, entrepreneurs design products to conform to the

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stereotypes (backwardness) that the outside world holds of African cultures and rural settings. Hayward (2007: 2) identifies two themes that dominate the display and constructed environments of these villages: tribalism and primitivism. Hayward further claims that constructions of these themes are based upon colonial and apartheid representations of African history and culture and thus perpetuate the stereotypes that consumers hold of African cultures. Even though African cultures have evolved over time, this is not captured by the designers of cultural villages. Thirdly, most of the cultural villages are situated in sites with little or no historical significance. The choice of location is largely determined by geographic and economic factors, for instance their proximity to wildlife or forest reserves and along birding routes.

The Contemporary Village The fabric of the countryside is very much the lifeblood of rural tourism, without an attractive and vibrant countryside, tourism would not have a viable product to sell (Garrod, Wornell and Youell, 2006:118). South Africa has not fully embraced the contemporary rural village as a viable tourism product. Since 1994, tourism business leaders have consciously ignored contemporary African villages in favour of naturebased tourism, cultural villages and township tourism. Interestingly, even slum or informal tourism, which is known to be unregistered, tax-avoiding and pro-poor, are also gathering momentum. South African narratives associated with rural spaces are far removed from the rural idyll of peace, tranquillity or primitiveness that the urban based tourism market wants to consume. Rural areas are viewed as tourism products because they are reservoirs of history, past culture and practices. Breidenhann and Wickens (2004: 194) argue that the adjectives used to define the rural - such as quiet - will disqualify African rural villages because of loud voices, music and laughter that characterises these spaces. Furthermore, South African landscapes cannot be classified as entirely unspoiled, since they have lost some of their natural and aesthetic character, because of the incidence of poor, slum-like and mixed homesteads, with less subsistence agriculture or vegetable gardens than was the case previously. There have been visible shifts in rural lifestyles. A study done by the National Department of Tourism (NDT, 2012a) on rural tourism, indicates that rural communities are gradually moving away from traditional lifestyles, because such lifestyles may have meant deprivation. For example, tourists may want to see women fetching water from the river or fuel wood from the bush. However, in the post-Mandela

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South Africa, fetching water from the river or fuel wood from the nearby forest would be outdated, because rural homesteads are expecting the government to supply them with inexpensive health, education, electricity, and so on. The lack of such facilities may be associated with continuing deprivation in rural communities and so are resisted by rural residents seeking a better standard of living. The structure of rural buildings and houses poses another challenge. South African rural housing varies from traditional mud-huts, to low-cost state built houses, to huge urban-style houses. If housing is used as one of the main criteria for high-quality livelihood or lifestyle, then a number of rural areas will definitely not qualify. Houses in rural areas are characterised by the dispersion of all classes across the village. This is evidenced by a mosaic of house structures, ranging from the traditional thatched mud hut to a modern brick house. Some villages have large concentrations of population and households, whereas others are isolated and have few opportunities for growth. Rural villages have evolved and adjusted with the times and this is reflected in the lifestyles of the people. There is a strong rural-urban connection and continuous interplay between cities and villages. The question that one may ask, then, is, does the contemporary village have a potential tourism market? The answer would appear to be yes. In South Africa, townships have emerged as popular tourism spaces, selling not only the history but also the culture of South Africans. Township pubs and grills have become places that showcase contemporary culture, so the rural village could also be designed to show what rural life is really like and perhaps ditch the tribal and traditional stereotypes of what rural South Africa is perceived to be (by foreign tourists).

Communities as passive performers Rural communities have remained passive participants in the development of tourism in South Africa. Tourism development in rural areas is largely dominated by established businesses or individuals. According to Hayward (2007: 8) the Dumazulu and Lesedi cultural villages are attractions where whites are constructed as experts on black African culture and are granted authority as mediators of public discourse and displays of African heritage. He further states that cultural villages are predominantly white-owned major corporations. This leaves the indigenous people to be passive performers. The connection between these two protagonists – white owners and indigenous population - has long been a problem. Rural people end up mute and passive in the design of tourism

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products. They are told what to do, when and how, and they cannot influence the design or marketing of tourism products. Viljoen and Tlabela (2006) argue that the most fundamental change that has happened in rural tourism is the recognition that African culture and history are valued and sought after components of South African tourism offerings.

Rural communities and nature conservation In South Africa, the establishment of protected areas followed the model of Yellowstone in the USA (the world’s first national park) - the model was top down (Boonzaaier, 2010; Andrade and Rhodes, 2012). Decisions about the acquisition of land and demarcation of boundaries were not negotiated. African communities were excluded from these conversations from the onset. In some cases, there were forced removals to make way for new protected areas or to expand existing ones. Forced removals and exclusion from conservation resulted in bitterness in the surrounding communities. In addition to excluding local people from participating in the processes of creating and developing protected areas, nature conservation authorities also side-lined local communities’ values and attitudes towards natural resources. In this regard, Boonzaaier (2010: 56) argues that nature conservation is inseparable from a people’s world view and their concomitant values, because values influence what people consider ‘useful’ or ‘valuable’ and how they set priorities. Andrade and Rhodes (2012: 20) also argue that removing local people from land that they have been farming for generations can result in retaliation and hostile attitudes. In the pre-Mandela era, protected areas were enclaves for isolation because they were meant to eliminate contact and interaction between tourists and surrounding communities. Rural development was not linked to tourism development. Today, South Africa faces different issues, such as the battle against poaching, especially of the rhino. In the fight against poaching, conservation agencies such as Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, have mobilised communities to help them fight the scourge of rhino poaching. These organisations have begun to realise the importance of the surrounding communities in fighting poaching. They refer to the surrounding communities as their ‘first line of defence’ and have realised that communities have a significant role to play in the fight against poaching of natural resources. In 2012, Ezemvelo Wildlife launched a Rhino Ambassador programme which recruits unemployed youth to increase awareness and fight rhino poaching amongst neighbouring communities. These youth ambassadors are incentivised for their participation in the

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programme, which was designed to benefit both locals and the conservation agency. Nature agencies are thus working hard to rebuild lost relationships between themselves and local communities, however, hostility and bitterness continue to surface in their discussions. Communities are still bitter about land issues and forced removals from yesteryear. These feelings of wrong-doing continue to colour attempts to improve working relationships between these different groups.

Rural development and tourism As has been mentioned, South African rural areas are characterised by poverty, but despite this, the government has not focused on merging tourism development with rural development. According to Ashley, Boyd and Goodwin (2000) tourism development aims to promote private sector investment, micro-economic growth and foreign exchange earnings without specifically taking into account the needs of the (local) poor. They point out that investors are usually international companies or the local elite. Spatial development initiatives (SDI) were introduced in 1995 during the Mandela period by the Department of Trade and Industry, aimed at attracting investors into rural areas with potential for tourism and agricultural development (Kepe, Ntshebeza, and Pithers, 2001: 1). Even though the SDI projects were tourism specific, the projects failed to address land issues and local politics in areas such as the Lebombo and Wild Coast, and so delayed the creation of jobs and employment in rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. Delays in the land restitution programme remained a thorny issue for both the investors and the local communities (Kepe, Ntshebeza, and Pithers, 2001).

Tourism studies undertaken in KwaZulu-Natal So far in this chapter we have set out to provide a theoretical argument about the tensions and conflicts existing in rural areas and the paradox of the local rural tourism landscape. In an effort to acquire a better understanding of rural-based tourism community engagement and conflict, we have reviewed related research studies that have been undertaken in various areas of rural KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. The two studies discussed below are delimited to diverse rural and natural areas: Vernon Crooks in the South Coast of KZN and iSimangaliso in the Eastern section of KZN. Furthermore, these rural study areas are largely inhabited by black population groups, hence also designated as indigenous population areas, constituting an average of 87.0 percent of the population,

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most of which is Zulu (SSA, 2007). It is anticipated that the results emerging from these two research studies will help explain some of the factors associated with the perception, conflict and emerging meanings of rural tourism in the study areas. For our purpose in this chapter, the findings of the two studies, undertaken in 2009, highlight the importance of rural tourism and existing community responses. The studies discussed are as follows: (a) Development of tourism at Vernon-Crooks Nature Reserve (VCNR) - Sample size 124 (Magi, 2009). (b) Management of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (IWP) for sustainable ecotourism - Sample size 303 (Magi and Nzama, 2009). In essence the studies aimed to discuss the extent to which tourism development policies and strategies benefit local communities. The summarised objectives of the studies were: (a) To establish the adequacy and quality of resources and facilities; (b) To ascertain the stakeholders’ participation in tourism activities; (c) To determine local community involvement in policy formulation; (d) To investigate tourism management practices; and (e) To establish perceived community benefits from tourism resources in the study area. Essentially, the papers explore how communities perceive tourism policies, planning, development and management practices. More details related to research methodology can be found in each of the associated publications. Our purpose here is to draw out some of the overarching conclusions from the two studies.

Policy-related findings The policy- and strategy-related findings presented in the two rural tourism studies are similar in some ways, because of the same legal framework, but also vary owing to local management practices. For example, the backlogs and poor service delivery of tourism facilities and services was found to be negatively perceived by the local communities as compared to the officials in both areas. In this regard, tourism was not seen as providing what was expected in terms of jobs, employment, and good livelihoods. The officials in the study areas - VCNR and IWP- perceive tourism development and its management in positive ways, because these officials were responsible for executing government policies. Policy and management are the basic instruments that decision-makers use to achieve

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improved or better quality of life for local communities. However, the communities in the study areas held negative attitudes about their involvement in policy and management issues, seeing policy as a highlevel planning exercise that involved remote goals and procedures for many rural tourism places in KwaZulu-Natal. The majority of officials indicated that they were in favour of upholding the policy of conservation of ecotourism resources. Conversely, local communities expressed concerns of not benefiting sufficiently from tourism development and nature conservation. The studies show clear differences between the perceptions of officials and local communities in relation to tourism policy initiatives.

Participation in tourism activities Previous studies within South Africa (Rogerson and Visser, 2004; Magi, 2009; Magi and Nzama, 2009), have indicated that there is relatively poor participation in tourism activities among rural indigenous communities. They are: (a) non-appreciative of the management practices pursued by the heritage park authorities, supposedly influenced by the negative history of land evictions; (b) decrying the inadequacy of development-related initiatives that would benefit them; and (c) oblivious to emerging ecotourism practices, which were geared to promote sustainable ecotourism principles. Notwithstanding that several case studies have been undertaken in KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere in South Africa, there has been no conclusive evidence of the success of related tourism policies and strategies nationally (Clarke, 2003). The intention of the South African authorities has been to develop a more sustainable, equitable and responsive tourism industry, which would benefit both rural and urban communities. To this day, these intentions have not been achieved. In the study areas of VCNR and iSimangaliso, attitudes towards participation in park activities were mixed. In VCNR the majority of respondents [62%] did participate in nature-based tourism activities. Interestingly, the majority of the community members around iSimangaliso were either not sure [56%] or low [38%] in participating in park activities. In essence, participation in nature-based tourism activities was largely influenced by what stakeholders acquired from the activities. The officials participated because it was part of their work-related responsibility. The community, on the other hand, participated depending on whether they befitted financially from the activity or, for some, whether they were in the process of gaining part-ownership of the tourism resource.

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In some instances the local community was able to negotiate an opportunity to sell tourism artefacts and services to the tourists.

Dominant management practices Management practices in many rural tourism areas have been considered as the mainstay of beneficial tourism for indigenous communities (Magi and Nzama, 2009). The opinion that tourism development planning across Africa has lagged behind the rest of the world has been connected with management policy shortcomings. The findings of the VCNR study showed that the majority of the local community [52%] felt that tourism management practices in their area were poor. The main justification was that there was lack of information and communication about tourism policies and management. Liaison with other stakeholders was poor, and many felt that there was a lack of jobs and employment opportunities. Likewise, the majority of community members [68%] around iSimangaliso Wetland Park indicated that their involvement in the management of the park was poorly executed. It is again the officials who were positive [65%] about the park management. The officials in the study areas considered management practices to work well, but the local communities tended to disagree. The disagreement has been expressed in terms of protests and conflicts relating to poor housing, water supply, sanitation, electricity and corruption of officials in the area. Recently it has been indicated that there is an average of 12 service delivery protests per month in the country, 10 percent in KwaZulu-Natal and 41 percent in Gauteng province. These figures translate to 58 percent of service delivery protests in urban areas and 42 percent in peri-urban and rural areas (Jain, 2010; Tapela, 2013).

Integrative comment on rural tourism conflicts In essence, the two studies discussed above suggest that tensions and conflicts existing in rural municipalities exist and are a problem that needs to be attended to. Even though these conflicts and disagreements between officials and communities are portrayed in terms of interpretation of policies, participation in tourism activities and the execution of management practices, equitable delivery of basic tourism services still has to be achieved. In other words, remedies for the unequal distribution of tourism benefits in rural areas are not a simple task, but should start with a change in mindset of tourism authorities. Local government officials should begin to plan for the elimination of poor service delivery in relation to basic human needs. It is likely that the resolution of community wants

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would alleviate many of the existing tensions, conflicts and protracted debates related to rural tourism services in the local areas. If the authorities' change in mindset succeeds, then Saarinen's (2009: 37) cautionary viewpoint has to be observed, that: Tourism has a good potential to deliver benefits for the poor and work as a means of poverty alleviation but, based on the critics, there is also a risk to utilize ‘ethical’ policy goals such as poverty reduction while actually introducing (pro-poor) tourism and related activities to new areas with structures of dependency.

Additional shortcomings that hinder tourism development and service delivery for community benefit were identified in the study areas. For example, some of the issues that are serious impediments to sustainable service delivery are financial, skills shortages, poverty and unemployment. Rural areas are fundamentally frustrated by levels of poverty, which are increasing and made worse by issues such as: low disposable incomes, poor access to services, poor access to land and other means of production, high rates of functional education and illiteracy, high rates of unemployment and low outputs of products among the low-income people of the rural areas (Afrispace, 2009).

Conclusions This chapter has attempted to explore the perceptions, tensions, conflicts and debates within the rural tourism industry in South Africa, particularly indicating the varying perceptions of tourism practices between officials, service providers and local rural communities. The disjuncture that is clearly evident in urban-rural dichotomies, conservation and community conflicts, idealised and real tourism practices, and commoditised and authentic cultural practices, needs to be managed in a manner that would benefit local indigenous rural communities. In conclusion, some of the tourism stakeholders have indicated their dissatisfaction with the tendency of local authorities to adopt bureaucratic approaches that do not solve existing problems, but generate new ones by using job-related or politically aligned justifications for their actions. This needs to be improved. It is worth noting that some of the emerging shortcomings of our new democracy have: come to represent a way of compensating few elites from the previously disadvantaged people, rather than creating opportunities for all citizens to

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contribute their talents and energies to the process of developing our country (Ramphele, 2008: 265).

Tourism is one of the important economic sectors that have the ability to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor. The success of the tourism industry to deliver on these issues depends largely on policies and planning processes, and willingness to involve and empower the local communities.

References Afrispace (2009) uMvoti Local Municipality - Integrated Development Plan [IDP]: As Reviewed 2009/10. [Online]: Available from www.umvoti.org.za/umvoti%20 Final%20 IDP%202009-2010.pdf. [Accessed October 20, 2012]. ANC [African National Congress] (1994) The reconstruction and development programme: a policy framework. Johannesburg: Umanyano Publications. Andrade, G.S.M. and Rhodes, J.R. (2012) Protected areas and local communities: An inevitable partnership towards successful conservation strategies? Ecology and Sociology. 17(4): 14-30. Ashley, C.; Boyd, C. and Goodwin, H. (2000) Pro-poor tourism: Putting poverty at the heart of the tourism agenda. Nature Resource Perspectives. 51: 2-6. Bell, D, (2006) Variations on the rural idyll. In P. Cloke, T. Marsden and P.H. Mooney (2006) Handbook of rural studies. London: Sage, 149160. Bell, M.M. (2007) The two-ness of rural life and ends of rural scholarship. Journal of Rural Studies. 23: 402-415. Biko, H. (2013) The great African society: A plan for a nation gone astray. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Publishers. Boonzaaier, C. (2010) Rural people's perceptions of wildlife conservation - The case of the Masebe Nature Reserve in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Anthropology South Africa. 33 (1-2): 55-65. Briedenhann, J. and Wickens, E. (2004). Rural tourism: Meeting the challenges of the New South Africa. International Journal of Tourism Research. 6: 189-203. Clarke, C. (2003) Case Studies. In G.I. Cowan, J. Yawitch, and M. Swift, (eds) Strategic innovations in biodiversity conservation: The South African experience. Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism [DEAT], 39-46.

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Environmental sustainability, poverty reduction and empowering communities. Thematic Proceedings of Atlas Africa. 6: 73-91 Magi, L.M. and Nzama, A.T. (2008) Interplay of nature and heritage for communities Around the Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg World Heritage Park. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism. 6(2): 13-30. Magi, L.M. and Nzama, A.T. (2009) Management of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park for sustainable development. South Asian Journal of Tourism and Heritage. 4(1): 112-128. NDT (2012a) Rural Tourism Strategy - 2012. Pretoria: Government of South Africa, National Department of Tourism. —. (2012b) The Rise of Responsible Tourism in South Africa. [Online] Available from http://topperforming.co.za/the-rise-of-responsibletourism-in-sa/ [Accessed on October 13, 2012]. Ramphele, M. (2008) Laying ghosts to rest: Dilemmas of the transformation in South Africa. Cape Town: Tafelberg. Rogerson, C.M. and Visser, G. (2004) Tourism and Development Issues in Contemporary South Africa. Pretoria: Africa Institute of South Africa. Saarinen, J. (2009) Sustainable tourism: Perspectives to sustainability in tourism. In J. Saarinen, F. Becker, H. Manwa and D. Wilson.(eds) Sustainable tourism in Southern Africa: Local communities and natural resources in transition. Toronto: Channel view Publications, 77-90. Schutte, G. (2003) Tourists and tribes in the ‘New’ South Africa. Ethnohistory. 50(23): 473-487. Scott, A., Gilbert A., and Gelan A., (2007) The urban-rural divide: Myth or reality? SERG Policy Brief. No2 ISBN 0-7084-0671-8. Spenceley, A. (2004) Responsible nature-based tourism planning in South Africa and the commercialisation of Kruger National park. In D. Diamantes (ed.) Ecotourism: Management and assessment. London: Thomson Learning, 267-280. SSA (2007) Community Survey – 2007, KwaZulu-Natal [Report]. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. Government of South Africa. Tapela, B.N. (2013) Social protests and water service delivery in South Africa: Research methodology. Pretoria: Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS). Van Veuren, J.E. (2001) Transforming cultural villages in the spatial development initiatives of South Africa. South African Geographical Journal. 89(2): 137-148. Viljoen, J. and Tlabela, K. (2006) Rural tourism development is South Africa. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.

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Wahab, S. and Pigram, J.J. (2000) Tourism, development and growth: The challenge of sustainability. London: Routledge. Yang, L. and Wall, G. (2009) Authenticity in Ethnic Tourism: Domestic Tourists’ Perspectives. Current Issues in Tourism. 12(3): 235-254.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN TOURISTIFICATION AND CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE PAMPAS: NEW RURALITIES AND IDYLLIC STORIES OF RURAL AREAS IN THE PROVINCE OF BUENOS AIRES CECILIA PÉREZ WINTER AND PERLA ZUSMAN

Introduction Since the implementation of neoliberal policies by the national government in the 1970s and 1990s, a series of material and symbolic transformations have occurred in Argentine rural areas. These transformations have been conceptualised by scholars under the term ‘new ruralities’. Research on ‘new ruralities’ has involved the analysis of: new forms of productive organisation linked to commodities (particularly soybean), the introduction of non-traditional crops (organic crops or berries), and the valorisation of rural areas not for agricultural production but for leisure consumption. By ‘valorisation of rural areas’ we mean the process through which capitalism locates these spaces in the market and highlights such characteristics as constructing the imaginary of countryside life. In particular, we are interested in studying the valorisation of rural areas for residential, heritage and tourist uses. National and international urban citizens, driven by a tourist or real estate approach, take advantage of the possibility of getting close to ‘pristine’ nature and a ‘gentle’ past. Within this framework, new actors appear on the rural scene (e.g. transnational companies, tourists, neo-rural entrepreneurs), others redefine their farming practices (adjusting to agribusiness requirements), while yet other parties resist and struggle for their right to live in the countryside (e.g. farmers organised into different social movements) (Giarraca, 2001; Barros, 2006; Neiman and Craviotti, 2006; Kay, 2008; Gras and Hernández, 2009).

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The purpose of this chapter is to analyse some rural heritage and touristification processes currently unfolding in the Buenos Aires province countryside. We are particularly interested in exploring narratives of the rural past that accompany the development of these processes. We argue that both heritage and touristification processes are socially constructed. Under the guise of heritage, certain objects acquire an almost sacred profile, supported by romantic ideas and narratives (e.g. virgin nature, history and genius). As Prats (2005: 18) argues, “their sole existence delimits and overwhelms the human condition”. Objects (either natural or historical-cultural), sites or cultural manifestations are selected by a group of experts (i.e. highly regarded individuals being either politicians or disciplinary, corporate, and socially legitimated authorities) who will choose the attributes and develop the arguments that will provide the basis for the heritage process and its acceptance by the (local, regional, international) community (Graham et al., 2000; Prats, 2004). Hence, the sacralised character of heritage is not spontaneous; political decisions trigger the activation processes affecting these ‘objects’. Heritage built up this way can become a tourist attraction and thus incorporated into tourist practices (Bertoncello et al., 2003; Troncoso and Almirón, 2005; Minca, 2006; Silverman, 2011). Tourist practices also select (natural/historical) objects and sites to create touristic attractions and develop different types of tourism (e.g. rural tourism). Different social actors are involved in this process, such as travel agencies, politicians and local inhabitants. Therefore, tourist practices can also trigger heritage processes (Santana Talavera, 2002). Heritage and touristification processes are accompanied by the development of a series of hegemonic narratives that help them become promoted and legitimate. These narratives are based on an ‘authorised’ discourse (Smith, 2006) that highlights some actors, practices and senses, and leave out what is not consistent with Western (aesthetic) appreciations; in this way, these narratives contribute to naturalising certain assumptions about the meaning of heritage. In the countryside, this authorised discourse, then, offers one version and its own interpretation of rural history and geography (Cloke and Little, 2005), while, at the same time, it acts as a link between this version of the rural past and the present (Aitchison et al., 2002). It also excludes certain actors, processes or conflicts that were part of the configuration of these sites in the past.

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Within this framework, our chapter considers some geographical imaginations1 about the rural past, depicted within this authorised discourse, particularly those highlighting the role of migrants in the incorporation of the Pampas to ‘civilisation’2, and the role of gauchos, who are an iconic image of the Argentine rural tradition. These geographic imaginations were promoted during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, mainly by the ruling class. They render invisible the history of native and Afro-Argentine peoples, as well as the relationships between rural landowners and (permanent or temporary) workers, who form part of the history of this region in Argentina. These hegemonic geographical imaginations present a ‘gentle’ version of the past, which is nowadays recreated and seems acceptable and convenient for the development of a tourist industry driven either by private or public initiatives. The research presented in this chapter is based on fieldwork we have been carrying out since 2008 in some Buenos Aires province districts (partidos), specifically Exaltación de la Cruz, San Antonio de Areco and General Las Heras (see Figure 16.1). Our fieldwork has comprised extensive interviews with local inhabitants (agrarian workers, tourism entrepreneurs, civil servants) of each district, and participant observation. Our sample was accessed through a snowball technique and supplemented with purposive sampling to reflect the voices of the different actors involved. This information was triangulated with an analysis of documents produced by state agencies, which were accessed either through our fieldwork or through institutional web sites.

1 The idea of geographical imagination is rooted in the studies of geographers John Wright and David Lowenthal. To them, places can be known not only rationally, but also emotionally and aesthetically. More recent approaches have retrieved this concept to enlarge on it from a more political perspective and understand that imaginations about space have implications not only on the forms of representing the world, but also on how the world is dominated, ordered and hierarchised (Said, [1978] 2002; Gregory, 2009). However, imaginations are continually challenged and recreated by other geographical imaginations. 2 Our idea of civilisation is inspired by the two meanings of this concept identified by Svampa (2006) at the time of the constitution of the Argentine State (second half of the nineteenth century). The first meaning refers to a movement ensuring the abandonment of an original ‘barbarous’ condition along a collective and uninterrupted path to perfection. The second meaning of civilisation refers to an attained degree of perfection which, in the nineteenth century, was represented by European society. The idea of civilisation is closely related to the idea of progress, another concept that is mentioned in this chapter, linked to the identification of a series of stages that would, it was believed, lead to human perfectibility.

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Figure 16.1. Province of Buenos Aires. Exaltación de la Cruz, Las Heras and San Antonio de Areco District. Source: prepared by the authors

The districts studied are located close to the Buenos Aires metropolitan area and are connected to it through fast access points. Even though these districts have specific agrarian productive histories, heritage, residential and tourist uses have proliferated in all of them since the 1990s. The chapter is divided into three parts. The first describes the transformations of the Buenos Aires province that have taken place since the 1970s, leading to a heritage and tourist valorisation of rural areas. The second part analyses three different narratives about the rural past that were important in the heritage and touristic valorisations of these three districts. Finally, we offer some thoughts about the political implications of these narratives in the creation of an idyllic rurality.

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New ruralities in the Buenos Aires province The province of Buenos Aires area covers some 308,000 km2, has 15,625,084 inhabitants (INDEC, 2010) and forms part of the Pampean region, the most fertile area in Argentina. During the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries, this area helped secure Argentina’s entry into the global economy based on grain and cattle exports. In the 1930s, the area started to become industrialised, fostering population growth in urban settings as a result of migration from rural areas or bordering countries. Since the 1970s, alongside an industrial restructuring process, the productive profile of the Pampean rural areas has started to change, particularly in the province of Buenos Aires. The closing of some railroad lines pushed many rural villages into isolation and economic downturn (Barros, 1999). During the 1990s, two events left farming activity at the mercy of global market uncertainties. Firstly, a deregularisation Executive Order (1991) dismissed all farming activity regulatory boards. Secondly, agro-industrialisation entailed embracing new technologies and triggered an intensive soybean adoption process (Arceo, 2004; Teubal, 2008). These changes affected small family farmers the most, as they lost decision making powers in relation to the farming process (Craviotti, 2007; Teubal, 2008). These processes also decreased populations in rural areas, as residents migrated to urban areas in search of work. Using farming establishments for tourist and residential purposes thus appeared to be a viable alternative to traditional farming production, and a way to overcome these economic crises. Rural tourism (Guastavino et al., 2009; Roman and Ciccolella, 2009) was promoted by the national government through different programmes implemented by the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, the Farming Technology Institute and the Office of the Secretary of Tourism (which became the Ministry of Tourism in 2010). The provincial government also fostered initiatives and actions to encourage community organisation and valorise traditional expressions and other rural elements which could contribute to the development of tourism in small villages, through the Tourist Towns (Pueblos Turísticos) programme that was launched in 2008. In relation to these initiatives, some areas, buildings and practices that are perceived to represent national heritage by the National Monuments, Museums and Historical Places Commission (CNMMLH) or the Provincial Office of the Secretary of Culture, have also been packaged as tourist attractions through projects implemented by the government or private companies.

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Additionally, the relaxation of urban planning rules since the 1970s paved the way for the expansion of private undertakings (e.g. gated communities, shopping, polo and golf clubs, rural tourism establishments) in different areas of the province (Barros, 1999; Vidal Koppmann, 2000; Torres, 2001). This new way of organising, consuming, and experiencing the rural space led to a new population pattern that encouraged people from the cities to move to rural areas, generally in search of a quiet life close to nature (Fernández and Ramos, 2000; Torres, 2001).

Heritage and tourist processes: Visibility and invisibility in narratives of the rural past Our research has led us to conclude that the hegemonic narratives about the rural past that are present in the current heritage and touristic processes highlight certain subjects, elements and cultural expressions related to geographical imaginations shaping the Argentine identity between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. In fact, by the 1860s, these imaginations were oriented toward shaping a ‘white and European’ society within Argentina. The development of this imagination was accompanied by a policy supporting European immigration, since it was considered that Europeans would contribute their work to help the country enter the international arena of capitalism (Svampa, 2006). By the beginning of the twentieth century, however, difficulties integrating immigrants (who, at the time, accounted for 30% of the population) into the social and political values of the ruling class led the elite to make an attempt to ‘reinvent’ the nation. Within this framework, such elements as the countryside, gauchos and, in some cases, the indigenous past, were retrieved as representations of the Argentine national identity. The (re)imagining of migrants and gauchos, and their ties with the Pampean landscape, are present in the narratives associated with heritage and touristification processes currently taking place in the districts of Exaltación de la Cruz, San Antonio de Areco and General Las Heras. In the next sections we begin by examining the discourses of some cultural agents and a section of the General Las Heras population. In these discourses, a central role is played by the labour and values of immigrants, which are materialised in certain elements currently activated as heritage. Then, we focus on the role of the idyllic image of gauchos constructed by literature in the different heritage and touristification processes that have taken place in San Antonio de Areco and General Las Heras. Finally, we confront the current discourse of the local population in Exaltación de la Cruz about the presence of Afro-Argentine people and their role in the

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productive development of this town, and their absence in current heritage and tourist narratives. These narratives emphasise the inclusion of Capilla del Señor (the main city in the district) into the cultural ‘civilisation and progress’ project carried out by the white population of European origin.

The rural landscape: between the memory of those who ‘got off the ships’ and estancias According to Prats (2004), the Argentine architect Carlos Moreno can be considered as a cultural agent on account of his active work on heritage conservation, restoration and activation processes. As a member of the Argentine Committee of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and a CNMMLH Board Member in Argentina, he has provided advice on the drafting of documents to declare the Jesuit Missions (Córdoba) and Quebrada de Humahuaca (Jujuy) World Heritage Sites. Moreno has been interested in rural heritage since 1986. His ideas regarding rural heritage have some similarities with the idea of ‘culture area’ developed by the US geographer Carl Sauer during the 1920s3. Carlos Moreno claims that “the magnificent buildings cannot be explained but as part of a culture system resulting from the interaction of man and his social dimension with his Pampean circumstance” (Moreno, 2011: 176). Moreno is interested in the process of rendering the natural space a productive space through time. He argues: the countryside is a construction developed through many generations, involving many people with different cultural origins, from horseback riders, to rural workers on foot, peons, Irish shepherds, small gringo farmers. Their material expressions, the magnificent palaces and surrounding parks, and also the humble gaucho hut with walls made of chorizo, a mass of straw and mud. The one cannot be explained without the other. We should think of the countryside from a humanitarian perspective: it was made by all (La Nación, March 8th, 2008).

Moreno creates a narrative where the Pampean countryside is transformed from a natural into a cultural landscape through the labour of migrants and their descendants. This narrative is involved in the valorisation of sets of artefacts that represent aspects of this transformation and are activated as heritage that “helps retrieve memories and ascertain one’s identity” 3

For Sauer (1925) techniques and artifacts reflect the way in which rural activity is organised. They cannot be isolated from the rural culture that belongs to a certain historical context.

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(Moreno, 2011). Through this approach to the relationship between the construction process of the rural landscape and rural heritage, Moreno attempts to offer a proposal that differs from the dominant historical perspective that focuses only on the recognition of estancias’ main houses. This last idea has been picked up in the writings of a recognised Argentine historian, María Sáenz Quesada4, who has worked on the history of Pampean estancias (rural settlements growing crops and rearing animals typical of several South American countries). She argues that the history of estancias cannot be dissociated from the history of the Pampean area as estancias seem to have contributed to how farming and rural work were organised in this part of the country. She further points out that estancias are representative of the development of landowners as a class (who had cosmopolitan aesthetic tastes as a result of their frequent visits to European socialising spaces) and their bonds with the emergence of political power during the period of national organisation (1860-1880). Hence, as an icon of Pampean identity, a symbol of power, and proof of the political, economic and social history of Argentina, estancias deserve preservation (Saénz Quesada, 1992). For Sáenz Quesada, in the process of rural heritage, estancias’ main houses would acquire pre-eminence over other architectural elements because the Pampean landscape seems to have been organised around these houses. Conversely, Moreno’s landscape formulations seek to associate the process of heritage with the memory of all those who took part in the construction of the history and geography of this rural area. For a long time, memory seemed to be an expression and legitimation of the dominant classes and their values; today, memory, heritage, symbols, need to be resignified to the dimension of all the people (Moreno, 2011. Emphasis added).

However, Moreno sees himself as the possessor of expert knowledge that will let him define, without resorting to other voices, what versions of the past can be made visible and who forms part of what he refers to as ‘all the people’. Based on Moreno’s proposal, traditional families of the General Las Heras district seek to retrieve the history of the different generations of European immigrants –without considering the indigenous population– 4

María Sáenz Quesada is a numerary member of the National History Academy and the National Education Academy. During the Alfonsín Administration (19831989) she was the head of Argentina’s Government House Museum. Since 2010, she has been appointed Editor-in-chief of Todo es Historia (Everything is History), the most widely read history magazine in Argentina.

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who left their imprint on the landscape of this Pampean area. Now, from their perspective, the reconstruction of a local narrative is also related to their interest in incorporating to their own identity the values of work, perseverance, and honesty cherished by their ancestors, i.e. ‘those who got off the ships’5. It is the wish of the local elite of Las Heras that these values be disseminated among the young. There is concern that these values become widely known as a strategy to reaffirm what was ‘their own’ before the arrival of people from the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, in an attempt to find continuity between the genealogies of certain families and the local landscapes. In this way, social belonging criteria could be defined based on the identification of these families with these landscapes and the values they represent. However, the local elite of Las Heras has not abandoned the idea of including some of their own estancias within a process of heritage, which are expected to become incorporated to an Estancias Path project with the agreement of neighbouring districts.

The gauchesque past: between reinventing rural tradition and playing polo By the end of the nineteenth century, some rural elements that were considered to be representative of what is ‘one’s own’ were incorporated into the Argentine ‘invention of tradition’ (Hobsbawm, 1983). High quality literature, in particular, played a role in rendering the gaucho a national icon. One of the most popular and widely read poets of that time, Martin Fierro (1872), portrays gauchos as rebels against the State (Fradkin, 2003). Toward the beginning of the twentieth century, this kind of literature displayed a stylisation of the image of gauchos as they were presented as representatives of emancipation, both from the indigenous peoples and the Spaniards. In addition, their close bond to the land was underscored. This gaucho represents a series of psychological virtues (courtesy, hospitality, a docile nature), social values (openness, loyalty) and has no political aspirations, which presents him in a positive light in comparison to immigrants (Svampa, 2006). Gauchos have also been portrayed as brave and bold, skilful at knife fighting, and comfortable horsemen within the Pampean landscape. These features of gauchos were resignified during the 1930s, at the height of nationalist movements and, more recently, during 5

The forefathers referred to by the General Las Heras inhabitants are Spanish, Italian and Irish immigrants who arrived from the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century attracted by Argentina’s national immigration policy.

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the 1990s, through heritage and tourist practices. We will now present three ways in which an account can blend a purported gauchesque rural past with these practices. First of all, a non-governmental organisation proposed the establishment of the Gaucho Path (Camino del Gaucho) in 1995, to be set up under the imagination that gauchos’ everyday life developed against a representative background of “horse and livestock, estancias and pasturelands, marshlands and hills” (caminodelgaucho.com, n.d.). Second, San Antonio de Areco, a historical rural town, through the support of the elite and politically dominant sector of its community (especially Juan José Güiraldes (1917-2003), nephew of the gauchesque writer Ricardo Güiraldes) also used a past gauchesque imagination to support the heritage process at some local sites. In 1999, several buildings of the downtown area were declared to be ‘National Historical Monuments’. Narratives link this downtown area with the residential spaces of Ricardo Güiraldes, or the settings where the main character of his most prominent novel, Don Segundo Sombra (1926)6, lived and travelled. This heritage strategy reaffirms the recognition of San Antonio de Areco as the ‘cradle of rural tradition’. Every November 10th, the Tradition Day is celebrated in San Antonio de Areco. This celebration is designed to highlight the values, habits, and beliefs linking Argentine identity with a rural and gauchesque past. Music and folk dance (e.g. milonga, huella) from the Buenos Aires Pampa performed by local artists stand out among the specific attractions on display. The bond between San Antonio de Areco and a purported gauchesque past has rendered this site a tourist attraction. National and foreign tourists visit San Antonio de Areco to ‘experience tradition’7 spending a day in an estancia, touring heritage areas or watching a show where rural peons (inheritors of gauchesque skills) display their horseback riding abilities. Third, the sport of polo, which has now extended to some districts in Buenos Aires province, plays on a perceived bond between the gaucho and his skills based on a performative activity (Zusman, 2013). Polo sport practices started to be adopted by certain sectors of the landowning elite in the province of Buenos Aires toward the end of the nineteenth century. 6

We mean specifically Estancia La Porteña, where Güiraldes stayed during his town visits, Pulpería La Blanqueda and the Old Bridge mentioned in the book Don Segundo Sombra, and the Ricardo Güiraldes Museum and Parque Criollo, which appear as spaces that evoke the environment, culture and lifestyle of gauchos as described in his works. 7 This is the phrase used by the San Antonio de Areco local government to develop the hallmark of this town.

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The ties that were established between every day activities at an estancia and practicing polo led to a particular Argentine style which, toward the beginning of the nineteenth century, was constructed on the basis of “a daring manner of playing, the use of criollo horses, which are fast and very tough” (Archetti, 2003: 138). The expansion of polo as a sport (mainly by the private sector) and as an elite tourist practice on a global basis has been concurrent with the creation of Argentine polo as a country-brand by the Argentine Ministry of Tourism. Polo establishments in General Las Heras attract national and foreign tourists who travel to this district to practice the sport. There are establishments that combine accommodation with specialist polo facilities, as well as country clubs that include polo sport practice as an attractive element to encourage the sale of land to potential national and foreign buyers (Zusman, 2013). Some Argentine polo players think of themselves as having inherited the gauchesque skills on account of the bond they establish with horses and the environment where they engage in this sport. Foreign players try to enjoy an experience similar to that of local players but, in their case, the experience carries with it a certain exotic aura driving a touristic flavour. In each of these cases, evocation of a purported gauchesque lifestyle is intended to establish a bond between an idealised rural past and the rural present. This rural space knows no landowners or labourers, no conflicts resulting from the ways that labour relations are interwoven and established. The gaucho appears as the sole figure who inhabits the ‘infinite’ Pampean landscape, with which he manages to keep a harmonious relationship.

The past of rural towns: ignoring the Afro-Argentine population The black population and afro-mestizos - i.e. the population originating from the mixture of black Africans with natives - have historically been silenced within narratives about the formation of Argentine identity. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, the Buenos Aires province countryside was inhabited by a significant black and afro-mestizo population that contributed to the productive development of this province (Goldberg and Mallo, 1993; Birocco, 1997, 2003; Mayo, 2004; Goldberg, 2012). Statistical estimates show that around 1830 blacks and afromestizos represented about 10% of the rural population in Buenos Aires province. This number plummeted after their participation in the Paraguay War (1865-1870) and the yellow fever outbreak (1871). According to interviews conducted with inhabitants of Capilla del Señor, and civil servants working for the culture and tourist sectors of Exaltación de la Cruz, at least one ‘black neighbourhood’ had been set up

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by the end of the nineteenth century. Although different versions exist regarding the story of its origin, this neighbourhood seems to have developed after a descendant of Simona Sosa, Juana Ballesteros, settled there. Simona Sosa was a slave, and she seems to have been taken to work at an estancia located in San Antonio de Areco. Juana Ballesteros inherited land by the end of the nineteenth century, which she distributed among her relatives. This land was located some 20 km away from Capilla del Señor, the main district city. About ten families lived in these lands up to the mid twentieth century. They lived through a system of family farming and on some occasions they sold their surplus yields to their neighbours. Most of these men were recruited as seasonal workers during the harvesting of corn, guinea corn and wheat on neighbouring fields and estancias. When there was no work in the fields, they collected small shells from the Areco river to be sold to button factories in Buenos Aires. Women did the housework and worked as nannies and maids in estancia houses. On account of technological changes that were introduced by the mid-twentieth century, men were no longer required for the harvesting work. When they lost their major source of work, little by little they sold their property and moved to neighbouring towns. Juana Ballesteros was known as la cacica (Indian female chief) because she owned the property and performed different tasks: from organising purchases in town and dividing food among her relatives, to arranging marriages. She worked as a midwife, from which she earned most of the money she needed to support her family. The heritage activation and touristification processes currently developing at Exaltación de la Cruz are based on accounts from which the referred to ‘black neighbourhood’ story have been omitted, as well as the important role played by a woman – Juana Ballesteros – in its establishment. These narratives instead highlight the pioneer role played by Capilla del Señor in bringing ‘urban culture’ (a synonym for civilisation) to a rural space in the nineteenth century8. These narratives are supported by an active

8

In 1994, the Old Quarter of Capilla del Señor was declared “Property of National Historical Interest” by CNMMLH. The declaration account underscores that Capilla del Señor is one of the most ancient sites in the province and valorises different elements, among them, the first state-owned school organised in the Buenos Aires province countryside in 1821, the first printing house and the publication of the first newspaper in the province, Monitor de la Campaña (Countryside Monitor) in 1871. Over the last decade, local tourist policies have rendered the city of Capilla del Señor a tourist site and its heritage-activated elements have become a tourist attraction. On weekends Capilla del Señor is

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local elite from Capilla del Señor and civil servants working for the cultural and tourist sectors. In line with this, the actions of some male figures who were involved in disseminating ‘progress’ throughout the district in cultural or productive terms are also underscored (Pérez Winter, 2013a and b). Afro-Argentine peoples are thus not included in the heritage and tourist narratives as social actors that promoted rural practices in the region. In addition, we believe that there is a ‘masculinisation’ of heritage and tourist attractions. Women (e.g. Juana Ballesteros) are not considered as active actors in the rural past (Laguna and Ramos, 2007; Pérez Winter, 2014). Cultural heritage and touristic processes thus do not seem to be an expression of all the rural inhabitants. They still represent predominantly male and local elite values.

Conclusions: Heritage, tourism and the rural idyll We argue that current heritage and touristification processes in the Buenos Aires Pampa are accompanied by a set of narratives that help them become legitimate and, therefore, promoted. These narratives highlight and accompany a selection of ‘outstanding local figures’, events, objects, individuals and cultural manifestations of the rural past that are valorised in the present, and are activated by the processes in question. The examples presented in this chapter show that these narratives, supported by the state and local elites and private enterprises, recreate imaginary narratives which played a part in the construction of the national Argentine identity in different contexts. Along these lines, the geographical imaginations associating the idea of an Argentina with white and immigrant populations of European origin, or a rural tradition constructed around the purported gaucho lifestyle, have been resignified by heritage and tourist narratives. Therefore, these imaginations get reaffirmed and, at the same time, are launched into the national and international market and reproduce certain stereotypes about communities and places, occasionally leading to clashes between the logics of the tourist business and the logics of identity (Prats, 2006; Pérez Winter, 2013c). For example, in San Antonio de Areco, the touristic promotion of the city as the ‘cradle of tradition’ provokes constant conflicts between those who wish to nurture the image that tourists might like to find and those who are interested in preserving local values for future generations. The visited by people from neighbouring cities (Buenos Aires, Campana, Zárate) or who live or use the gated communities located throughout this district.

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latter believe that rendering San Antonio de Areco a sort of Gaucholand (as a quasi Disneyland park thematisation) jeopardises the ‘true’ and ‘pure’ nature of local daily life, which could become a tourist attraction by itself. The authorised heritage and tourist discourses identified here limit any chance of attributing other meanings to the activated objects or of making room for other narratives about the rural past (as is the case with the narratives about the presence of Afro-Argentine people at Exaltación de la Cruz and their productive participation in the district), which could lead to the activation of other elements, processes or cultural manifestations. The possibility of opening the space for other interpretations of the past could question one of the cornerstones of the rural tourist experience: approaching a quiet past which, combined with close contact with ‘pristine’ nature, embodies a rural idyll. According to Bell (2006), the rural idyll is shaped in opposition to urbanisation and industrialisation, combining romantic aspects associated with a ‘return to nature’, ‘authenticity’ and nostalgia for a past of simple lifestyles, expressed by a bond with the land and contact with local (human and non-human) inhabitants. In each of the cases and examples presented in this chapter, authorised discourses usually prevail. Additionally, tourists seem to accept the provided narratives and imaginations. Heritage and touristification processes in the Buenos Aires Pampa help guarantee the rural idyll experience for tourists and avoid any necessity to acknowledge that the Pampean landscape transformations occurred through processes of conflict, involving exclusion (of indigenous or Afro-Argentine populations, or permanent and temporary workers and women) in the past and thus in the present as well.

References Aitchinson, C., MacLeod, N. and Shaw, S. (2002) Leisure and tourism landscapes. Social and cultural geographies. London: Routledge. Arceo, E. (2004) La crisis del modelo neoliberal 1 (y los efectos de la internalización de los procesos productivos en semiperiferia y periferia). Realidad Económica. 206: 10-69. 2004. Archetti, E. (2003) Masculinidades. Fútbol, tango y polo en la Argentina. Buenos Aires: Editorial Antropofagia. Barros, C. (1999) De rural a rururbano: transformaciones territoriales y construcción de lugares al sudoeste del área metropolitana de Buenos Aires. Scripta Nova. 45(41).

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—. (2006) La ciudad en el campo: nuevas ruralidades y lugares rururbanos. In J. Nogue and J. Romero (eds) Las otras geografías. Valencia: Tirant Lo Blanch. Bell, D. (2006) Variations on the rural idyll. In P. Cloke, T. Marsden and P. Mooney (eds) Handbook of rural studies. London: Sage, 149-160. Bertoncello, R., Castro H. and Zusman, P. (2003) Turismo y patrimonio: una relación puesta en cuestión. In R. Bertoncello, R. and A. Fani (eds) Procesos territoriales en Argentina y Brasil. Buenos Aires: Instituto de Geografía, 277-291. Birocco, C. (1997) La Cacica Juana. Revista de historia bonaerense. 15: 25-28. —. (2003) Cañada de la Cruz. Tierra, producción y vida cotidiana en un partido bonaerense, durante la colonia. Capilla del Señor: Municipalidad de Exaltación de la Cruz. Cloke, P. and Little, J. (1997) Contested countryside. Cultures, rurality and sociocultural marginalization. London: Routledge. Craviotti, C. (2007) Tensiones entre una ruralidad productiva y otra residencial: El caso del partido de Exaltación de la Cruz. Economía, sociedad y territorio. VI (23): 745-772. Fernández, G. and Ramos, A. (2000) Innovación y cambio rural: el turismo en el desarrollo local sostenible. Scripta nova. 69 (55). [http://www.ub.edu/geocrit/sn-69-55.htm]. Fradkin, R. (2003) Centaures de la Pampa. Le gaucho, entre l`historie et le mythe. Annales HSS. 1: 109-133. Giarraca, N. (ed.). (2001) ¿Nueva ruralidad en América Latina? Buenos Aires: CLACSO. Goldberg, M. (2012) La población “negra”, desde la esclavitud hasta los afrodescendientes actuales. In H. Otero (ed.) Historia de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Población, ambiente y desarrollo. 1. La Plata: Unipe, 279-308. Goldberg, M. and Mallo, S. (1993) La población africana en Buenos Aires y su campaña. Formas de vida y subsistencia (1750-1850). Temas de África y Asia. 2: 15-69. Graham, B., Ashworth, G. and Tunbridge, J. (2000) A geography of heritage: Power, culture and economy. London: Arnold. Gras, C. and Hernández, V. (2009) La Argentina rural. De la agricultura familiar a los agronegocios. Buenos Aires: Ed. Biblos. Gregory, D. (2009) Geographical imagination. In R. Johnston, D. Gregory, G. Pratt and M. Watts (eds) The dictionary of human geography. Singapore: Blackwell, 283-285.

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Guastavino, M., Trímboli, G. and Rosemblum, C. (2009) Enfoque institucional del INTA para apoyar el desarrollo del Turismo Rural. In IV Congreso argentino y latinoamericano de antropología rural. Del 25 al 27 de marzo, Mar del Plata. Hobsbawm, E. (1983) Introduction: Inventing traditions. In E. Hobsbawm and T. Ranger (eds) The invention of a tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1-14. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (2010) Censo Nacional de Población y Viviendas [online] Available from http://www.censo2010.indec.gov.ar/ [Accessed December 17, 2013]. Kay, C. (2008) Reflections on Latin American rural studies in the neoliberal globalization period: A new rurality? Development and Change. 39 (6): 915–943. Laguna, C. and Ramos, M. (2007) Patrimonio y cultura de las mujeres. Jerarquías y espacios de género en museos locales de generación popular y en institutos oficiales nacionales. La Aljaba. Segunda época. XI: 119-140. Mayo, C. (2004) Estancia y sociedad en la Pampa (1740-1820). Buenos Aires: Biblos. Minca, C. (2006) Re-inventing the ‘square’: Postcolonial geographies and tourist narratives in Jamaa el Fna, Marrakech. In C. Minca and T. Oakes (eds) Travels of paradox. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield publishers, 155-184. Moreno, C. (2011) Reflexiones sobre el patrimonio, el mensaje y la autenticidad. [online] Available from http://comisionpatrimoniocapba9.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/reflexion es-sobre-el-patrimonio-el-mensaje-y-la-autenticidad-por-carlosmoreno/[Accessed December 17, 2013]. Neiman, G. and Craviotti, C. (eds) (2006) Entre el campo y la ciudad. Desafíos y estrategias de la pluriactividad en el agro. Buenos Aires: Ediciones CICCUS. Pérez Winter, C. (2013a) Patrimonialización, turistificación y autenticidad en Exaltación de la Cruz, Argentina. Estudios y perspectivas en turismo. 22 (4): 785-804. —. (2013b) Patrimonio y turismo rural en Argentina: Exaltación de la Cruz, un caso del campo bonaerense. Revista de Investigaciones turísticas. 6: 47-70. —. (2013c) ‘Gaucholandia’, cuando el patrimonio entra en disputa en San Antonio de Areco. Actas VII Jornadas de Investigación en Antropología Social, FFyL –UBA.

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—. (2014 forthcoming) El Género en la construcción social del Patrimonio cultural y el turismo: las ‘Pro-Mujeres’ de Capilla del Señor. Estudos Feministas. Prats, L. (2004) Antropología y patrimonio. Barcelona: Ariel. —. (2005) Concepto y gestión del patrimonio local. Cuadernos de antropología social. 21: 17-35. —. (2006) La mercantilización del patrimonio: entre la economía turística y las representaciones identitarias. PH Boletín del instituto andaluz del patrimonio histórico. 58: 72-80. Roman, F. and Ciccolella, M. (2009) Turismo rural en la Argentina. Concepto, situación y perspectivas. Buenos Aires: Ed. Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA). Said, E. (1978/2002) Orientalismo. Madrid: Debate. Sáenz Quesada, M. (1992) Estancias argentinas. Buenos Aires: Lariviere. Santana Talavera, A. (2002) Mirar y leer: autenticidad y patrimonio cultural para el consumo turístico. 6to Encontro nacional de turismo con base local. Campo Grande. Sauer, C. (1925/1969) The morphology of landscape. In J. Leighly (ed.) Land and life. A selection from the writings of Carl Ortwin Sauer. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Publications in Geography, 315-350. Silverman, H. (ed.). (2011) Contested cultural heritage: Religion, nationalism, erasure, and exclusion in a global world. New York: Springer. Smith, L. (2006) Uses of heritage. New York: Routledge. Svampa, M. (2006) El dilema argentino: civilización o barbarie. Buenos Aires: Taurus. Teubal, M. (2008) Soja y agronegocios en la Argentina: la crisis del modelo. Laboratorio. 10 (22): 5-7. Torres, H. (2001) Cambios socioterritoriales en Buenos Aires durante la década de 1990. EURE. 27 (80): 33-56. Troncoso, C. and Almirón, A. (2005) Turismo y patrimonio: Hacia un relectura de sus relaciones. Aportes y transferencias. 1 (9): 56-74. Vidal Koppman, S. (2000) Las urbanizaciones privadas: ¿Una innovación para la transformación del territorio? Scripta nova. 69 (69). [www.ub.edu/geocrit/sn-69-69.htm]. Zusman, P. (2013 forthcoming) Políticas de paisaje en la nueva ruralidad pampeana. In M. Sierra (ed.) Geografías imaginarias: Espacios de resistencia y crisis en América Latina. Santiago de Chile: Cuarto Propio, 347-367.

PART FIVE: RURAL TOURISM AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN UNDERSTANDING THE PLACE OF BIRD WATCHING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE: LESSONS FROM FAIR ISLE R.W.BUTLER

Introduction Tourism, particularly in its ‘mass’ form, has been credited and blamed for inducing considerable change in destinations because of its impacts for many years (Mathieson and Wall, 1982) but also is well capable of transforming places from obscurity to popularity. Smaller, more niche forms of tourism are often perceived as being beneficial and less harmful to destinations because of their scale of operation. Ornithology, especially in its hedonistic form - bird watching - might be expected to fall into this category as numbers of participants are generally limited at any specific location, although numbers involved in the activity at the global level are massive (Carver, 2009). Bird watching could be categorised as a form of ecotourism given its obvious focus on fauna, but does not normally involve the increasingly moralising aspects of ecotourism and might be better seen as an aspect of nature tourism. As Hvenegaard (2011) notes, it can take a number of forms, from a passing interest in birds to an intensely competitive activity. In the example discussed here, the form of bird watching examined is most akin to Oddie’s (1995) ‘twitching’, and has been responsible for the transformation of the economy of a small isolated island from one based on small scale, almost subsistence, agriculture to one that is now heavily reliant on tourism. The island examined in this chapter is Fair Isle, the most remote of the inhabited British Isles, lying midway between the Shetland Isles and the Orkney Isles, to the north of the Scottish mainland. It lies at almost 60 degrees north and its location makes it a regular resting place for migrating birds, particularly in the spring and autumn, and it has been famous among bird-watchers for over a century. It has been home to a bird observatory

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since 1948, an institution which has an international reputation in ornithological circles, and attracts relatively large numbers of birdwatchers at specific times of the year. The island is home to a permanent population of around seventy people, a total representing a slight increase in absolute terms from a low point of just over forty inhabitants in the 1950s (Thom, 1989). During the last fifty years the island community has been active in hosting several hundred visitors annually. Understanding and accommodating the requirements and activities of these visitors have been essential to the maintenance of a successful, symbiotic, and even sustainable relationship between hosts and guests for more than half a century (Tallack and Riddington, 2010). The desire of birdwatchers to find and observe migrants, particularly rarities, means frequent close contact between visitors and residents, which in different situations might lead to potential disagreement and even conflict. On Fair Isle, such a pattern of behaviour has remained remarkably problem-free, and research over a fifty year period confirms a mutually beneficial and positive relationship between residents and visitors. This chapter identifies potential factors bringing about this situation, a major one being a clear understanding by residents of the specific motivations and desires of the bird watching visitors. The role of the Bird Observatory, the attitudes of the owners of the island (The National Trust for Scotland), and the history of the community are other key elements in this mutually beneficial relationship. While Fair Isle is unique in both its history and location, it is argued that there are clear lessons which can be learned from this successful example of the integration of an active form of tourism within an established rural community.

Past and current research The author undertook a survey of the island population in 1962/3 (Butler, 1963) and had the opportunity to repeat that survey using the original survey form (plus additional questions) a half century later. (Data and information gathered directly during the field study visits to Fair Isle in 2012 and 2013 are referenced with ‘Field Survey’ as the source to maintain anonymity of respondents). The main purpose of the contemporary study discussed here has been to explore how the population has adapted to fifty years of change. The changes which the island has experienced over that time have been significant in a range of areas, environmental, social, economic and political, and these are listed in Table 17.1.

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Table 17.1: Significant changes affecting Fair Isle Factor

Date

Effects

Scottish Devolution

1999 onwards

Local Government Changes Discovery and development of North Sea oil and gas NGO Charity ownership of Fair Isle (NTS).

1976

Electric Power/wind turbine North Haven Pier improvements

1982

No direct impact on Fair Isle Much greater local control for Shetland Much greater financial income for local government Greater access to funding and awareness at large 24 hour power and great reduction in costs Safer anchorage from breakwater and out-ofwater storage for Good Shepherd

Air Service

1976 onwards

Expanded tourist accommodation

1948, 1969, 1989, 2012

1970s and 1980s 1954

1958 onwards to 2011

Much greater ease and speed of access and increased passenger capacity Current third generation bird observatory, b&b, self catering, total 60+ beds

They include Scottish devolution, discovery and development of North Sea oil and gas, vastly increased political powers and wealth for the local authority, change in ownership of the island from an individual to a national charity, the introduction of electricity and wind power, the provision of regular air service, and a significant increase in the numbers of tourists. The Bird Observatory has undergone two major transformations, the last in 2012, with subsequent increases in numbers of guests accommodated, improvements in comfort and facilities, and increased involvement in island life. The significance of these changes in general has been to improve the quality of life on the island for its inhabitants, helping

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avert a threatened population evacuation in the 1960s, and also allowing much greater visitation by tourists, the vast majority of whom are birdwatchers who stay at the Observatory. These changes have been accompanied by a slow increase in tourist numbers to Shetland and greater participation in nature-related tourism generally, particularly bird watching. The study reported on in this chapter resulted in the completion of a total household survey using the same original survey form from 1962, as well as a survey of visitors to the Observatory. It has also drawn heavily on secondary and archival sources from the Shetland Island Council and the National Trust for Scotland in particular to identify the physical changes that have taken place on the island, and on interviews with a number of former residents and previous visitors to the island. The data gathered show clearly the nature and scale of change on the island. Amongst these, the increase in tourism, mostly but not exclusively of birdwatchers, has led to tourism becoming the dominant driver of the economy of the island and this in turn has resulted in other changes in the community as noted below. A significant proportion (over half) of residents in 2012 are incomers, that is, people who were not born on the island and who had no previous family connections with the island. This reflects the policy of the landowner to stabilise and increase the island population (NTS, 2012). The change in composition of the population has resulted in different priorities and possibly different values compared to those living on the island in the 1960s (personal communication 2012). Significant improvements in housing have taken place (all currently occupied dwellings have been substantially improved or rebuilt during the period of ownership by the NTS). These improvements in housing stock have been complemented by better provision of other facilities (electricity, ferry services, wind power, air transport provision, fire protection, water supply, and communication and television services). Such improvements in the standard of living have inevitably made it necessary for the economy to change from being at least partially self-sufficient in the 1960s to becoming an almost entirely cash economy today. Given the economic situation facing agriculture in marginal parts of the UK today, it is clear that reliance on agricultural output supplemented by a very limited amount of employment (in mostly local government part-time work) and other income from rabbits and shellfish, as was the case in 1962, would not allow many, if any, island families to have a sufficient income to take advantage of improved services and utilities in 2012. To take advantage of reliable electric power available 24 hours a day means using such power for cooking, laundry,

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refrigeration, lights, power tools and communication, and this in turn requires the purchase of hardware such as washing machines, dryers, cookers, microwaves, televisions, computers and other items. All of these items cost more than could be gained from small scale farming taking into account the high transport costs for feed importation and for shipping livestock to market.

Adjustment to changes To service such an economy the island’s limited resources (remoteness, scenery, culture, wildlife) have had to be maximised and have become dependent on tourism in order to secure an export income. So extensive has been the change in economic direction that whereas in the 1960s approximately 80% of income was generated from agriculture, now barely 20% comes from small scale farming, with the exception of one croft which now operates at a much larger scale than its neighbours (Field Survey, 2012). It would be a mistake, however, to assume that the additional income comes directly from tourists and birdwatchers in particular. In reality, very few of the households are involved directly with tourism. Three households operate at a very limited scale (four bed capacity) in providing tourist accommodation, and one provides a self catering cottage for four people. The vast majority of tourists stay at the Observatory which is open from May to October, with a short closed period during August. Often the household accommodation is used by local authority employees or others undertaking specific work on the island, e.g. working on communication masts, expanding local government services, checking health and safety and other requirements, rather than by tourists. Accommodation in the Observatory is also occupied by a minority of non-tourists on a regular basis, and not all tourists who stay at the Observatory are bird watchers. Thus it might seem strange to argue that the current and likely future well-being of the island is dependent on bird watching, and that without this form of tourism, it is likely the island would have become, like Mingulay (1912) and St Kilda (1930), devoid of permanent population. However, it is clear that tourism has become the linchpin of the economy and from that position has become integral to the well-being and viability of most other activities. It is argued that the island and its way of life has become an all too rare example of effective sustainability, in that many of the relationships now present on the island are both integrated and symbiotic, and that the ‘triple bottom line’ of sustainable development is being implemented in practice if not stated in theory. A fourth element of

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sustainability, that of political power or governance (Butler, 2013), is also of critical importance in this case with the change in ownership of the island and subsequent changes in management being of considerable significance.

Bird watching and tourism on Fair Isle Tourism on Fair Isle is highly seasonal, both in supply and demand, although present over a somewhat longer period than in most of Shetland and northern Scotland, reflecting the spring and autumn passage of birds, with the busiest tourist month on Fair Isle being September, with significant numbers of birdwatchers also present in May and October. The nature of bird watching on the island is such that indigenous species are of much less significance to most birders than migrants. This illustrates the perhaps more complex nature of bird watching than many non-participants may appreciate. Hvenegaard (2011) comments that the activity takes several forms and these are reflected in those visiting Fair Isle. At one end of a spectrum are those visitors with little or no specific interest in birds. They may visit the island for general sightseeing, focusing on either or both of the physical landscape and the cultural heritage of the island. Birds may be of passing interest only, whales and other sea mammals may be more eagerly sought, and photography is another common activity of visitors. However, knowledge and awareness of Fair Isle, apart from its continual mention in weather forecasts and the knitting patterns named after it, is likely to have come about in two ways. Firstly because it is owned and thus publicised widely by the National Trust for Scotland, and secondly as a result of its reputation as a bird watching centre par excellence, along with the fact that the only formal accommodation on the island known to most potential visitors is the Bird Observatory. The other end of the bird watching spectrum is represented by extreme twitchers, individuals who take bird watching to a competitive level, their participation driven by a desire to expand their life list and /or their British list of birds seen. Such individuals are prepared to travel considerable distances, often at very short notice, to add a new ‘tick’ to their list. In 2008 at one point there were 9 chartered small aircraft on the Fair Isle landing strip having brought twitchers to Fair Isle to see the first sighting of a species new to Britain (Wheeler, personal communication 2012). Most did not remain overnight, but hunted the bird with binoculars and cameras and left after all in their party had seen the bird. To these birdwatchers, who generally have extensive life lists (numbers of species seen being in excess of 400 in the UK and often well over 500 globally), a

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new species is an increasingly rare event, and justifies the commitment and expense involved. Of all forms of birdwatchers, however, these individuals are probably the least popular outside their own group (see Obmascik, 2004). Envy by others who cannot spare the time or money is one reason for this, but the actions of this group, including sometimes disturbing the migrant in order to see and perhaps photograph it when it almost certainly needs rest, intruding on private property to secure the sighting, and congregating en masse at specific sites, sometimes on the edge of private property such as a garden, are often in conflict with attitudes of residents in whose properties the migrant may be found. In some areas of Shetland birdwatchers are not as welcome as on Fair Isle because of such behaviour, as shown by a sign in a garden at Grutness (site of the pier for the ferry to Fair Isle) stating ‘No loitering’. The rest of the spectrum is made up of those with a range of attitudes towards birds and bird watching, from a simple interest and delight in seeing birds of any species to those with a major scientific interest in birds, including ringing and other scientific research. Most birdwatchers are at heart somewhat inclined towards twitching, even though the term has some negative connotations. In line with Pearce’s (1982) travel experience model, it is likely many birdwatchers change their position on the spectrum with experience and life style changes. In the early stages of their bird watching lives, they may be enthusiastic amateur twitchers, graduating as they mature and gain more experience of ornithology, sending details of sightings of both rarities and common species to scientific bodies such as the British Trust for Ornithology. As maturity approaches, declines in memory, hearing and eyesight along with their levels of interest and commitment may also decrease, and they may become recorders for their local areas (parks, lakes, marshes, coastlines), rarely venturing to migratory ‘hotspots’ because of other commitments or inability to identify rarities because of such declining abilities. All of these types are found on Fair Isle (Field Survey, 2012), and their presence reflects their degree of keenness to find new species. To non-twitchers, a visit at any time to Fair Isle is appropriate, and June and July provide long hours of daylight and generally better weather. To twitchers, however, the migratory passage periods are the times to be on the island, thus May and October are busy, but September is the climax and the Observatory is generally booked completely and early for that month from one year to another (Parnaby, 2012). It is the migratory and ‘lost’ birds that make Fair Isle unique and particularly attractive to most birdwatchers. Sitting some 40 kilometres from the next landfall north or south, and with a maximum elevation of

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over 800 feet, with two lighthouses, it attracts passing birds by both day and night. Easterly winds tend to blow migrants (heading north in spring and south in autumn) from the European coastal flyways out over the North Sea and Fair Isle often represents survival to weather battered and lost birds. Strong continuous westerly winds can result in extremely rare American birds appearing, normally singly and without any consistent pattern in their arrival times. Wherever they have travelled from, when they land they are often near to exhaustion, and seek food and shelter. The low lying bushes and few trees on Fair Isle have mostly been planted to attract them and many contain Heligoland Traps (so named because they originated on the island of Heligoland), which are funnel shaped with an apparent exit at one end. Birds are driven towards this, which in reality is a glass fronted box with a trapdoor and on entering the box they fall to the floor as the base swings open and shut. The bird, safe from predators, is then collected by Observatory staff doing their rounds several times a day, and taken to the Observatory for identification, measurement, and ringing, before being released. During its existence, the Observatory staff have ringed and released over a quarter of a million birds. Indigenous birds are also caught in the traps and ringed, and there are also normally several studies of sea birds being undertaken at the Observatory by resident staff and visiting scientists. To visiting birdwatchers, the attraction of indigenous species lies in the large numbers of sea birds (auks, gulls, and skuas), with the only unique indigenous species being the Fair Isle Wren. From the perspective of Fair Isle as a tourist (bird watching) destination, the fact that its appeal lies in migratory, particularly rare, birds rather than indigenous ones, means that habitat protection and preservation critical to the survival of the iconic indigenous species of Fair Isle (e.g. the puffin) is perhaps not as important as elsewhere, for example, The Galapagos. In the Galapagos the attractions are the indigenous species, birds and animals, which are highly dependent on the specific and unique habitats, whereas in Fair Isle the attraction lies in the unusual visiting exogenous species, and it is the location of the island that is key to its attraction and survival as a bird watching destination as noted above. This may leave the tourism industry of Fair Isle, as elsewhere, potentially vulnerable to climate change (Price, 2003), but the extent of this vulnerability is uncertain and dependent on changes in the Palaearctic and other regions and the response of bird species in those areas rather than to climatic changes in the regions around Fair Isle itself. Some indigenous species, the puffin in particular, appear to have been negatively affected by changes in numbers and distribution of the species they take for food, especially sand eels, but whether the decline in sand eels is due to over-

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fishing or a slight rise in sea temperatures is not proven. However, some specific habitat characteristics can make the island more attractive to passing migrants, in particular, cereal production and bushes, for food and shelter. Changes in agricultural practice over the last half century have resulted in the almost total disappearance of oats being grown as a crop, with the cereal being replaced by grass for silage for sheep production. To rectify this situation, some of the crofters have modified their holdings to make them more attractive to passing migrants on the suggestion of the Observatory staff and in accordance with European Union programmes and in the process Fair Isle has been awarded recognition by the European Union for environmental stewardship on two occasions. Such an initiative may seem peculiar given the lack of direct return to the crofters from tourism, but reflects the general island wide interest in and experience with birds that has developed over the last century. It was the resident population and some distinguished visitors (such as the ornithologist Eagle Clark and the Duchess of Bedford) who developed the reputation of Fair Isle for rare migrants well before (1905) the establishment of the Observatory in 1948 by the noted ornithologist and then new owner, George Waterston (Nieman, 2012). Islanders still are often the first to see and identify migrants and regularly report such sightings to the Observatory and to any birdwatchers they see (as in the case of the Citril Finch which prompted the appearance of fly-in twitchers in 2008, noted above).

The role of tourism on Fair Isle Fair Isle has seen continuous growth in tourism over the last half century, but the rate and nature of that growth has been limited and undoubtedly accounts for the unanimous acceptance of tourism by the population. A number of factors account for this perhaps surprising support for and assistance to tourism and tourists. Apart from the slow and limited growth in numbers, the vast majority of tourists are accommodated at the Observatory which is at least a mile from the nearest croft, and visitors return to the Observatory for evening meals and accommodation. Relations between the resident population and the Observatory staff and guests are very positive. The Observatory offers a restaurant and also a bar, the only ones on the island, that are available to islanders as well as guests, and every two weeks hosts a concert by the island folk music group along with other events such as open lectures by staff and demonstrations of crafts by islanders. Finally, the ferry boat, the Good Shepherd IV is also located at the North Haven at the only safe anchorage and landing pier,

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close to the Observatory, and visiting private yachtsmen also anchor at the North Haven and tend to visit the Observatory for services and meals while staying on the island. Thus interaction between Observatory guests and the local population is considerable and positive but spatially separated each evening. As well, construction of the current Observatory and its predecessor was undertaken by an island company and repairs are normally done by islanders. Several islanders also have part-time employment at the Observatory. An indication of the nature of the relationship is shown by the fact that two former wardens of the Observatory and their families have chosen to stay on the island as crofters after leaving the Observatory and appear well integrated into the community, as well as still providing active links with the Observatory when short term assistance is needed (Field Survey, 2012). The situation on Fair Isle is highly dynamic; movements of single families can have significant effects on island viability, the most sensitive issue being the presence on the island of sufficient (4-5) seamen to operate the ferry boat which is berthed on the island. While, perhaps surprisingly, given the intensity of bird watching in peak periods (Buckley, 2009), birders are universally welcomed, other elements of tourism are sometimes seen as more intrusive. Cruise ship passengers can be a little more disruptive to the pattern of ‘normal life’ as displays and catering have to be arranged at the village hall. However, such ‘mass’ visits are economically attractive because many such visitors buy knitwear and other craft items and because the cruise ship companies fund the catering arrangements and pay other small charges for items such as hall rental and cleaning. Several local vehicles serve as temporary taxis transporting the more elderly cruise visitors from the south harbour to the hall and elsewhere on the island at such times. One of the changes resulting from the introduction of the air service (eleven flights a week during the summer) is that it is now feasible for visitors to Shetland to visit Fair Isle for part of a day rather than having to stay overnight as was the case when only the ferry boat was operating (twice a week weather permitting). While also providing a small additional market for craft production and meals at the Observatory, to some extent such visitors compete with residents and cargo for the limited space on the small (seven seat) aircraft and the longer term implications of any further growth in day visitor numbers need to be considered carefully. Tourism is small in scale and direct involvement by the resident population with tourists and tourism is limited. For the most part the majority of tourists are birdwatchers who venture south from the Observatory each morning, generally returning for lunch, and then heading

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south again for the afternoon, with a frantic post-dinner dash south if a rarity is found late in the day. However, it is tourism and particularly bird watching which has enabled Fair Isle to remain a viable community and enabled the population to have a reasonably satisfactory quality of life. It is tourism which makes the air service viable (subsidised though it is, like all inter-island transport services, by Shetland Island Council) at its current level. Without the air service the islanders would be dependent on the air ambulance service alone. Similarly, the maintenance of the airport landing strip, the provision of fire prevention services, the reporting of weather conditions on the island before each flight and other duties related to the provision of the air service provide several part time jobs, essential for income generation where few other opportunities exist. Without the air service such occupations would disappear, and other related services would suffer. The recent appearance on Fair Isle of a fire engine, essential for the operation of the air service, has meant that the island benefits in general from such a presence. Tourist passenger numbers on the Good Shepherd IV ferry boat also underpin its viability. On the island, some income is obtained from providing accommodation to tourists, but much more is provided by the direct person to person selling of knitwear and other handicrafts produced on the island. Some of these items are of high value, for example, Orkney-style chairs and hand crafted spinning wheels. Hats, scarves, gloves, sweaters and other knitwear in the distinctive Fair Isle patterns provide a significant income to several (over 20%) households. Of key importance to the island generally is the presence of the village shop and post office. In the last few years an agreement has been reached that the Observatory would purchase its food and other supplies through the shop, thus providing a sizeable share of total income and ensuring continued economic survival. This, in effect, makes the shop dependent on tourism, and this arrangement was key to the current owner agreeing to maintain the shop (Field Survey, 2012). The shop and post office operation is essential to maintaining the island population, without which virtually all foodstuffs and other goods would have to be individually ordered and collected from the Shetland mainland at additional cost and considerable inconvenience. Finally, tourism has had other indirect effects on the community and its way of life. The improved economic situation on the island has seen vehicle ownership increase markedly over the past decades, as noted above. A minor source of income (possibly in contravention of legislation) is the use of these vehicles as unofficial taxis, particularly for visitors, to and from the airstrip, from and to the Observatory and on other short journeys. All vehicles seen on the island in 2012 were duly licensed, a

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situation not always the case in earlier years, and perhaps partly in response, the local authority has improved the surface of two of the three roadways on the island. The increased popularity of private yachting in Shetland waters and marine health and safety regulations have resulted in significant improvements to the North Haven, the principal harbour on Fair Isle. This is being used increasingly by this tourist segment, with related use of the Observatory and its facilities and visits to the island shop and museum, as well as the purchase of local handicrafts. The improved air service, now twice or three times a day during the summer months, has allowed Fair Islanders to make day trips to Shetland for shopping, medical and other services, and social purposes, something that was almost impossible when the ferry boat was the only means of access to and from the island. The boat makes one trip a week in the summer to Lerwick, the Shetland capital, but time ashore is limited to a very few hours (the return trip taking roughly ten hours depending on weather and tidal conditions). The creation of the Observatory and ownership by the National Trust for Scotland since 1954 has meant that the island community has become exposed to a much more varied range of ideas and opinions than might otherwise have been the case. Several former members of the Observatory staff have remained on the island permanently and initiatives - such as the push for the establishment of a Marine Conservation Area around Fair Isle and the European Union conservation awards - owe much to the inputs from these residents and the supportive attitudes of many of the residents of Fair Isle. The image of the island has gained considerably from its contact with tourists in much more than financial terms alone.

Conclusion It is accepted that Fair Isle represents a somewhat unusual example of tourism in a rural area but some general pointers can be drawn from this situation. Familiarity and empathy with the desires and behaviour of tourists by local residents are crucial for positive relations between the two groups. Residents accept birdwatchers armed with binoculars and cameras frequently congregating near their houses and gardens if a rarity is present. They also appear to enjoy the interaction with visitors and few restrictions on visitor behaviour are imposed. In turn, the vast majority of birdwatchers respect the privacy of residents, accepting guidance provided at the Observatory about not venturing into private gardens or crops, and avoiding livestock, closing gates after entry, and not climbing on walls or fences. At almost no time do numbers of tourists exceed the resident population (the only exception is when there are high numbers of fly-in

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twitchers). Almost all visitors spend their evenings at least a mile from the nearest croft, providing a respite from their presence in the south of the island. There is a specific season to tourism, providing a five month period without visitors. The additional sources of direct income from visitors and their benefit as added passengers to the modes of access are acknowledged and appreciated by residents. The Observatory, the main tourist facility on the island, is also open to residents for recreational purposes as noted earlier and is seen as an asset rather than an intrusion. Finally, unlike in many other tourist destinations, tourist vehicular traffic is virtually entirely absent, except for the Observatory vehicle. This is because virtually no tourists bring a vehicle with them (although vehicles can be carried on the current ferry boat) and are almost entirely pedestrian in their travel on the island. Unlike other destinations, resident traffic is more of a problem, as vehicle numbers on the island have increased from one truck and one tractor in 1962 to over 25 cars, several trucks, a fire engine and two minivans today despite the maximum driving distance possible by road being under three miles (from north to south lighthouses). Thus shared interests of both hosts and guests; appreciation of the contributions of each party to the overall experience of living on the island, whether as a resident or as a visitor; temporal and spatial separation of visitors and residents daily and annually; slow and limited growth in tourism and its infrastructure; and finally, acceptance by residents of the importance of tourism, or at least visitors, to the local economy and general way of life all play their part in what is a somewhat unique successful integration of tourism into a community in economic, social and environmental terms. It would be misleading to imply that there are no issues facing the Fair Isle community and its future. Residents have concerns about continued means and costs of access from and to the Shetland mainland and beyond, the need for improved access to medical and dental care (there is a resident nurse on the island but no clinic), and the long term viability of the primary school and the ferry boat in particular. While relations with the landlord, the National Trust for Scotland, appear to be good in general, certainly compared to the situation in at least one other island owned by the Trust (Canna), and the actions of the Trust with respect to housing improvements, the introduction of wind power, and its liaison role with other bodies such as the Shetland Island Council and the Observatory Trust are appreciated. Virtually all the crofts are rented which means residents cannot gain equity from a general rise in house value, making it difficult for them to leave and purchase a house elsewhere. Community buy-outs of islands and estates have been encouraged by the devolved government in Edinburgh and may be

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something that could occur on Fair Isle in the future but there appears to have been no discussion of this to date (Field Survey, 2012). Irrespective of such issues, at the present time, tourism and the rural community on Fair Isle represent a successful example of what is truly sustainable tourism, albeit and perhaps because of, its small scale.

Acknowledgements The research for this chapter was supported by a grant from the Leverhulme Foundation.

References Buckley, R. (2009) Impacts of ecotourism on birds. In R. Buckley (ed.) Environmental impacts of ecotourism. Cambridge, Ma.: CABI, 187208. Butler, R.W. (1963) Fair Isle: A geographical study of the development of an isolated island community. Unpublished thesis, Department of Geography, University of Nottingham. —. (2013) Sustainable tourism: The undefinable and unachievable pursued by the unrealistic? Tourism Recreation Research. 38(1): 221-226. Carver, E. (2009) Birding in the United States: A demographic and economic analysis. Arlington, Virginia: US Fish and Wildlife Service. Hvenegaard, G. (2011) “Last chance birding: Twitching to see it first or last?” In H. Hamelin, J. Dawson and E. Stewart (eds) Last chance tourism: Adapting tourism opportunities in a changing world. London: Routledge, 70-88. Mathieson, A. and Wall, G. (1982) Tourism: Economic, physical and social impacts. London: Longman. National Trust for Scotland (NTS) (2012) Personal communication, A. Bennett, Inverness. Niemann, D. (2012) Birds in a cage. Short Books: Exeter Oddie, W. (1995) Bill Oddie’s little black bird book. London: Robson. Obmascik, M. (2004) The big year: A tale of man, nature and foul obsession. Free Press: New York. Parnaby, S. (2012) Personal Communication, Administrative Officer, Fair Isle Bird Observatory. Pearce, P. L. (1982) Perceived changes in holiday destinations. Annals of tourism research. 9(2). 145-164. Price, J. (2003) A birder’s guide to climate change. Birding. 35 : 630-639.

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Tallack, M. and Riddington, R. (2010) Fair Isle through the seasons. Crowes: Norfolk. Thom, V. (1989) Fair Isle: An island saga. Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers. Wheeller, D. (2012) Personal Communication, Fair Isle.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN RURAL TOURISM AND REGIONAL REVITALISATION IN JAPAN: A SPOTLIGHT ON SATOYAMA KAZEM VAFADARI, MALCOLM COOPER AND KOJI NAKAMURA

Introduction Rural development strategies generally rely on the continued promotion of primary industries such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries, or similar activities that are highly dependent on natural resources, their situation and availability (Ban et al., 1980; Misra, 1985; Khatkar, 1989; Bramwell, 1994; World Bank, 1997). These industries are generally also labourintensive, especially in agricultural villages where smallholder farmers are in the majority. In this context the availability of manpower plays a significant role in the continued use of the landscape (Galston and Baehler, 1995). Rural development strategies can also vary depending on the nature of and access to ecological resources as well as the existence of human (social) capital and investment (economic) capital in rural areas. In turn, the use of these local assets is affected by socio-economic and environmental trends at national and international levels, such as globalisation, climate change and financial crises. Rural households in Japan before the Second World War were generally poor, but had developed great skill over time in exploiting the environmental resources around them. People learned and practiced how to manage and live in harmony with the natural resources surrounding their settlements, such as forests, water irrigation channels which sustained wet rice production, the paddy fields themselves, pastures and grasslands. The result was that the traditional rural landscape, based on secondary grasslands and forests adjacent to human settlements, became even richer

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in cultural and biological diversity than the untouched forests, mountains and rivers further away. This type of managed Japanese rural area has recently been characterised as a Satoyama landscape (see Takeuchi and Brown, 2003; Yanagi, 2007). However, an aging population and rural depopulation are common patterns among many industrial and post-industrial societies at the beginning of the twenty-first century, and Japan is no exception to this (Cooper and Eades, 2007). Similar patterns of rural decline in many parts of Europe and North America have attracted much attention in the literature as a socio-economic phenomenon of the 20th and 21st centuries (Ban et al., 1980; Galston and Baehler, 1995; Long and Lane, 2000). Wider ecological concerns have been raised recently in rural studies of industrialised societies in Asia, such as Japan (Duraiappah et al., 2010; Nakamura, 2010). These studies show that the situation of rural communities is more difficult than in urban areas; with ongoing depopulation the levels of public and social services available are rapidly decreasing in small towns and villages, making life even more marginal for the remaining aging residents (Makino and Wa, 2008; Cooper and Eades, 2009; Vafadari, 2013a), and making it difficult for them to maintain natural environments as well (Nakamura, 2010). In fact, the population in many rural and remote areas of Japan is currently only being maintained by the increasing life expectancy of elderly residents. Today 60% of Japanese farmers are aged 65 and over, and the continued decline of the rural sector will increasingly be caused by lack of ability to undertake labour, and by death, more than by outmigration (MAFF, 2008). As a result it is becoming difficult to manage the traditional rural landscape of farms and forests, except in those areas near the big cities or along major transport routes, without a significant boost from an external source such as tourism (Vafadari, 2013b). The effectiveness of tourism as a component of a rural redevelopment strategy in relation to the traditional agricultural resources of Japan is the focus of this chapter. The evidence from other regions (Bramwell and Lane, 1994; Briedenhann and Wickens, 2003; Hall and Kirkpatrick, 2005; Park and Yoon, 2009) suggests that the provision of rural accommodation for use by tourists who are seeking a taste of the rural lifestyle is possible and is in fact already very important to small rural communities around the world. In Japan, many older farmhouses on rural properties are suitable for conversion into Minshuku - small hotels run by local people offering a taste of Japanese rural life. The benefit of the occasional labour resources that tourism can supply at planting and harvesting times is an additional bonus to the rural community. In fact, empty properties in rural Japan can

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be rehabilitated rather than abandoned to form the basis of a flourishing rural tourism industry, with a consequent revitalisation of rural livelihoods. These patterns of change are illustrated in this chapter with case-study examples from the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture (North-Western Japan), where community-based initiatives in tourism activities have been undertaken effectively during the past few years. Local communities in this area have played a significant role in training both tourists and local residents, encouraging them to support and develop complementary skills, and building up the necessary partnerships through which local people can find new livelihood opportunities and adopt tourism as a development strategy.

The development of rural tourism and the Satoyama movement in Japan As a result of demographic and lifestyle changes there has been a considerable growth of interest in study of the future of traditional landscapes of Japan in recent years (Makino and Wa, 2008; Cooper and Eades, 2009; Vafadari, 2013a). The roots of this interest go back to the 1970s when rapid industrialisation and urbanisation were remaking the settlement patterns on the Japanese archipelago, but at the same time citizens were protesting against the spread of pollution-related diseases such as Minimata (Mercury poisoning). Communities began to realise that, in spite of economic development, heavy industries cause environmental pollution that can damage people throughout their life. Subsequently, a shift from construction and heavy industry to service industries, leisure and tourism, and demands for cleaner environments went together in the 1980s and 1990s to bring Japan into a new era of an environmentally responsible leisure society (Funck and Cooper, 2013). Heavy investment in hotels and resorts, a boom in golf and winter sports, and suburban expansion stimulated by private railways, all paved the way to an expanded domestic travel and tourism market by introducing new interests, among which was the revival of rural areas through Furusato (return to the ancestral area; Wolfgang, 2006) and the Law on Comprehensive Development 1987 (‘The Resort Law’, Cooper and Flehr, 2006). At the same time concern about the environment was spreading and the bursting of the 'bubble economy' slowed down the high speed growth of the economy. Further, on the rural side, the damming of rivers began to be questioned and monoculture tree planting criticised in the light of the need for rural revitalisation and protection of the natural resources of the Furusato (Satoyama) landscapes (Nakamura, 2010).

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In 1992 Japan signed up to the protection of biodiversity at the Rio Convention and implemented the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment process across the country shortly thereafter (Eades, 2009). This programme was carried out world-wide, funded by the United Nations Development Programme together with other organisations, and aimed to survey the world's ecosystem at global, regional and sub-regional levels. The final stage of the assessment was the completion of sub-regional surveys of rural development, and in Japan, the Satoyama and Satoumi (the coastal landscapes version of Satoyama) concepts were built into this process, focusing on rural and coastal landscapes and their changes in response to socio-ecological and economic changes domestically, and to climate change internationally (Nakamura, 2010). The term Satoyama has been used since 1759 to describe the traditional cultural landscape of rural Japan (Takeuchi and Brown, 2003). However, a clear image and understanding of Satoyama within Japan is still a challenge. Sato, which means 'Community' in Japanese, is the main part of this descriptive term, and refers to the social and cultural aspects of the rural landscape, but the landscape itself also comprises ecological and economic values which contribute to human well-being (Nakamura, 2010; Vafadari, 2013a). In essence the term means maintaining the ‘lifestyle of human settlements‘ in rural Japan, including conserving and utilising the natural resources of the landscape. Satoyama is thus considered as a model type of interaction between human beings and nature in this context. Satoyama also evokes a romantic nostalgia for those urbanites that remember or wish to understand their families' former lifestyle in rural Japan. In this context the previous emphasis by the Government on Furusato (‘visit your hometown’, or return to the ancestral village, at least for a brief holiday) in the 1990s, and the Chikizukuri (local revitalisation) projects in the 2000s (initiated by local communities for their benefit but supported by the national government and designed to attract outside investment) reflect the concept of Satoyama (Eades, 2009). In turn, tourism has become one of the accepted ways that the concept of Satoyama can be implemented effectively (Vafadari, 2013a).

Rural tourism, Satoyama and the Noto Peninsula The potential of tourism to act as a rural preservation strategy is the focus of this chapter. An important element of this is the idea that a rural lifestyle is the main attraction - or the essence - of rural tourism (Butler, 1999; Garrod et al., 2006). Rural tourism has been synonymously defined as agro-tourism and village tourism, implying that there is a significant

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role for the two concepts of 'community' and 'agriculture' in rural tourism enterprises, with the community itself as a tourist attraction and tourists participating in the rural lifestyle. Tourism enterprises are thus increasingly seen in the context of a rural revitalisation strategy in many industrial societies (Garrod et al., 2006); one required by rural communities as a result of the mechanisation of agriculture in modern times that requires much less manual labour in the rural sector, and of the decline in community size and services that follows this. Tourism may also help to offset the concomitant aging of the local population as younger people and families leave to find work outside the agricultural sector (Cooper and Eades, 2007, 2009). How to restore sustainability to the rural sector has therefore attracted great attention in the context of rural tourism (Vafadari, 2013b). According to the existing literature sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development in host communities in rural areas, ensuring viable, longterm economic operations while making the optimal use of environmental resources (Butler, 1999; Hardy et al., 2002; Garrod et al., 2006). There is a general consensus that rural tourism - if well managed - can contribute greatly to the wellbeing of local communities by generating supplemental income, reducing out-migration and improving quality of life (Sorensen, 2002; Funck and Cooper, 2013). However, a lack of understanding of tourists’ needs and expectations, and an inadequate capacity to adopt rural tourism as an externalised livelihood strategy on the part of the aging rural population as a whole, are common problems (Alexander and McKenna, 1998). This is where the concept and practices of Satoyama as implemented in Japan become of interest when considering how rural tourism can be developed and expanded both to the benefit of rural communities and to local ecosystems. The examples used in this chapter to illustrate both the concept of Satoyama and the importance of tourism to it come from studies of villages in the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture on the Northwest coast of Japan (see Figure 18.1). In this location community-based initiatives incorporating tourism activities have been effectively put into place during the past few years. In this area, the elected local community leadership has played a significant role in training local residents, encouraging them to support and develop tourism skills, and in building up the necessary partnerships through which local people could find additional livelihood opportunities and adopt tourism as a new livelihood strategy.

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Figure 18.1: Permission granted to use this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license). Source: GNU Free Document Licence

The Noto peninsula is about 150 km to the north of Kanazawa city, the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture. One of the geographical advantages of the area is being close to Noto airport, which is a major facilitator for rural tourism in the region. There are two flights everyday between Tokyo (Haneda) and Noto Airport, which take less than one hour. The airport is a new one with good facilities such as free parking areas and a community managed taxi service from the airport to the region that attracts customers.

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Train services are no longer available at Noto town due to lack of customers, but this is compensated for with buses and private cars. The Noto area is distinguished for its rich mountain forest, which is a habitat for various specious of edible plants and mushrooms, and its wetrice farming. Smallholder farmers make up the majority of households with rice growing as their main agricultural product, while forestry and gathering activities are also part of their livelihood. Farm-based tourism, where the tourist acts as a reserve pool of labour during rice planting and harvesting, is of great interest to these smallholders, because they cannot obtain the required labour force from other sources. The rich forestland of Satoyama in the Noto area also provides various kinds of rural tourism activities such as mountain trekking, camping, and mushroom hunting. The area is famous for an expensive mushroom (Matsutake), which attracts many visitors in autumn.

Sustainable rural livelihoods In order to determine if tourism can indeed assist in rural revitalisation, it is necessary to measure its impact on the natural, human, economic, social and physical development of the Satoyama landscape. A modelling exercise based on the Sustainable Livelihood Approach was used in this study to assess the ability of tourism to assist in the revitalisation of Noto Peninsula local communities. This technique was developed in the late 1980s in the United Kingdom (DFID, 1999; Eagles et al., 2002; Solesbury, 2003; Mikano and Wa, 2008; Shen et al., 2009; Tao and Wall, 2009), and focuses on rural revitalisation through assessing and reinforcing various forms of development capital in local communities. In this way a consistent framework for cataloguing and then expanding local capital could be developed, which has gained considerable popularity among development advisers and researchers, especially those with an interest in sustainability studies and human wellbeing (DFID, 1999; Solesbury, 2003). Despite being developed to aid research on the rural poor in developing countries, the Sustainable Livelihood Approach has been flexible enough to be adopted in rural studies of industrialised societies within Europe and Japan (Chambers and Conway, 1992; Mikano and Wa, 2008). Essentially, the method involves assessing livelihood assets as capital resources for a community. These are usually tabulated in the following categories: Human Capital, Social Capital, Natural Capital, Financial (Economic) Capital, Institutional Capital, and Physical Capital. Each of these will have associated with it a framework of uncertainty or vulnerability

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Figure 18.2: The Sustainable Livelihoods Model. Source: Modified by the authors, based on DFID, 1999.

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(Figure 18.2), for example the economic vulnerability of small rural communities when faced with a declining market for their produce, a shrinking pool of labour, and rising costs of inputs such as water and fertilizer is well documented. When this analysis is complete, any shortfalls in the various forms of capital can then be examined and programmes put in place to change this situation (Tao and Wall, 2009). In the case of rural tourism, an assessment of the attractive power (A) of the community for tourists in the form of Attraction Capital is added to the framework in order to account for the impact of this activity (measured by changes in tourist numbers, their preferences, and their spending, illustrated as being at the intersection point of the hexagon of assets in Figure 18.2).

A case study: Communities in the Noto Peninsula The village of Shunran-no-Sato, and other small rural settlements of a similar type, are located on the western coast of Japan in the Noto Peninsula portion of Ishikawa Prefecture (Noto-cho). As noted above, one of the geographical advantages of the area is being close to Komatsu airport, which is a major facilitator for rural tourism in the region (see Figure 18.1). The average age of the population is more than 62 years, which means elderly people are living in this area without the support of a younger generation, as is often the case in rural Japan. The only school has been closed and a school bus now comes to pick up the few children who are still living in the villages to take them to school in neighbouring areas. There is a feeling that the villages have no hope of attracting new residents from outside as there are not enough jobs available that can support a sustainable livelihood for them. The village of Shunran-no-Sato was purposely selected for this study as a typical one among its many equivalents in the Noto Peninsula, for several reasons. Firstly, the significant role and abilities of the local community leadership and community-based tourism enterprises in this village was a factor mentioned by many respondents in a preliminary survey conducted by the authors for this research. Secondly, Shunran is unique among the villages in Noto Peninsula in that the majority of households have already registered their residences as a guesthouse (Minshuku) during the past few years. Thirdly, the local community has been rather successful in building 'a sense of place' by developing their own model of rural tourism, using only local products. The following sections consider the role tourism does and can play in the revitalisation of this region, using the Sustainable Livelihoods Model as a framework.

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Human capital

Figure 18.3: A 93 year old man grows small fish in his paddy field for the guesthouse market (top Figure 18.3a) and an old woman works in a paddy field (bottom Figure 18.3b) in Shunran (Photos courtesy of the Authors)

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The demographic decline in rural Japan is an inconvenient truth throughout the country (Cooper and Eades, 2009). In the case of Shunranno-Sato there are 51 households with an average number of 2 persons per household. These are the remaining family members living in the Satoyama house next to the farm (the rice field) as the younger generations have left for the city. This is an important problem because the ability of an individual to supply labour and their good health is considered as an essential element of human capital in livelihood strategies (DFID, 1999). While it is often the case in rural Japan that elderly generations are fit enough to continue working on the farm as the result of increases in the country's life expectancy and micro-mechanisation, this ability is going to reach its limit for the local population very soon (see Figure 18.3). Nevertheless, the majority of residents in the Noto area are local people with at least a half a century of experience living in harmony with nature (as defined in the Satoyama concept) in the locality. Their traditional knowledge, skills and the lifestyle itself are attractive to visitors from urban areas (see Figure 18.4). In return the community obtains greater economic opportunities and an enhanced feeling of wellbeing in the village from the tourists. Figure 18.4: City children learn how to play traditional music on their visit to Shunran. (Photo courtesy of the Authors)

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Social capital The evaluation of tourist impact on the social capital of the study area was based on changes in the status of women, on the development of feelings of trust and security between tourists and the local inhabitants, and changes in the social networks which most local households rely on to achieve better livelihood values (Shen, 2009; Vafadari, 3013a). Community leadership also plays a significant role here in utilising and expanding social capital in the local community (see Figure 18.5). Figure 18.5: Local community hold regular meetings where they discuss their livelihood problem and plans. (Photo courtesy of the Authors)

In this village the key person (the elected community leader) owns one of the farm guesthouses (Minshuku), so he is able to demonstrate the advantages of tourism directly to other community members through increased personal income and through introductions to visitors in a socially acceptable setting. Table 18.1 gives the overall approval rating of the 51 households (127 individuals) to a series of questions on the impact of tourism on the development of social capital in the village.

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Table 18.1: Development Impact Assessment of Tourism for Social Capital Question Tourism raised level of trust among community members and outsiders Tourism increased social interaction in the community Tourism empowered the community through decision making responsibility Tourism helped with reviving cultural events Tourism increased happiness, no more lonely village Tourism improved the community’s sense of place and enhanced leadership

% of Respondents with positive views 72 80 75 68 90 70

While the high rates of approval may be partly a reflection of the relatively small numbers of respondents and tourists involved (however the region has succeeded in attracting at least 3000 people to the village in the few years since they adopted rural tourism, and this has created new sources of income for local people), they do suggest that rural tourism in the Satoyama context shows that there appears to be community-wide acceptance that tourism brings social benefits and is good for the community. This is an important finding for future developments in rural tourism (Vafadari, 2013b). The least favourable impact assessment measure was related to the revival of local culture, which is perhaps understandable given the different cultural backgrounds of the locals and domestic and international tourists, but it shows that for many of the tourists traditional culture as an attraction is less important than being involved in the operation of the farms. The results of interviews relating to this measure also emphasised the important role of community leaders in developing tourism as a livelihood strategy for rural communities. The networks they have or subsequently develop play a substantial part in their ability to manage this input into maintaining local community livelihoods. The authors interviewed 17 households in 2012 that run guesthouses, and the rest of the interviews were conducted in workshops held with the local community and on a private farm. The majority of households mentioned that they started tourism businesses after the community leader recommended that they consider the possibility and pointed out the returns to be gained from it.

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Natural capital Natural capital refers to the natural resources that are accessible to the local community for utilisation in achieving livelihood strategies (Dowling et al., 2001). This can be either by direct means like planting/harvesting of rice in a paddy field or indirectly as a source of cash income through selling products and accommodation to tourists. The Satoyama natural resources that are utilised by the local community in the Noto Peninsula for tourism are basically found in 3 categories: mountains (forests), rivers (fish), and farm land (generally wet rice agriculture). Of these, the rich forestland provides various kinds of rural tourism activities such as mountain trekking, camping, and collecting edible mountain plants and mushrooms. The area is also famous for a kind of expensive mushroom (Matsutake), which attracts many people from Tokyo in the autumn (see Figure 18.6). Rivers are also attractive especially in summer and for fishing. River management activities funded by tourism revenue during the last few years have also increased the number of fireflies and biodiversity along the river and these changes attract a substantial number of tourists to the village. The tourists who come to watch fireflies in summer usually stay overnight using village accommodation. Thus local inhabitants see tourism as a positive activity for the local environment (see Table 18.2).

Economic capital Economic capital is perhaps the most tangible and necessary livelihood asset for rural communities. The income portfolio of Shunran includes both farming and non-farm businesses. Apart from income from remnant agricultural activities, remittances and pension payments from external sources are the main income stream for these communities, but others have been recently introduced by tourism activities. So, although agriculture is of course the most basic and popular household livelihood asset and is the basis of traditional rural lifestyles it does not now contribute much of the overall family income. According to the community leaders in Shunran, those households who run a Minshuku were able to earn almost 400,000 Yen extra a month in 2010 (the average wage in Japan is about 280,000 yen per month). Thus, tourism activity as a source of direct farm stay income can help such families to overcome any financial problems they may have.

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Figure 18.6: Utilising Satoyama Mountain forest for Tourism. Mushrooming (this page – 6a) is a favourite activity in Shunran. Tourism also makes it profitable to keep the mountain road in repair, and manage the forest for tourist activities (next page – 6b). (Photo courtesy of the Authors)

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Table 18.2: The Development Impact Assessment of Tourism on Natural Capital Question Overall: Tourism is good for the natural environment Tourism has increased biodiversity in the area Tourism helped with river management Tourism helped with forest management Tourism polluted our village

% of Respondents with positive views 95 65 75 75 10

To service the demand from tourists, local people have not only turned their houses into Minshuku, but have also developed recipes in which they use only materials produced in the local area, such as edible wild grass, leaves, river fish and other agricultural products. On the one hand this guarantees the authenticity of their production and on the other hand, minimises costs. The food is sugarless and even the salt is made in the Noto Peninsula. They advertise and explain these facts to visitors when serving the food, and have found that tourists appreciate information about such local dishes. In summary then, the local community believes that tourism improves the livelihood of the village as a whole, helps them raise funds for agricultural purposes as well as for tourist facilities, provides employment opportunities, brings new infrastructure and investment, and helps them use existing facilities more effectively (see Table 18.3). Table 18.3: Development Impact Assessment of Tourism for Economic Capital Question Tourism improved our livelihood Tourism raised funds for agriculture Tourism provided employment opportunities for the local community Tourism brought new infrastructure and investment to the community Tourism uses the extra capacity in our house and facilities

% of Respondents with positive views 72 80 75 90 70

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Physical capital In the case of physical capital (DFID, 1999) such as buildings, infrastructure, roads and telecommunication services, rural Japan is rather rich compared with other countries due to its level of economic development across the board. Shunran-no-Sato is only 15 minutes away by car from Noto Airport which in turn allows visitors from Tokyo to have their breakfast at home and enjoy regional ethnic food at lunchtime in Shunran after a short flight. Local innovations have also taken advantage of existing unused infrastructure for tourism enterprises. For example, the old primary school in the village has been renovated as tourist accommodation with the support of the Ishikawa Prefectural government. The School accommodated 1500 visitors in 2009 and about 2000 in 2010 and is a good source of shared income for the local community (see Figure 18.7). Sharing of income is achieved through financing village improvements and increased marketing from the proceeds of accommodation charges, after costs are taken into account. Figure 18.7: The Former Elementary School in Shunran is now tourist accommodation with 10 rooms that can accommodate up to 50 persons per night. (Photo courtesy of the Authors)

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Institutional capital Although not directly contributing to the economic and social health of rural lifestyles, the level and nature of institutional capital (governance) is an important determinant of tourism marketing, the effectiveness of administrative systems under which the community shares the benefits of tourism enterprises, and is a determinant of the extent to which local people are willing to participate in tourism and actually take part in the development process. The market development sharing process is achieved on the Shunran village website where all guesthouses (Minshuku) are introduced and advertised collectively, for example. The individual guesthouses are yet to make a logo or produce their own advertisement materials, but the village is advertised as a whole in Shunran pamphlets. The elected community leader's guesthouse, which is one of the earliest, has been supporting new members by sharing experiences and providing training services on guesthouse operations, and also plays the role of a central office in distributing potential customers among the guesthouses when they are introduced through a travel agency, such as JALAN or Rakuten. These two travel agencies are among the most wellknown and professional tourist marketing agencies in Japan and have their own websites, but in this case act as local agents. Nevertheless, once a customer is introduced through a travel agency or directly from their website, a charge will be imposed on the farmer by the travel agency for this service. This is to a certain extent offset by direct marketing efforts, and by contacts developed by each Minshuku, which attract no extra marketing or agent charges. The number of direct contacts is a good indicator of the impact of the guesthouse service and marketing strategies because the customer is either a repeater or has been introduced through another customer, rather than through a travel agency.

Attraction capital The changes in livelihood assets that have been analysed so far are all dependent on the attraction of visitors as tourism resources in Satoyama landscapes. Local communities need to capitalise on the resources among the five framework assets outlined in this chapter in order to promote tourism as a livelihood enhancer (Vafadari, 2013a). This can however often be easier than it might seem because it is often the case that tourists themselves help people in rural communities to understand and develop appropriate attraction capital. In this context tourism development itself

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enhances attraction capital. This observation is borne out in the results shown in Table 18.4, where the help that tourism gives to sense of place, branding, enhancing the attractiveness of housing, and to the improvement of food in the local area is looked on very favourably by the local population. Table 18.4: Development Impact Assessment of Tourism on Attraction Capital % of Respondents with positive views Tourism enhanced attraction of Satoyama houses 72 Tourism improved our ethnic and local food 80 recipes Tourism created a sense of place and branding 75 Tourism increased the functionality of the use of 90 our natural environment as an attraction

Question

The vulnerability context Any form of intervention in the economic and social systems of an existing community brings with it a set of uncertainties. In this regard, the Sustainable Livelihood Approach model has a built-in feedback mechanism formulated as the vulnerability context for each of the capital assets examined (DFID, 1999). This is the risk associated with the introduction of new income streams, as much as it is about the difficulties associated with traditional forms of enterprise. From the interviews carried out in the Noto peninsula, the first and most important vulnerability was a concern over the sustainability of Human Capital. The first concern in Shunran is what will happen to their community in the future, as there are no successors in the local community human capital context. The average age is over 60 and younger generations have left so that the fear is that in the near future there will be no one to continue farming. One of the respondents expressed the community concern over dwindling sources of labour, when he said: I could not imagine when I sent my children to university that they will never come back. They learned how to live in the city and forgot their connection with the farm at the same time. They have their own lifestyle and families now and are not able to move back even though they have a nostalgic feeling of furusato. Instead, they are insisting on us to move out

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and live with them or close to their place, as we are getting older. They worry about our health situation and ability to live alone. I understand the fact that they do not belong to our land, and that this is a common problem in our region. (Record of interview, 2012).

Tourists as labour and as temporary additions to the local community are thus likely to be seen as crucial insurance policies against further decline in economic activity and service provision, as long as they fit psychologically and socially with that community. Concerns about preservation of Satoyama natural resources such as forest and agricultural land are another vulnerability issue that is also related to the lack of human capital. Agriculture and forestry work in these small communities is highly labour intensive and it is impossible to keep these landscapes ‘properly’ managed as they were in the past without new manpower. In this context, volunteers who visit the farm to help with planting or harvesting rice are considered by the farmers in the area as a big help but not a sustainable or reliable solution. The tourist is considered to be a better bet in this regard as they can be persuaded to come back regularly. Local people also raised concerns about lack of medical care and public transportation services that are categorised as Physical Capital in the assets framework. The fear of being left alone in a farm house with no help and invidious comparisons with the rich medical support that is available for elderly people in urban areas encourages some older local people to move to urban areas. So the support tourism can give to the retention of such services could be a saviour in many areas.

Conclusions Despite the fact that it might not be possible to generalise either positive or negative impact experiences from one place to another and therefore build a general model in order to analyse the precise impact of tourism in rural landscapes, this chapter has shown that rural tourism is considered by local communities to be one of the possible livelihood strategies that can help with diversification of income streams without destroying the dominant role of traditional agricultural society. Importantly, it has shown that the successful use of tourism requires a significant role for local people in decision making for it to match with local needs. In this context the Sustainable Livelihood Approach, as used in this case study, provides a participatory approach that allows local people to express their main concerns and expectations with respect to which tourism development policies should be adopted. In this approach,

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tourism development is both part of a broader concept of rural development and a facilitator of particular activities within a community. Given that all rural landscapes in Japan at present have depopulation problems and aging communities, rural tourism is expected by local communities to introduce new residents and economic activity in the Satoyama context through providing job opportunities. But this will only happen if tourism can successfully produce enough livelihood income to add sufficient attractive power to the Satoyama lifestyle. As a case study on this problem, Shunran-no-sato is part of a Satoyama landscape where a local community has succeeded in attracting at least 3000 people to the village in the few years since they adopted rural tourism, and this has created new sources of income for local people. The biggest challenge for Satoyama revitalisation through tourism in the Noto Peninsula is how to keep the newly introduced tourism enterprises sustainable and then to attract new populations to move into the area by creating enough job opportunities within this new sector of the local economy. These are important factors for any rural community to consider when engaging in revitalisation projects.

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CHAPTER NINETEEN NOT ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD: THREE CASE STUDIES OF FILM TOURISM IN RURAL NEW ZEALAND ANNE BUCHMANN

Introduction The importance of tourism in diversifying and sustaining rural industries has been discussed in the literature, as has the role that film tourism can play in creating and rejuvenating rural tourism (Croy and Buchmann, 2009; Buchmann 2010). This chapter looks beyond the easily accessible numbers and often cited examples, and instead introduces three examples of film tourism on the North Island of New Zealand. The chapter discusses the case studies’ weaknesses and strengths to enable a critical discussion of the role film tourism might play in supporting rural tourism. Film tourists are defined as “domestic and international tourists who visit a site that is or has been associated with the filming of movies and television feature films” (Buchmann, 2008: 8). The emphasis on ‘associated with’ has proved important as film and tourism industries, as well as social media, at times create additional ‘sights of interest’ for film tourists. This may include landscapes that were portrayed in the film even though the actual filming might have taken place somewhere else (e.g., Braveheart), and studios and post-production facilities. In the case of Wellington, New Zealand, tourists continue to approach the National Museum ‘Te Papa Tongarewa’ to ask about its Lord of the Rings exhibition years after it has finished. The Embassy Theatre also fascinates as both a renovated cinema and through its association with the Lord of the Rings Premiere in 2003, with tourists still taking pictures in 2014 in front of its façade in movie-inspired outfits. These examples show how diverse and unexpected film tourism can be and can continue to develop long after the film has been released.

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Today, New Zealand has become a prime example of successful film tourism in the wake of the very influential Lord of the Rings movies (2001, 2002, 2003) that were recently rejuvenated through The Hobbit movies (2012, 2013, 2014). However, it might be surprising that New Zealand has been a destination for film tourists for a long time; starting with very small numbers of British visitors who had seen feature films like Hinemoa (1915) and were now looking for a mythical ‘Maoriland’. Contemporary film tourism began with Jane Campion’s The Piano in 1993 when domestic and international tourists began visiting Karekare Beach; a flow of tourists that continued for over a decade after the initial movie release (View Auckland, 2005). The Lord of the Rings films (2001, 2002, 2003) then transformed New Zealand film tourism, which also involved such diverse films as Whale Rider (2002), The Last Samurai (2004), Without a Paddle (2005), The World’s Fastest Indian (2005), King Kong (2005), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005) , River Queen (2006) and Avatar (2009), at least for short periods of time. Over recent times there have also been various Hindi cinema productions (often called ‘Bollywood’ movies) and TV series like Shortland Street, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess and the animated Jane and the Dragon and TinTin that were used in promoting film tourism to some degree. As a consequence, the International Visitor Survey (2013) is now incorporating film tourism as an attraction, and shows that, since 2004, an average 47,000 international visitors each year have visited a film location in the country. This chapter looks at three case studies of film tourism, all set in the North Island of New Zealand.

Methodology This study is based predominantly on interviews as this enabled the research process to be adapted to individual participants, to probe for answers, clarify statements, and explore new aspects and points of view (Babbie, 2004). Face to face, group and email interviews were carried out as appropriate (Shuy, 2002) with tour participants, tour guides and selected other people involved in film tourism, including representatives of film offices, governmental officials, media workers (including a photographer) and people otherwise involved who were encountered in the field (more specifically, during visits to the locations and surrounding townships). The initial research period was 2003 to 2007, with prolonged repeat visitation to the studied locations and beyond in 2010 and 2012.

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Case Study One: The Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata, North Island The most famous example of modern film tourism in New Zealand is to be found in a small township between Auckland/Hamilton and Rotorua, a major tourism thoroughfare in the North Island. The town is home to the Alexander family whose sheep farm had been used to recreate Hobbiton, a village in the Shire where the Hobbits live. Due to adverse weather, the destruction of the Hobbiton set before the initial movie release in 2001 was delayed and eventually partially prevented; however, the location was re-used for The Hobbit movies and this time the owners were allowed to maintain the set structures. The family now runs a highly successful tourism operation and offer several tightly scripted tours every day. Tourists are often very moved by the set visit: The afternoon was spent in Matamata, or better known as Hobbiton. This was what I was waiting for as I love Hobbits. Hobbiton is gorgeous and it was a beautiful sunny day. The guide we had was very informative and gave a great insight into how the filming was done. For me it was like a wonderful playground. I could not resist sitting under the Party Tree, the steps of Bag End and the doorway and peering through the window (Tour Journal entry 3.1.2006).

Despite these effects, many interviewees, operators and tourists alike, spoke about opportunities that had not been capitalised upon after the initial trilogy release. Some interviewees believed that the country as a whole had misjudged the situation, despite the central government being “a key investor in the world premiere celebrations . . . the reasons for their investment are obviously to do with tourism leveraging” (Interview local government employee, 21.10.2004). However, some interviewees felt that: New Zealand has, I still think, missed a real opportunity . . . we still are not marketing this enough. We still are not supporting . . . what we could be doing advancing tourists coming here all the time, where can we go? What can we see, you know, what can we take pictures of? . . . You know, why hasn’t the council made little models of Orcs and have them crashing outside of the council buildings or why don’t they leave the Cave Troll out for people to see? (Interview bookstore staff, 20.10.2004).

Another interviewee had to battle disinterest in developing film tourism, even in Matamata: “They didn’t understand what was going to come. None of us did really . . . and now, only now, do they see really, really strong benefits” (Interview local newspaper reporter, 12.11.2004)

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and reported trouble organising the eventually highly successful Hobbit Hole-style window decoration that now characterises the area. The renewed interest around The Hobbit trilogy (2012, 2013, 2014) has once again increased visitor interest. Lord of the Rings tourism has changed New Zealand and its townships. The township hosting the Hobbiton film set, Matamata, for example “was basically a sort of drive-through town” (Interview local newspaper reporter, 12.11.2004) before the films were released. Since then the town has been constantly growing and several motels and even an Internet café have been opened. Now the once sleepy town can be crowded: “Hordes, hordes of tourists. Yeah, probably ten or fifteen busloads a day” (Interview local newspaper reporter, 12.11.2004). The local visitor information centre, Matamata i-SITE, reported an estimated 750-800 people were arriving each day since November 2012, an unprecedented number for this small township. During the filming of the initial Lord of the Rings movies visitation numbers were at around 50,000 visitors per year, with the number rising to over 350,000 after the trilogy had concluded, settling at over 220,000 visitors today (Matamata i-SITE, 2013). Furthermore, as the Chief Executive of Tourism New Zealand explained: Hobbiton website receives the most direct traffic from Tourism New Zealand’s consumer website newzealand.com of all operators, receiving about twice as many clicks from our site as the next biggest attraction. And we’ve seen record numbers visiting Matamata and Hobbiton this past summer, running tours of around 40 tourists every 10 minutes (Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler on 27.3.2014).

The local visitor information centre boldly decided to build a Hobbiton-inspired information centre only last year and that has since attracted so much attention that an extension is now being considered (Matamata i-SITE, 2014). The numbers are encouraging. The early Lord of the Rings Market Research Summary Report found that although 65% of potential visitors said they were more likely to visit New Zealand as a result of the films or the associated publicity, only 9% cited Lord of the Rings as one reason among others and 0.3% as the only reason for their visit (NFO New Zealand, 2003; see also Jones and Smith, 2005). Today, the International Visitor Survey (2013) shows 14 per cent of holiday arrivals said The Hobbit trilogy was a factor in influencing their decision to visit New Zealand. But what about other film locations? Are they also as successful in creating film tourism in rural areas?

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Case Study Two: The Last Samurai Village in Uruti Valley, Taranaki, North Island The Last Samurai movie was another story following the archetypical Hero’s Journey and as such successful with audiences. Similar to the Hobbiton set, various sequences were filmed on private property. During extensive pre-production, a whole Samurai village was constructed, and most of the cottages, other structures and pathways remained after filming through negotiation by the owner. They then got into contact with the operators of the Hobbiton Movie Set, and after extensive deliberation started offering a similar experience to that provided at Matamata. However, despite a professional set up with extensive signage, information material and original movie props, the Samurai Village never attracted significant visitation numbers (Interview tour operator and guide, 11.11.2004). This was despite the fact that the film, starring Tom Cruise, had been accompanied by considerable public interest from the beginning of production, with extensive coverage in TV, newspapers and magazines. The main marketing took place in the Japanese market and an increase in visitation numbers was expected following the DVD release (Interview film office staff, 10.11.2004); however, this did not occur. This came as a surprise to many because the regional experience with The Last Samurai had been so similar to the Lord of the Rings phenomenon in many important ways. For example, both film projects: • showed a similar dedication of the film makers in preparing and shooting of the film (Lally, 2003; Sibley, 2002); • were understood to be exceptionally significant projects by the local film offices (Venture Taranaki, 2004a; I Jean Johnston, Film Wellington manager, 18.01.2005); • were monitored closely by the media (Venture Taranaki, 2004a; TheOneRing.net, 2006); • were prepared for film location tourism (New Zealand Herald, 2003a, 2003b; Tourism New Zealand, 2004); and • were subject to reports and claimed to be major success stories for their region and New Zealand (Yeabsley and Duncan, 2002; Venture Taranaki, 2004b). There was significant interest regarding The Last Samurai after the film release. Thus the locals expected the interest to last: to Taranaki and tourism, it’s just enormous and I think that it’ll go on. I heard an interesting statistic yesterday the tourism mapping that since the

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Tourist inquiries included locations but were also related to activities, like horse-trekking on film horses (Interview tour operator and guide, 11.11.2004). However, the main attraction - The Samurai Village - failed to experience a success similar to that of Hobbiton even though it hosts a significant part of the original film set (Interview tour operator and guide, 11.11.2004). However, overall the region has experienced some success in tourism and further spin-offs: yes, it certainly has made a significant impact in terms of profiling Taranaki region and . . . the economic impact of the film project itself, and the increased tourism as a result of that increased profile (Interview Film Office staff, 10.11.2004).

It was interesting that in the case of the Taranaki region and The Last Samurai, a lot of the interest (including media coverage) seems celebrity related: Yeah, well it’s his branding. It’s the Tom Cruise brand that overrides everything, I thought (Interview tour operator and guide, 11.11.2004).

Thus some tourists might have been more interested in following in the footsteps of Tom Cruise than that of his fictional character. Unfortunately the tourism operation around The Last Samurai ultimately proved to be unsuccessful and eventually closed down in 2008 after experiencing unsustainably low visitation numbers. This is somewhat surprising as there was significant interest regarding The Last Samurai after the film release. Furthermore, the film set itself had been preserved to a great extent and sophisticated signage and promotional material had been created (Interview tour operator and guide, 11.11.2004). The reason for the mainly economic non-sustainability might have been the location itself: Uruti is approximately 50km north-east of New Plymouth in Taranaki, North Island (Samurai Village Tours, 2008). This rural and somewhat remote region translates into a significantly lower tourist flow than, for example, the similar attraction of the Lord of the Rings-related Hobbiton Movie Set, which is located on a major through road between Auckland, Hamilton and Rotorua and consequently can count on a higher traffic flow. The Last Samurai case study shows that even an initially quite successful film with carefully planned location management may be unable to establish itself in some rural areas.

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Case Study Three: The Whale Rider township in Whangara, East Coast, North Island Whangara is a small community in the northeast of New Zealand’s North Island between Gisborne and Tolaga Bay. In MƗori tradition, the place is very important in the early history of the local NgƗti Porou iwi (people), as their ancestor, Kahutia Te Rangi is also known as the mythical Whale Rider, who came to New Zealand on the back of a humpback whale. Its rural settlement, its beach and especially its carved marae (traditional community hall) were used as integral settings of the film Whale Rider (2002) and are in many ways factual settings as the local people consider themselves related to the ancestral whale rider Paikea. In addition, the Whale Rider author, Witi Ihimaera, lived there during his childhood. The filming itself fostered strong bonds between the involved locals and the film making crew, some of whom returned to live in the settlement. The waka (canoe) and whale statues used in the film have been placed on a field next to the marae. Film location tourism started shortly after the release of the Whale Rider movie and has been used in promotional material for the whole region, and indeed country. As the visitor information centre explains, the film tourists come with a range of expectations: Everyone’s looking for something different. It’s hard just to categorise people into one specific area that they’re looking for. Some people just want to go out and see the film set and say, ‘Oh yes, I stood here where Keisha stood and I touched the whales, and I looked at the waka, and I walked along the beach’. Others are really wanting to go out and learn more about the story, more about how the story actually fits into real Maori culture, whether it’s the type of story that could possibly happen in real life. And others just want to learn more about Maori culture in itself (Interview i-Site Gisborne staff member, 30.03.2005).

The cultural advisor of the film, who is now an official tour operator, reflected upon what the film tourists come to the area for, now that filming is complete: To be . . . to see the place, I guess, you know, why do they come? To see the place. To be involved in . . . to just be part of it . . . now others, because my tour’s not quite for just looking at the set, I mean that wouldn’t be sustaining enough for anybody, ‘Now this is where they did this, this is where they did that’ but when I take them to the house and talk about our history and our culture, and what we do for them in the front with our . . . our visitors, and what we do with our funerals, and the various ancestors

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Some film tourists found it hard to describe their motivation and experience: Well, one from Luton, which is in London, just out of London that’s where my daughter used to stay – he got out of the van up there and he says, breathed and said, ‘I’m glad I’m breathing the air of the Whale Rider’, he said, ‘I decided to come here for my birthday, now I’m here. Well, you’ve got no idea how . . . how that is.’ (Interview tour operator and guide, 30.03.2005).

The film Whale Rider is unusual as New Zealand tends to host runaway or fantasy film production; however, the Whale Rider movie told a local story, and was consequently understood as a reminder of the strength and challenges indigenous communities face all over the world. It resulted in many ‘pilgrimages’ to the Gisborne film location. At one point, a delegation of visitors from Hawaii was so moved they performed a ceremony to seal their bond with the local Maori community (Interview tour operator and guide, 30.03.2005). Clearly, the spiritual aspects are important in Whale Rider tourism. Additionally, tourists often reflected on its idealistic image; as one Lord of the Rings film tourist said: “Whale Rider, of course, was New Zealand. Whale Rider was really New Zealand” (Interview tourist, 28.12.2005). Overall, the initial interest in Whale Rider tourism was significant: The people were just turning up at Whangara and going for a look. Holiday-makers, travelling around the coast, were just turning up at Whangara . . . We were getting emails from offshore and domestically, to say, you know, are there any tours going down there? The travel companies were contacting us . . . Media . . . media’s been huge. I mean we’ve had so much media from offshore come through it’s just been amazing (Interview i-Site Gisborne staff member, 30.03.2005).

But soon issues arose between locals and tourists. Locals had to deal with privacy issues and the fact that their property was not being respected. Eventually, the road to the settlement was gated (Interview tour operator and guide, by phone 17.3.2005). To an extent there have also been splits within the community due to differing opinions about how to deal with film tourism and there is an on-going debate where locals wonder if “we’re commercialising our place” (Interview tour operator and guide, 30.03.2005).

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Overall, there is an on-going cultural interest around the story of the Whale Rider that is a celebrated part of New Zealand culture, and portrayed in, for example, school performances and theatre plays (Stuff, 2013; Chart North, 2014). Images of New Zealand used in promoting the country as a whole and the images used in the Whale Rider film are similar and include coastal scenery, a rural Maori community and, of course, the part-real and part-mythical story of the Whale Rider. Thus the continued widespread use of the Whale Rider film tourism opportunity and its image for further touristic promotions may be grounded in its cultural significance, and less in its reality as a strong attraction for film tourism. In the meantime, interest in Whale Rider tourism continues, from “approximately four out of five tour inquires per week in high season and two to three mails per month” (Interview i-Site Gisborne staff member, 30.03.2005) to nowadays around “approximately four out of five tour inquires per month” (Interview i-Site Gisborne staff member, 23.4.2014). In other words, there has been a reduction in inquiries though a low level interest remains. However, as stated above, due to the small size of the settlement there were privacy issues with tourists crossing into the private lives of locals; and access is now limited to the official Whale Rider tour that is arranged when there is sufficient demand. Visitors who show respect for Maori custom are welcome at the marae (Maddocks, 2004; Interview i-Site Gisborne staff member, 23.4.2014). While official film tourism numbers seem low, overseas media in particular continue to emphasise the significance of the local legend and its movie to the image and destination of the rural township of Whangara.

The New Zealand case studies: One film to rule them all? Film tourism represents only a relatively small percentage of specialised tourism, and yet research has found measurable impacts of film tourism on rural areas (see Croy and Walker, 2001, 2003). Thus while the empirical data show an increase of visitation numbers in selected tourism groups only - the dedicated film tourists - and thus a significant impact on very few tourists, rural towns might still be able to capitalise on film images to strengthen their marketing campaigns in an increasingly competitive market. Connell (2005a, 2005b) showed the impact of a television series on the local tourism industry of the Isle of Mull, Scotland, though this impact turned out to be spatially and temporally concentrated. A similar finding was reported for the film Napoleon Dynamite, which had initiated a highly successful festival in Preston, Idaho, in the first year but then ceased to attract significant interest later on (Dryden, 2006).

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In New Zealand, there were films like Heavenly Creatures that did attract some visitation and many other films like Willow, Once We Were Warriors, The Frighteners and Vertical Limit showcasing New Zealand locations that attract very little tourism interest. In the case of Vertical Limit, both Tourism New Zealand (2002) and the Department of Conservation had expected at least some interest as the film showcased the magnificent Southern Alps and had an adventurous storyline (Interview, Department of Conservation, 21.03.2005), but no significant interest arose. The river and region featured in River Queen also did not receive significant numbers of film enthusiasts, despite the stunning location and well-coordinated marketing approach (Journeys on the Whanganui, 2009). Similarly, a guidebook incorporating a variety of film locations (Brodie, 2006) following the footsteps of the hugely successful Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook (Brodie, 2002) proved to attract far less interest than the original guidebook. Avatar (2009), the most successful film made to date, is not even commonly identified with its place of production - New Zealand - most likely due to its heavy use of studio shootings and CGI. It seems that not all forms of film tourism are sustainable. In fact, there are a significant number of tour operators no longer operating, and this even includes such prestigious businesses as the ‘Lord of the Rings Movie Horse Show’ and the whole of the ‘Last Samurai Movie Set’. These ‘business failures’ could indicate a limited demand for specialised film location tours in the longer-term, or simply inefficient management practises, or something else altogether. In summing up the three case studies presented here, it can be seen that tourists have differing expectations regarding the location depending on the film; for example, a cultural experience around Whale Rider, a stardriven experience in relation to The Last Samurai, scenery and community in Lord of the Rings. How do operators deal with such diverse expectations? At the beginning of this longitudinal study, each interviewee was asked about his or her experience with film tourism. The answers were very diverse, depending on the industry and position of the interviewee and his or her personal interest. It became evident that most had been surprised by the impact films had and, furthermore, that they had not expected to become involved in subsequent film tourism. Most were overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the interest. Even the operators of the most famous Lord of the Rings-related attraction, the Hobbiton Movie Set, were surprised by the demand. Most tour operators reacted to requests, either by potential tourists themselves or governmental institutions, and only then established Lord of the Rings tours, rather than proactively developing film tourism.

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Interestingly, “in general, Kiwis do not seem as excited as international visitors” (Interview shop owner, 12.11.2004). This is true for Lord of the Rings but also for The Last Samurai tourism: “There are hardly any Kiwis coming at all” (Interview tour operator and guide, 11.11.2004). Furthermore, many of those tourists who do come have not even seen all the movies! The phenomenon of having tourists on tour who are not movie fans was widespread, even in Lord of the Rings tourism: However, not all the people who inquire about Lord of the Rings are actually Lord of the Rings fans. They often simply want to see the scenery that they know is to be found in New Zealand, and previously were unsure of where to look for it (Interview tour operator and guide, by mail 6.12.2004).

Around 50% of the participants of the ‘Ultimate Movie tour’ that combines Lord of the Rings and King Kong locations have actually not seen the latter film (Interview tour operator and guide, 25.07.2006). Another operator confirms: “30% have not watched the movies and they only come along with their family or they might have watched it two times years ago” (Interview tour operator and guide, 1.1.2004). There are, of course, also the true fans on board, distinguishable from the standard tourist by their outfit, guide book or behaviour, or as one tour operator recalled “diehard fans will introduce themselves and keep talking all the time” (Interview tour operator and guide, 16.12.2004). Thus it must be noted that the ‘typical’ film tourist does not seem to exist and that most film tourists are far less ‘fanatical’ in behaviour than commonly described by operators and media. The previous sections give an insight into the diverse experiences of the film tourism industry. Many comments also show how the sudden demand for film tourism changed the industry but also New Zealand, its people and its townships. In speaking to such a variety of people whose businesses and lives have been touched by film tourism (see also Buchmann, 2010), it became clear that films can have strong influences on both communities and individuals. However, individual definitions of film tourism are quite different. Most people knew little or nothing about other regions: Wellingtonians know little about the scope of film tourism in Taranaki, Aucklanders had little idea about film tourism in the South Island. There was surprisingly little communication among tour operators, a situation that has not changed significantly over the 10 years of the study. However, most interviewees agreed that the films (especially Lord of the Rings) had brought success and positive economic and cultural impacts, usually based on what they had heard and read in the media.

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Many spoke of non-tangible benefits like pride and how the perception of New Zealand has improved worldwide. In this, one might speculate on the creation of a modern myth and its significance for a re-born nationalism. The films and film tourism have changed whole regions and have had many unexpected spin offs for local artists, many eateries and also production-related facilities. However, there are many of the 220 Lord of the Rings locations that never received significant tourism, while other film tourism was initiated only to be abandoned again. This chapter thus argues that film tourism, and especially Lord of the Rings tourism, needs to be discussed in much greater detail than previously done, and that a focus on only extraordinary locations like ‘Matamata Movie Set’ offers little guidance for other locations in building sustainable film tourism in rural areas.

References Babbie, E. (2004) The practice of social research (10th edition). Belmont, CA.: Thomson and Wadsworth Brodie, I. (2002) The Lord of the Rings location guidebook. Auckland: Harper Collins —. (2006) A journey through New Zealand film. Auckland: Harper Collins Buchmann, A. (2008) Developments in the contemporary film tourism industry: A case study of the New Zealand experience. In Conference Proceedings of CAUTHE 2009: Change: tourism & hospitality in a dynamic world, Curtin University of Technology, WA [CDRom format] —. (2010) Planning and development in film tourism: Insights into the experience of Lord of the Rings film guides. Tourism and Hospitality Planning and Development. 7(1): 77-84 Chart North (2014) The Whale Rider – Touring Northland in August 2014 [Online] Available from http://chartnorth.com/creative_northland/the_whale_rider_touring_nort hland_in_august_2014 [Accessed February 02, 2014]. Connell, J. J. (2005a) Toddlers, tourism and Tobermory: Destination marketing issues and television-induced tourism. Tourism Management. 26(5): 763-776 —. (2005b) What´s the story in Balamory? The impacts of a children´s TV programme on small tourism enterprises on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 13(3): 228-255

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Croy, G. and Buchmann, A. (2009) Film-induced tourism in the high country: Recreation and tourism contest. Tourism Review International. 13(2):147-155 Croy, G. and Walker, R. D. (2001) Tourism and film: Issues for strategic regional development on CD-ROM. Paper presented at the New Dimensions in Managing Rural Tourism and Leisure, Auchincruive Croy, G. and Walker, R. D. (2003) Rural tourism and film: Issues for strategic regional development. In D. Hall, L. Roberts and M. Mitchell (eds) New directions in rural tourism. Aldershot: Ashgate, 115-133. Dryden, C. (2006) Napoleon Dynamite' fever fizzles out: Movie-themed Festival in Preston may be a one-year Wonder, but Fans and Locals still have Fun celebrating Film's Oddball Charm [Online} Available from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.lincoln.ac.nz/pqdweb?did=10739130 01&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientId=18963&RQT=309&VName=PQD [Accessed February 02, 2014]. Jones, D. and Smith, K. A. (2005) Middle-earth meets New Zealand: Authenticity and location in the making of the Lord of the Rings. Journal of Management Studies. 42(5): 923-945 Journeys on the Whanganui (2009) About Us. [Online] Available from http://whanganuiriver.co.nz/aboutus/ [Accessed September 29, 2009]. Lally, K. (2003) Samurai code. Tom Cruise and Ed Zick team for epic tale of Japan. Film Journal International. December, 9-10 Maddocks, J. (2004) With the giants of the seas. Sunday Herald Sun, February 29. Matamata i-SITE (2014) Home. [Online} Available from http://www.matamatanz.co.nz/ [Accessed April 02, 2014]. —. (2013) Fast facts. [Online] Available from http://www.tourismnewzealand.com/sector-marketing/filmtourism/fast-facts/ [Accessed May 12, 2013]. New Zealand Herald (2003a). Lord of the Rings Location Guide a popular read. New Zealand Herald, March 31. —. (2003b) Lord Of The Rings Guide Book one of the country's best sellers. [Online] Available from http://ads.whi.co.nz/hserver/SITE=NZH/AREA=ENTERTAINMENT. GENERAL.STORY/AAMSZ=120X240/POS=ADSZ_120X240/ACC_ RANDOM=804687500? [Accessed December 25, 2003]. NFO New Zealand (2003) Lord of the Rings market research summary report. Wellington: NFO World Group. Samurai Village Tours (2008) Homepage.[Online] Available from www.samuraivillagetours.com [Accessed March 12, 2008].

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Shuy, R. W. (2002) In-person versus telephone interviews. In J. F. Gubrium and J. A. Holstein (eds) Handbook of interview research: Context and method. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage, 537555. Sibley, B. (2002) Lord of the Rings: The Making of the movie trilogy. London: Harper Collins Stuff (2013) Young stars ride whale to victory. [Online] Available from http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/northland/whangareileader/8891177/Young-stars-ride-whale-to-victory [Accessed July 10, 2013]. TheOneRing.ne. (2006) The movies: Quick review. [Online] Available from http://www.theonering.net/movie/index.html [Accessed June 22, 2006]. Tourism New Zealand (2004) The Last Samurai New Zealand film location. [Online] Available from http://www.newzealand.com/travel/destinations/regions/taranaki/lastsa murai-feature/last-samurai-feature-home.cfm [Accessed November 03, 2004]. Venture Taranaki (2004a) The Last Samurai: The articles. [Online] Available from http://www.taranaki.info/searchnews/samurai.php [Accessed November 03, 2004]. —. (2004b) Taranaki reaps rewards of The Last Samurai. [Online] Available from http://www.taranaki.info/news/vn_feb04.htm [Accessed November 03, 2004]. Yeabsley, J. and Duncan, I. (2002) Scoping the lasting effects of The Lord of the Rings. Report to the New Zealand Film Commission. Wellington: New Zealand Institute of Economic Research

CHAPTER TWENTY RIDING TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT? PROMISING ELEMENTS OF SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES IN EQUINE TOURISM RHYS EVANS AND SYLVINE PICKEL CHEVALIER

Introduction Rural places have long relied on tourism as a source of potential economic sustainability and recent innovations in the field have promoted the potential social, economic and cultural sustainability elements of tourism in cultural landscapes and other socio-natural constructions (Ray, 2000; Cawley and Gilmour, 2008; Lønning and Evans, 2010). This includes the use of cultural heritage designation and community-based tourism, and focuses on the economic potential and sustainability of public and private goods where landscape and heritage are factors in attracting tourists. One growing element of this phenomenon is equine tourism. Over the last 20 years equine tourism and leisure have been dramatically increasing, both in Europe and in the wider world (e.g. Equimeeting Tourisme, 2012; Pickel-Chevalier and Evans, 2014). As much of these equestrian activities are delivered in rural areas (horse riding tourism, but also festival and other forms of equine tourism), we explore whether their development has the potential to support sustainable development in the countryside. We ask whether equine tourism can be one of a range of positive responses to the challenges of sustainability, in terms of the sustainability triangle -social, economic and environmental – and, if so, how? What are the policies, strategies and actors (public/private) involved? What might be the difficulties and limitations for equine tourism as an agent of sustainable

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tourism development? To begin, we need to clarify the definition of ‘equine tourism’. The title of this chapter includes the words, ‘promising elements of sustainable practice’ because, although we will demonstrate how equine tourism can and does participate within the boundaries of what can be called ‘sustainable tourism’, we feel a need to at least initially problematise that term. Like the term ‘sustainable development’, the very idea of sustainable tourism offers some contradictions which must be engaged with in order to move forward. This is particularly so when dealing with mass tourism, where it could be seen, following Friend (1992: 157), that “combining the concept of Sustainability with that of Development creates an oxymoron”. The term oxymoron could apply equally to the concept of sustainable tourism (Weaver, 2004), particularly the type of international destination tourism which is commonly considered to be the backbone of the industry. However, just as Friend (1992) raises the problem only to address it, so too we wish to demonstrate that there are, at least, ‘promising elements of sustainable practice’, first in tourism, and then, in equine tourism. Just as definitions of sustainable development and sustainable tourism have evolved (and been contested), so too, a dialogue between researchers and service providers is beginning to produce a usable definition of equine tourism. Older definitions tended to equate equine tourism with long distance trail riding or journeys on horseback (Ollenberg, 2006). This has today widened to include: “all equestrian activities undertaken by equineoriented tourists outside their normal place of residence for more than 24 hours and less than four months” (Atout France, 2011). Included within the definition are leisure riding, competition (amateur participatory, professional participation and spectator), events (fairs, festivals, shows), travel to purchase horses, trekking, beach riding, location-based riding, and training and tuition (Atout France, 2011; Castillon, 2012). The sector is very diverse, with horses being enjoyed both actively, through riding, competition and training, and passively, through spectating and involvement in religious and other spectacles. As a result of this diversity, equine tourism can be viewed as part of several sub-sectors of the tourism spectrum, including nature-based or outdoor tourism; adventure tourism; rural tourism; sport tourism; tradition and heritage tourism; and event tourism (Evans, 2014). The first two of these are significant because the fields of outdoor/adventure tourism and nature-based tourism, are the fastest growing sub-sectors of tourism enterprise globally (Bessy and Mouton, 2004; Kunenzi and McNeely,

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2008). Cultural heritage tourism is another sub-sector which is experiencing significant growth. Can we say that equine tourism is sustainable tourism? Clearly, this depends upon the ideological orientation of the questioner. Given, however, the policy definitions which underpin sustainable development, we certainly argue that equine tourism takes a place in the constellation of land-based activities which comprise such development, as we demonstrate throughout this chapter.

Methodology This chapter is based upon data gathered from a number of recent studies into equine tourism in France and the Nordic countries. These studies used the case study methodology (Yin, 2009) which allowed us to access data using a wide variety of tools, including statistical surveys (in France) and in-depth interviews with equine tourists, equine tourism practitioners, development officers and authorities with a regulatory function in equine tourism (all locations). The data was combined with existing data from literature searches, and was focused using the tripartite definition of sustainability, applying it to equine tourism. In France, the study areas included: The Natural Regional Park of Camargue (in Region Languedoc-Roussillon – South of France); the Region Pays de la Loire (West of France), and the Marquenterre natural park (Region Picardie, North of France). Interviews were undertaken with five private equine tourism associations: the Association du Cheval Henson; the Association Camarguaise de tourisme Equestre; the ATACA LR (Association du Tourisme Autour du Cheval et de l’Ane en Languedoc-Roussillon); the Association Vidourle à cheval and the Maison du Cheval. In the Nordic region, data was gathered through two equine tourism business research and development projects – Riding Native Nordic Breeds (in Western Norway, Iceland and the Faroes, funded by NORA); and the Nord Norskhest Prosjekt (in Nordland and Troms County Norway, funded by Nordland and Troms Fylkesmannen). Further information was gathered through strategic relations with key researchers, in particular the Interreg-funded ‘Inno-Equine’ project focused on the Baltic Region, and fellow researchers in the European Association of Animal Science who have worked on equine grazing regimes. All data was analysed in an integrative way according to the data model, regardless of the sources, in order to address the question of the extent of sustainable tourism practice in equine tourism.

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Equine tourism and sustainable economic development One leg of the ‘sustainability triad’ is economic development. In rural areas, economic development is both an outcome of healthy social and cultural relations, and a necessary condition to sustain them (Ray 2001; Lønning and Evans 2010). Rural places are, by definition, peripheral and marginal, either by location, or by environment, and often both. The inclusion of farm tourism as part of sustainable rural development practice is a key contributor to the recent growth of nature-based tourism, particularly in remote rural locations where tourism infrastructure may be limited. Horse establishments, with their facilities for stabling, riding and learning, are often created in converted farm structures. Indeed, small farms which are unsuitable for operation within the large-scale agriindustrial system can be particularly appropriate for redevelopment as equine businesses due to their existing environmental, manufactured and human assets which are as appropriate to equine enterprises as they were to small scale farming (Evans and Franklin, 2008). Farm buildings can be converted to stables; smaller fields with mixed landscape features converted to paddocks; farm equipment used to move hay and other products. Small farms in peri-urban locations can serve urban demands for horse keeping facilities and riding venues. Those located further from urban centres may be able to serve equine tourism markets. Equine tourism operations offer some benefits for small scale farmers. Not only can they often keep costs low, especially if they can produce feed and bedding on their properties, but the additional income from equine tourism activities can supplement farm income to the point where the farm becomes economically viable through a strategy of multifunctional activities generating multiple income streams. Whilst labour is often performed by family members, for little or even no remuneration (Pussinen, 2013), this labour can keep family members on the farm, in the rural locale. Thus equine tourism as part of multifunctional farm activity can help counter rural depopulation and provide opportunities for vocational transition in areas where employment losses in agriculture are high. Another aspect of equine tourism which contributes towards economic, as well as social, sustainability is the gendering of the sector. Within the Nordic countries approximately 80% of horse riders and owners are female, so equine economic activities such as tourism offer new opportunities for female entrepreneurship. A recent report from Sweden indicates that this is indeed so with an estimated two thirds of equine entrepreneurs being female (Lunner Kolstrop et al., 2013). Forsberg et al.

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(2012: 3) claim in a report on female entrepreneurs within the equine sector in Sweden that in old rural enterprises which focused on production of agricultural and other commodities, the norm of the entrepreneur was a middle aged man; however, “Within leisure and experience-based industries there is an emergence of ‘new’ or to some extent different businesses . . . To a considerable extent, these new forms are linked to women entrepreneurs”. In France, 51% of wage-earning persons in the equestrian field are women. These rates do differ by sector - more than 60% of employees in riding schools are women, while in racing, only 33% are female (IFCE, 2011). The recent growth of tourism and leisure riding offers new economic opportunities to an often marginalised section of the rural population (women), supporting the sustaining of the rural economy through the creation of new ‘consumption’ activities which take place in the same landscapes that were formerly used for ‘production’ of rural commodities. Recent research by Evans et al. (2013) on native breed equine tourism in the North Atlantic region demonstrates that equine tourism fits with the models currently accepted for nature-based tourism and adventure tourism. The use of native breed horses in tourism is not simply about supplying carriers-of-people though a landscape. Native breed horses are also carriers-of-cultural heritage as they are, in fact, cultural heritage artefacts which are the product of centuries of careful breeding and selection in order to be the most efficient help-mates in establishing the cultural landscapes in which they are located. Given that heritage tourism is also one of the faster growing sectors of tourism activity, native breed horses are an economic asset which can help develop the economy in remote areas. The concept of riding the native breed horse in the landscapes in which it ‘became’ – of riding the Fjord Horse in the fjords, the Faeroes Horse in the Faeroes, Camargue horse in Camargue– offers a distinctive pull which can provide a powerful marketing tool to attract new customers. Another key component of any tourism sector is the market it serves. Although the stereotype of equine tourism involves riding long distances over many days through spectacular landscapes, this is only a small proportion of the sector. Recent research into equine tourism in Iceland, Norway and the Faeroes found that the majority of customers for equine tourism are domestic. Even in Iceland – considered one of the top equine tourism destinations in the world - it has been estimated that less than 40% of all riders come from outside the country (Sigurddottir, 2011). The majority of riders are Icelandic families. Similar results can be found in France; even in the Camargue, which is located in one of the most touristic

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destination of France (Violier, 2013), 80% of the equestrian tourists are French. Equine tourism thus offers some of the sustainability benefits of domestic tourism – affordability in local currencies; more frequent but shorter duration visits; interchanges in local language; and shorter journeys to reach the tourism site. This research also suggests that the emphasis on long distance treks which take many days is being replaced by shorter one or two day riding experiences. Operators claim that the market for these short trips is much larger as most customers only have time for shorter journeys. This is claimed to also offer better welfare for the horses and to allow operators to maintain multiple activities on the farm. The research suggests an emerging consensus that shorter trips which serve a mainly-domestic market produce better revenue, more frequent visits, and are easier for operators to manage in ways that provide a higher quality experience. In these ways, then, the economic sustainability of the activity is promoted.

Equine tourism and social and cultural sustainability Horse-riding and equine tourism can also contribute to sustainable social and cultural development, with the latter taking an ever more important role in sustainable development linked to the phenomenon of ‘heritage’ (Sharpley and Telfer, 2002). Horses have become an emotional subject (Pickel-Chevalier and Grefe, 2014) and a vector for leisure activities (Tourre-Malen, 2006). They are also a living part of cultural heritage, helping to strengthen the social capital of rural areas through community integration, particularly through the association of horse-riding and horse-related services to a region (Atout France, 2011). Equine activities can contribute both to local communities cooperating with each other, and to the equine community cooperating with other outdoor recreation communities (Bessy and Mouton, 2004), and of boosting local identity. In France, there are numerous examples of this use of horses and equine tourism as ways of developing sustainable tourism in terms of both land-management and cultural sectors. This capacity was officially recognised by the agency for national tourism development (Atout France) in 2011, which said: “The horse is a part of our heritage, a symbol of its ecosystem, of its history, of the local and regional traditions of its area, and is considered a tool which helps people appreciate the land” (Atout France, 2011: 14). This use of the horse as a unifying element of cultural identity through the development of equine tourism is particularly visible in the village of

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Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, situated in the regional natural park of the Camargue, which stretches from the Rhone to the Mediterranean Sea. This village is in an area famous for the breeding of semi-wild Camargue horses in the wetland marsh, for its rearing and training of bulls for fighting, and also for its gypsy traditions. Saintes-Maries is a pilgrimage site for European gypsies who come in their hundreds every year for various festivals. Today, horses are associated with all of these events. For example, the pilgrimage on the 24th and 25th of May consists of a large procession, followed by herdsmen on horseback leading the statues of both of the village saints down to the sea to be blessed by the Bishop. In July there is an event called the Horse Festival which takes place over three days in the village. This includes demonstrations of various equestrian activities, including working-horse displays, parades and the presentation of breeding-stock which takes place in the village streets in front of the local population. Ranching is highlighted in November with the Abrivado festival, which has become famous due to a spectacular cattle-drive on the beach when two hundred herdsmen on horseback from all over Provence guide their bulls towards the village arena. This promotion of equestrian heritage serves as a means of social cohesion. It draws the villagers into the show by guiding the cattle-drive through the streets of the village. This festival, as well as the pilgrimages and other events, are part of the tourist calendar and are widely publicised by the local Tourism Office. The linking of local residents and tourists is accomplished by different shared activities, such as free breakfasts for all the participants on the beach during the event. The horse has thus become a very important component of Saintes-Maries’ cultural identity. This village is one of the few places in France where the streets still have hitching points for herdsmen who continue to use their horses as a means of transport or for their work. Developing equine tourism gives the inhabitants a chance to protect and even strengthen their local individuality in the face of globalisation by giving the horse the status of a live heritage symbol and as such it is a key part of their cultural identity. A custom has developed which may seem old-fashioned and thus worthless for today’s youth, but one which is revalorised every year by the enthusiasm of tourists coming from across France and beyond. The village has even opened a specific museum of the Gardian culture. This co-constituent phenomenon, characterised by the links between tourism, heritage and culture (Lazzarotti and Violier, 2007; Pickel-Chevalier, 2012; Pickel-Chevalier, 2014a) contributes to the continuation of the traditional use of the horse in Saintes-Maries, and also boosts local economic development. It means that the village is seen primarily as a tourist destination based on equestrian traditions, and of

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course, beach and sea. As a result, trips and visits are available for those wanting to accompany the cattle-drive on horseback, to be initiated into the ways of life of the traditional herdsman, to learn the herdsman’s horse skills, to help sort the cattle while on horseback, and to explore the local culture. These trips are available directly through agencies which offer riding and accommodation. The equine tourism offer can also be organised via a specialised tourism agency such as Cheval d’Aventure, which market the tours under the name “In a herdsman’s saddle”. Far from locking the village’s inhabitants in the past, the horse has given them a window of opportunity by allowing them to welcome and meet a varied tourist population. Local people have been able to enrich their traditional celebrations with national and international events, such as the Equestrian Literature and Film Show. So, the horse and equine tourism are confederative agents, uniting the local and the global. They are vectors which transmit and reinforce social and cultural identity but are also open to the world. However, while the villagers of Saintes-Maries have succeeded in associating their economy and culture with equine tourism, the model has struggled to spread across the whole area of the Camargue region, where the Camargue horses are bred. According to a survey (Fischer, 2013), tourists are often disappointed by the quality of equine tourism in Camargue, outside the village. The main reasons stated are the quality of riding and trails, and the fact that only 20% of the horses used in equine tourism in the region are real Camargue Breed, the remaining 80% being grey horses of various other breeds. According to Fischer (2013), the horses are not always well treated; they can be left to stand under the sun for hours, waiting for tourists. The trails are not satisfactory because most are private roads, and much of the riding has to follow roads, rather than paths. The (rare offroad) paths are not connected, which forces the riders to continue on the road, alongside cars, causing anxiety related to safety. This makes it hard to put together appealing itineraries over several days and thus reduces the attractiveness of the Camargue as an equine tourism destination (Lux, 2012). Horses and equine tourism can be agents of social cohesion and local development if they are integrated into a coordinated strategy of governance and management. By capitalising on both the animal as a living heritage artefact and on an activity promoting local culture, the horse can help restructure rural tourism development. It can contribute to a process by which rural communities reclaim their local heritage and revitalise their tourism potential. It can also strengthen social cohesion through co-opetition (Brandenburger and Nalebuff, 1996) wherein a

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network of small and medium-sized firms maintain relations which are both competitive and cooperative. When these companies work in the same sector - several hotels; several restaurants; several breeders or equestrian structures - their primary relationship is competitive. Nevertheless, because they are working within the framework of a common culture (here horses and equine tourism) they also develop nontrade relationships supported by social networks (Stopper, 1996), facilitated by beliefs and values as well as a shared history (Pecqueur, 2000). This phenomenon allows an activity to be anchored in an area through ‘organised proximity’, both geographic and relational. Each enterprise’s competitive advantage is developed through networking and shared resources. This co-opetition model is well suited to equine tourism which builds on a link between the ‘horse’ and a specific area, combined with the presence of a set of activities (equestrian culture, shows, sports events, tourism on horseback), and the way these activities are physically networked (marked equestrian routes, hotels-restaurants, sites, shows). Although such co-opetition seems to work well in small areas such as the village of Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer, it is more difficult to do on a wider basis because of problems of coordination between public and private actors, and due to a lack of professionalisation. Surveys with local associations of equine tourism in the Natural Regional Park of Camargue (Fischer, 2013) indicate that local public and private actors do not work closely with the national institutions (FFE, CDTE, CRTE), and the private actors still have lots of difficulties cooperating between themselves. The model of co-opetition is promising, but needs further development in these cases.

Equine tourism and environmental sustainability For equine tourism, environmental sustainability is probably the most difficult and least addressed aspect of the sustainability triad. Issues of overuse, in particular the impact of large numbers of horses on plant species on ridden trails, have been a significant concern in the literature. Similar to the impact of large numbers of ramblers on sensitive mountain habitats, concerns have been raised about the negative impacts of equine tourism, primarily in terms of ground disturbance and diffusion of exotic seeds in manure (Newsome et al., 2008). Many of the objections to the riding of horses in national parks and outdoor recreation areas actually appear to be perceptions rather than facts, and many of these perceptions focus on aesthetic concerns. As documented by Newsome et al. (2001), other user-groups often disapprove of equine use of wilderness areas and

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this is often expressed as perceptions of negative environmental impact. As Newsome et al. (2008) state in other research, however, whilst there is a definite issue over soil compaction and other impacts of hoof prints, the impacts of other aspects of horses’ presence are mainly aesthetic -- in terms of seeing/smelling muck, or excessively noisy parties of riders encountered on the trail. Interestingly, Beeton (2006: 49) claims that many walkers surveyed “had actually not encountered horseback groups, with many of their attitudes not based on actual experience. Those walkers who had encountered horseback tour groups had a more positive attitude towards them than those who had not”. It remains clear, however, that there is a need for more research on how to set acceptable levels of equine use, both on dedicated bridleways and in open countryside. With this, the negative impacts of riding in natural areas can be managed in ways that minimise cumulative impacts. There may also be a need to form coalitions between riding organisations and equine tourism businesses, and organisations which manage the environment of parks and other natural areas. Equine organisations and tourism businesses have tended to act on their own. Recent research in the Nordic countries has pointed to the benefits of working collaboratively with other organisations that have different expertise in, for example, tourism management (Evans, 2014). The same principle applies to managing the impact of horses on the tourism environments they ride through. A recent pioneering initiative in France has seen the ONF (National Office of the Forest) and the FFE (French Equestrian Federation) sign an agreement for better collaboration around horse riding in forests. The initiative undertakes to educate riders on how to ride with environmental sensitivity – e.g. sticking to the path, avoiding overgrazing the natural environment. This is done by the FFE. In return, the ONF builds equipment for riders in the forest – hitching points, water supplies, etc. (Pickel-Chevalier, 2014b.). Some agreements have recently been signed between the FFE and the Outdoor Activities Federation and an agreement has been made recently between the CRTE (Equestrian Tourism Regional Committee) of the Pays de la Loire, the CRRP (Pedestrian Trekking Regional Committee) and CRC (Cycle Regional Committee) in the region. This suggests that awareness of better ways to manage equine impact is beginning to grow, at least in France, and that riders are taking their place alongside walkers and cyclists in attempts to manage the environmental impact of their activities on natural environments. Native breed horses also represent a key genetic resource in and of themselves. We have already discussed their importance in terms of

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cultural heritage, but the genetic resources they represent are equally as important as ‘heritage seeds’ or other agricultural and wildlife resources. Most European nations are signatories to the Bern Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats - a legally binding treaty in which the signatories commit to active preservation of the genetic heritage, in particular of vulnerable species. Some native breeds of horses exist in very small numbers. The Faroese Pony, for example, has just 62 members extant at the time of writing, and efforts are currently underway to develop a model of ‘endangered species tourism’ to generate funds to continue a breeding programme for them. Overall, there is a need for much more research to be undertaken into the actual environmental impacts of equine tourism. It is clear that there must be limits placed on use in fragile environments, but much recent research focuses on perceptions of negative impacts rather than actual scientific measurement of them. With further research, local limits can be set, and positive impacts can be harnessed to contribute towards creating a thriving and biodiverse local environment. Further, by providing an economic imperative to breed native breed horses, equine tourism can contribute to avoiding the loss of important genetic resources, and in this way, also makes a positive contribution to environmental sustainability.

Conclusion As we have demonstrated, the question, ‘is equine tourism sustainable tourism’ generates many and complex answers. There are, depending upon one’s intellectual or ideological perspective, clear questions about whether any tourism activity could be considered sustainable. If, however, sustainability is viewed as a process rather than a destination itself, then the evidence presented above suggests that equine tourism is indeed travelling along a path toward sustainable tourism, particularly in terms of tourism as sustainable development. Using the idea of the ‘sustainability triad’ as a framework for exploring the question allows us to isolate particular aspects of sustainability and interrogate progress made towards them. Across the three axes, progress can observed, but it can best be characterised as at different stages on different axes. Equine tourism, located as it is often in peripheral areas, can contribute significantly to the economic development of small rural enterprises through the additionallity it brings to existing farms and other small holdings which cannot participate in the large-scale agri-industrial economy. The conversion of farm assets such as buildings, fields, and the farmer’s knowledge to equine enterprises means that the income generated

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is intensely local – especially when feed and other equine services are generated directly by the operator. Even when employing resources beyond the immediate farm they are often local resources which are used. Research on the economic impacts of equine tourism in Europe is, for the most part, quite recent. But the actual activity itself has a long history and can be seen to be growing, as the whole equine sector itself grows. Therefore, the economic impact of equine tourism on sustainable development can be said to be quite strong. There is, however, a clear need for more transnational research to quantify this further and to capture the many and varied expressions of equine tourism. The long history of the human-horse relationship means that horses have been present in European cultures for a long time. Their roles in the productive process (farming, forestry, transport) and in the military means that there are many cultural expressions of that relationship. We have shown how, in France and the Nordic countries, the cultural legacy of the human-horse relationship is an asset for the development of modern equine tourism – whether for education, for spectacle, or as iconic symbols of local landscapes and peoples. Further, the ever-growing fulfilment of modern leisure needs by horses is creating many opportunities for new communities to be formed, new relations between city and countryside, and supporting new gender roles and entrepreneurship opportunities for women. Horses link the most contemporary cultural and social trends with many ancient cultural practices. As a link between the past and present, horses sustain traditional cultural practices and at the same time, offer opportunities for innovation, adapting them for new circumstances and new social formations. In this sense, then, we might suggest that it is along this axis of sustainability – social and cultural - which equine tourism has travelled the farthest. Although it could be said that equine tourism development is at its weakest along the axis of environmental sustainability, it can be seen that many horse breeds themselves are valuable genetic assets worthy of preservation – and equine tourism provides one economic imperative for doing just this. Early research suggests that horses, employed in a mixed grazing scenario, can contribute to more effective maintenance of biodiverse grassland habitats, although more research is certainly needed to develop this further (see Miraglia et al., 2006; Fleurance et al., 2012). Like much of the tourism sector, equine tourism can be said to be in a process of moving towards sustainability. Diverse in activities and locations, some threads in the tapestry of equine tourism have clearly moved further through the process than others. Nevertheless, whether seen as contributing towards economic sustainability, social and cultural

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sustainability, or environmental sustainability, it is emerging that there are many promising elements of sustainable practices within the equine tourism sector. There is clearly much further to go, yet equine tourism can indeed be said to be riding towards sustainability, whether economic, social or environmental.

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Pickel Chevalier S. (2012) Les processus de mise en tourisme d’une ville historique : l’exemple de Rouen. Mondes du tourisme, n°6, décembre 2012, Editions Espaces Tourisme et loisirs, Paris. —. (2014a) L’Occident face à la nature, à la confluence des sciences, de la philosophie et des arts, Cavalier Bleu, coll. Paris : Idées Reçues. —. (In press, 2014b) Le cheval et l’équitation : agent de développement touristique durable en France ? In S. Pickel-Chevalier and R. Evans (eds) Cheval, Tourisme et Mondialisation/Horse, Tourism and Globalization, Mondes du Tourisme, Editions Spéciales, Paris –à paraître. Pickel-Chevalier S. and Evans R. (2014) Cheval, Tourisme et Mondialisation/ Horse, Tourism and Globalization, Mondes du Tourisme, Editions Spéciale, Paris –à paraître. Pickel-Chevalier S. and Grefe G. (In press, 2014) Le cheval réinventé par la société des loisirs en Occident : une mythologie révolutionnée (XVIII-XXIe)? In S. Pickel-Chevalier and R. Evans (eds) Cheval, Tourisme et Mondialisation/Horse, Tourism and Globalization, Mondes du Tourisme, Editions Spéciales, Paris –à paraître. Pussinen, S. and Thuneberg, T. (2013) How can horse business professionals adapt to the new consumer demand? Presentation at Towards the New Equine Economy. Haamenliina, Finland. Ray, C. (2001) Endogenous socio-economic development in the European Union—issues of evaluation. Journal of Rural Studies. 16(4): 447– 458. Sharpley R. and Telfer, D. (2002) Tourism and development: Concepts and issues. Clevedon UK: Channelview Publications. Sigurðardóttir, I. (2011) Economical importance of the horse industry in North West Iceland: A case in point. [Internet]Available at http://holar.academia.edu/IngibjorgSigurdardottir [Accessed March 02, 2012]. Stopper, M. (1996) Institution of knowledge-based economy. Employment and Growth in the knowledge-based economy. Paris: OECD. Violier P. (sous la dir) (2013) Le tourisme, un phénomène économique. Paris: La documentation française. Weaver, D.B. (2004) Tourism and the elusive paradigm of sustainable development. In A.A. Lew, C.M. Hall and A.M. Williams (eds) A companion to tourism. Oxford: Backwell, 510-524. Yin, R.K. (2009) Case study method. 4th Edition. California: Sage.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE ‘OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY’ FROM THE COAST: RURAL ISLAND TOURISM IN THE MOUNTAINS AND ALTERNATIVE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT VASSILIOS ZIAKAS AND NIKOLAOS BOUKAS

Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to examine the case of the Troodos mountain region on the island of Cyprus and the efforts that national and regional tourism authorities undertake to foster tourism development. Cyprus - facing the consequences of mass tourism, which have been exacerbated by the economic crisis (Boukas and Ziakas, 2013) - seeks to reconfigure and diversify its tourism product as a remedy to the decreased competitiveness of the tourism sector (Boukas and Ziakas, Forthcoming; Ziakas and Boukas, 2013). In so doing, the Cypriot authorities attempt to capitalise on areas of the island that are intact from the impacts of mass tourism, such as the mountain region of Troodos. This region has the highest mountain on the island and has been renowned since antiquity for its dense forests. It is now promoted as an all-season destination, specifically for escaping during the summer heat, for walking or cycling along scenic routes in spring or autumn, or for skiing in winter. Troodos’ tourism infrastructure includes a wide range of hotels, traditional houses and agro-tourism establishments for accommodation and hosting of smallscale seminars or conferences; there is also a choice of nearly 2,000 available beds, in different types of licensed establishments, from basic village accommodation to quality hotels. This chapter investigates the potential of diversifying the Cypriot tourism product by repositioning the island as an all-season destination and developing a range of alternative or special interest tourism activities

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such as hiking, cycling, rural festivals, gastronomic experiences, or religious visitation. The chapter sheds light on the policies and processes of rural tourism development, revealing the emergence of relevant synergies and initiatives, the nature and features of alternative special interest tourism, and the challenges faced by local actors for the sustainable development of the region. Theoretical and policy implications for the development of rural tourism on islands are drawn, providing directions for further research in rural island tourism as a means of alternative regional development.

Research approach This research adopted a qualitative case study approach (Creswell, 2006; Yin, 2009) to explore the character, features and development of tourism in the Troodos region. The main method of data collection was the employment of semi-structured interviews aimed to elicit the in-depth perspectives of informants for the issues under study (Weiss, 1994). Specifically, three interviews were conducted with officers at Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) and Troodos Tourism Board. CTO is the national governing body of tourism and Troodos Tourism Board is the regional destination marketing organisation. Data collection also included the gathering of official documents such as archival files, reports and promotional materials. The semi-structured interviews were conducted in the offices of informants and each lasted about one hour. All interviews were tape-recorded with the consent of informants. Questions focused on identifying the initiatives for tourism development in Troodos, the characteristics of the region’s tourism product and the factors that facilitate or constrain tourism development efforts in the region. The interviews were transcribed in the Greek language and then translated into English. A standard protocol for analysis of qualitative data was applied (Miles and Huberman, 1994). Transcripts were analysed in line with the collected documents using a constant comparative method (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). This comparative analysis indicated themes that were coded according to the order that emerged from the data. The emerging themes were comparatively examined by going back to the literature for conceptual clarification and triangulation, thereby substantiating the reliability of findings and their implications. In the following sections we present the findings that emerged from the thematic analysis and shed light on the developmental processes and characteristics of the Troodos mountain region as a tourism destination. The findings are then discussed in relation to the future of rural island

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tourism and the potential to foster alternative sustainable regional development of tourism in Cyprus as well as generally in island destinations.

The Green Heart of Cyprus: Developing the Troodos mountain region as a tourism destination Emerging synergies and initiatives The need to foster rural tourism development in Cyprus has begun to be addressed by the national tourism organisation, which established the Cyprus Agrotourism Company. This organisation serves as a coordinator in any rural development effort on the island. An officer said: The need for better co-ordination of rural tourism led to the establishment of the Cyprus Agrotourism Company, a body dealing exclusively with holidays in the Cyprus countryside. Today, rural tourism is a vibrant part of Cyprus tourism, hosted in traditional lodgings of historical value throughout Cyprus, ready to offer a new, alternative holiday ideal. These restored lodgings create a unique atmosphere, while offering walks down nature trails, visits to historical monasteries and archaeological sites, and the real life of the country.

Nonetheless, the region of Troodos has not yet reached the level of an autonomous rural destination in order to fully exploit its assets and effectively cooperate with the Cyprus Agrotourism Company. This is mainly because efforts for the accomplishment of this vision started only recently. A milestone in the tourism development of Troodos is the establishment of the Troodos Tourism Board in 2007. The Board aims to form strong networking channels, to share knowledge and experiences, and to promote comprehensively the whole region of Troodos as a destination suitable for alternative tourism. As the regional tourism officer pointed out: With the establishment of the Troodos Tourism Board in 2007, we started to organise the whole area and market Troodos as a destination for special interest alternative tourism. This was the first time that the whole area of Troodos was promoted as a tourism destination projecting the variety of alternative tourist activities it provides away from the coastal areas . . . So we are trying to create an identity for Troodos putting all villages under the same umbrella. And so, we divided the whole area in 5 regions to make the coordination of activities easier. Also, we created new promotional

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materials for Troodos and we participate in international trade shows and exhibitions as Troodos.

The development of tourism in Troodos is contingent upon the holistic cultivation of a common identity for the whole region. This identity is rooted in the natural qualities of the region characterised by dense mountain forests. Hence, the Troodos region is promoted to tourism markets as the ‘Green Heart of Cyprus’, thereby emphasising its natural resources that provide opportunities for alternative tourism activities. Since this effort started only recently in 2007 with the establishment of the Troodos Tourism Board, the cultivation of the region’s common identity has not yet been completed. It was explained: The idea is that we should first bring tourists to Troodos and after these tourists can be attracted to visit the different villages according to their interests and preferences. This is what we are trying to make clear to the local communities. We are stronger as Troodos region rather than as separate villages and communities. So it is for our common benefit to promote Troodos as a tourism destination.

Arguably, the creation of a common identity can help the different local communities overcome parochial interests and join their efforts, inducing cooperation towards the accomplishment of common goals. Also, the common identity serves as a basis for conveying a unique destination image to tourist markets who would be interested in visiting the ‘Green Heart of Cyprus’ for partaking in environmentally friendly alternative tourism activities. A notable effort that is orchestrated by the Troodos Tourism Board is the creation of locally themed events, which celebrate local agricultural products and natural or traditional architectural features. These events are hosted in different villages and each features the celebration of a different aspect of local life or produce. As the regional tourism officer said: We have created themed-events that aim to project the tradition and heritage of the region and attract visitors. For example, we have the rose festival, or the herbs and the apple ones. Also, we have developed the sports and fun festival, which projects that the region is suitable for a range of sports and outdoor recreational activities. Our goal is to establish a range of events all year long.

Finally, another initiative by the Troodos Tourism Board is the imminent creation of travel packages that combine a range of tourist

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activities in the region and can thus directly promote the whole region as an alternative tourism destination in Cyprus: We are trying to create generic and special interest travel packages. Travel agents do not offer packages for Troodos because they do not have the same revenues as with the sea resorts. So we will play this role by creating and selling these travel packages. We have now the packages at pilot stage, which include visits to monasteries, traditional buildings, nature reserves, wine-making facilities, etc. We will soon have such packages ready to sell to the tourists.

Nature and features of Troodos’ tourism product The tourism product of Troodos is based on its natural and cultural resources. Accordingly, its Tourism Board capitalises on the region’s heritage as well as natural morphology, providing a range of special interest or alternative tourist activities. These can be separated into three categories: (1) Cultural heritage activities, including visits to religious sites, museums, traditional villages where tourists can learn about the local culture, their traditional products and architecture, as well as enjoy the region’s gastronomy, music and dancing. (2) Natural environment sightseeing and outdoor recreational activities, including hiking, visits to nature reserves and waterfalls, bird watching, cycling, and skiing. (3) Themed events and festivals, featuring the traditional products and natural qualities of the area. Table 21.1 delineates the tourism product of Troodos, while Table 21.2 lists the array of events hosted in the region. As the regional tourism officer argued, the range of activities offered is intended to establish the region as an all-season destination: Tourists can visit Troodos all year long. For example, during the summer heat, they can come here for cycling, play sport or simply relax, while in the winter they can come for skiing. The tourist activities we offer and promote are designed to take place throughout the year and thus constantly attract visitors. I am optimistic that in the foreseeable future Troodos will be established as an all-season destination.

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Table 21.1: Troodos tourism product Form Ecotourism

Geotourism

Cultural and Religious Tourism

Festivals and Agricultural Tourism Sport tourism and Recreation

Activities -sightseeing in places of great natural beauty -routes for nature study -visit to waterfalls and water dams -visit the Troodos and Machairas National Parks -visit to the Troodos Visitor Centre (information about the flora and fauna of the area) -short visits in the natural area of Troodos (i.e., picnics, camping) -sightseeing of geological environment of the area -visit to the Troodos Visitor Centre (information about the geology of the area) -Museum of Mining Heritage (Katydata) -Visits to Byzantine churches registered in UNESCO world heritage list -Visits to Kykkos Monasteries -Visits to villages of great architectural value (i.e., Kakopetria, Pedoulas, Kalopanagiotis) -Visit folklore museums and visitor centers -Visit to medieval bridges -Herbs, Apple, Rose, Zivania, Local Food, Wine Festivals, -Visits to areas of local products’ production -Troodos Sports and Fun Festival, Hiking, Biking routes, Walking routes, Winter skiing, Air sports, Bird watching

Winter tourism

-Winter skiing

Wine Tourism

-Visit to local wineries, Wine tasting

Areas Troodos National Forest Park, Pitsilia, Machairas National Forest Park Troodos National Forest Park, Pitsilia, Solea Valley Pitsilia, Solea Valley, Marathasa valley, Krasochoria and Koumandaria Troodos National Forest Park, Pitsilia, Solea Valley, -Troodos National Forest Park Troodos National Forest Park -Krasochoria and Koumandaria

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Table 21.2: Troodos events calendar Event Local Products Festival

Grape Feast

Cyprus Herbs Event Apple Festival

Zivania Festival

Rose Festival

Theme Visitors can look at bread products, traditional sweets and other local products which are exhibited Visitors can watch the demonstration of palouze making (traditional grape sweet), taste the palouze and wines of the region while enjoying traditional music and dances Visitors can learn about the 674 indigenous herbs and essential oils Visitors can look at exhibitions related to the production of the apple and can taste traditional apple products while enjoying traditional music and dances Visitors can experience the distillation process of zivania (traditional alcoholic drink from grapes) while enjoying traditional music and dances and tasting traditional products Visitors can take part in the rose collection, see and buy different rose products while enjoying traditional music and dances

Timeline September

Region Solea Valley – Galata village

SeptemberOctober

Krassochoria and Koumandaria – Arsos, Vasa, Vouni and Koilani villages

October

Limassol Mountain Resort – Pano Platres village

October

Pitsilia – Amiantos, Dymes and Kyperounta villages

November

Pitsilia – Alona and Pelendri villages

May

Pitsilia – Agros village

‘Over the Hills and Far Away’ from the Coast Herbs Festival

Troodos Sports and Fun Festival

Visitors can see the big variety of the indigenous herbs and learn about their properties Visitors can participate in a wide range of outdoor activities, which take place in the mountain, from hiking and archery to mountain biking and trail running

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May

Solea Valley – Korakou village

June

Limassol Mountain Resort – Starting from Pano Platres village

The potential to develop Troodos as a rural tourism destination is also a long-term goal set by the national tourism organisation, as was emphasised by a tourism officer: The Troodos countryside is endowed with inexhaustible historical, natural and human assets. The traditional villages are in harmony with the natural environment, with their local character, traditional architecture and village planning. Within this environment, tourists can have the opportunity to experience first-hand the traditions of village people: the daily rhythms and activities of rural life, folk customs, and the authentic tastes of traditional cuisine.

Another officer highlighted: The Cyprus Tourism Organisation, in responding to the trend of visitors wishing to experience an alternative way to holidaymaking, has set a programme of restoration of traditional houses and enhancement of the traditional element in Cyprus villages, within the framework of rural tourism development.

Finally, the regional tourism officer emphasised: The underlying advantage of Troodos is that it is a virgin area, completely unexploited from human interventions. Therefore, Troodos offers something authentic to tourists; either this is a traditional village or a walk to the forest . . . we particularly promote visiting wine-making establishments and activities such as cycling and hiking because these can be combined offering a truly authentic experience.

This illustrates the potential of the Troodos area to become an authentic tourism destination. Seeking authenticity is an important

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attribute for contemporary tourists, which can provide unique experiences (Wang, 1999; Shaw and Williams, 2004). Within the context of Cyprus and the predominance of a mass tourism model, the Troodos region represents a setting where authentic experiences can be built, contributing to the enrichment of the tourism product and repositioning the island as a unique rural destination.

Challenges for the sustainable tourism development of Troodos The administrative fragmentation of the Troodos region was identified as the main challenge for its Tourism Board. Specifically: There are about 80 villages in the region and no municipalities, so there is not a legal context for coordinating tourism development initiatives. If there were 3 municipalities, for example, this would help centralise and coordinate our actions. Now we have to communicate and coordinate with all the villages and this delays our actions because many times we don’t speak the ‘same language’ and we have arguments.

Another challenge for Troodos Tourism Board is the lack of volunteers and mobilisation of villages: The response we get from several villages is limited when we ask for assistance and volunteers. I think this needs some time so that people understand what we do is for everyone’s benefit and if they get involved and help us then we all win.

The limited volunteerism is also related to the lack of education regarding tourism and hospitality services that can be offered by local people in their villages. As it was pointed out: We need to educate locals about the value that the villages and the surrounding area have, and what we should do in order to attract tourists here. The accommodation services, the tour guides or event managers cannot be effective if they don’t have the support of local people. So we are trying to find the right people to take advantage of hospitality opportunities that can attract tourists in the area. These people should also be able to convey to the other local people the benefits of tourism and what help they need from them in order to obtain these benefits.

Finally, the economic crisis in Cyprus brought about a substantial decrease in government funding: “What makes me worry a lot is the lack of funding. Now that we are getting more organised we don’t have the money to promote our product”. The dramatic reduction of public funding

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to regional authorities, due to the economic crisis hindering the island, encourages regional tourism bodies to rely on their own scarce resources and, wisely, reinvest income generated from tourism activity in order to support future tourism development plans. Evidently, there are serious administrative and financial weaknesses in the region, which put pressure on the use of scarce resources in tourism planning and constrain efforts for collaboration and volunteerism. Most importantly, it seems that the local social networks are apathetic towards tourism development initiatives and are not widely or substantially engaged in relevant actions. This perpetuates a social inertia and subsequently a lack of capacity to act on problems and implement strategies for regional development effectively.

Implications for the future of rural island tourism: Fostering alternative regional development of tourism on the island Rural communities throughout the world have been increasingly using tourism as a means to diversify and revitalise their economies (Luloff et el., 1994; Kneafsey, 2000; George, Mair and Reid, 2009; Shucksmith, et al., 2012). This is a response to the changing global forces and dynamics that (re)shape rural places and cause migration. Within the context of an island mass-tourism destination, the main issues that emerged from this research include the following: (1) repositioning, (2) cultural heritage tourism, (3) event tourism, and (4) sustainable development. Each is discussed below.

Repositioning an island destination The rapid development of mass tourism in Cyprus since the 1960s contributed positively to its economic development but also brought a series of negative impacts such as seasonality, unbalanced development limited to some coastal areas (Ioannides, 1992; Sharpley, 2002), and questionable service quality (Archontides, 2007). As a result, Cypriot tourism reached its peak in 2001 and after that year, arrivals of international visitors to Cyprus started to decrease (Archontides, 2007; Boukas and Ziakas, 2013). Consequently, there is an urgent need for product diversification and image repositioning. This also encompasses the identification and attraction of new more desirable target markets that seek quality experiences. In so doing, the existing tourism product needs to be upgraded incorporating a selective range of quality elements that

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appeal to these target groups’ needs. For example, Troodos wine routes, cycling routes, and eco-tourist activities could be attractive elements for highly educated, environmentally conscious and high-spending visitors. However, the difficulty lies in changing the image of Cyprus, which is internationally known as a sun, sea and sand destination. As this case study illustrates, the alternative rural tourism product of Troodos exists in Cyprus. What is needed is its further exploitation, enrichment and promotion to international markets in order to increase awareness for its alternative rural offerings and, hence, reposition Cyprus on the international tourist map.

Cultural heritage tourism as a central pillar of rural development Undoubtedly, the entire area of Troodos is of great cultural heritage value. In this regard, cultural heritage tourism should encompass the main axis of the area’s rural development. Specifically, in the Troodos zone there is one of the island’s three cultural heritage sites included on UNESCO’s world heritage list, the Painted Churches in the Troodos region. According to UNESCO (2013: n.p.): This region is characterised by one of the largest groups of churches and monasteries of the former Byzantine Empire. The complex of 10 monuments included on the World Heritage List, all richly decorated with murals, provides an overview of Byzantine and post-Byzantine painting in Cyprus. They range from small churches whose rural architectural style is in stark contrast to their highly refined decoration, to monasteries such as that of St John Lampadistis.

The aforementioned sites are of great historic and spiritual significance and act as a generator of both cultural and religious tourism. Moreover, their inclusion on the UNESCO world heritage list is one of the most powerful elements that tourist authorities of the Troodos region should promote, since it comprises a strong branding ingredient (Boukas, 2013). As Misiura (2006) argues, brand asset value/equity is important for heritage destinations. In the case of the Painted Churches in the Troodos region, the destination itself, in combination with its registration on the UNESCO world heritage list, creates a prevailing brand for Cypriot cultural heritage. Moreover, according to Shackley (2000), world heritage sites can become magnets for visitors, hence any matter in relation to accessibility, transportation, accommodation and other service provision needs to be tactically considered and handled effectively. As such, the significance of the area also dictates infrastructural improvements.

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Together with a series of other monuments and sites of unique value, such as the Medieval bridges in the areas’ valleys or the traditional areas of Pitsilia and Marathasas Valley, these ‘branded’ elements comprise an opportunity for the area to become a large cultural destination thereby contributing to the holistic rural development of the mountainous region. Additionally, the cultural heritage tourism product is further enriched by a substantial number of museums located in the area such as Church Museums (i.e., Agros, Kykkos Monastery, Pedoulas, etc.), Folklore and Pop Art Museums (i.e., Arsos, Galata, Kyperounta, etc.), Museum of Mineral Heritage in Katadyta village, and Pilabakeio Museum in Fini Village. The wide number of museums and the rich cultural tapestry of their exhibits constitute an important asset for rural tourism development. Museums are considered to be the ‘gatekeeper’ of cultural heritage, since they preserve and transmit tangible and intangible elements of our heritage to future generations (Davies and Wilkinson, 2008). According to Misiura (2006), museums are key partners in travel and tourism since they are major attractions for both domestic and international tourism, and are also important contributors to economic and social regeneration of an area. Hence, Troodos’ museums are central additions to the rural tourism product because they help maintain and promote local produce and artifacts, whilst also constituting important ambassadors of local culture and traditional ways of life to visitors. As such, museums are valuable players in maintaining the cultural sustainability of the area since they connect the past to the present. In line with the role of museums, local products are also a vital aspect of the cultural heritage element of the area. The organisation of various themed festivals is a key element that contributes to the realisation of the local identity of the area and creates unique and authentic (first-hand, in many cases) experiences for visitors (Felsenstein and Fleischer, 2003). Moreover, agricultural activities provide opportunities for visitors to see, realise and even participate in the growth and production of certain local products (i.e., agricultural products, handicrafts, etc.). For instance, the Troodos region has widely developed wine tourism that helps preserve traditional ways of viniculture and promotes local wine varieties abroad. This is of critical importance for cultural tourism since, as Getz and Brown (2006) suggest, wine tourists want an environment in which they can increase their knowledge, but also an environment in which romantic dreams and cultural yearnings can be fulfilled. As such, the link between wine tourism and cultural tourism is evident. Overall, cultural heritage tourism could be one of the most effective means of rural tourism development in the Troodos area. In fact, cultural

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tourism is considered as a ‘good’ type of tourism which helps to counter the ‘bad’ type of mass tourism and its impacts (i.e., over-development, destruction, etc.) (Richards, 2001), evident in the overall tourism activity of Cyprus, concentrated in coastal zones. Moreover, cultural tourism combines specific virtues that make it a desirable form of tourism development (i.e., it dedicates and presents cultural ideas, it is small scale and frequently targets up-markets, it presents ideas expressed in monuments and surrounding locations) (ICOMOS, 2003). Furthermore, cultural tourism can contribute to cultural renaissance in host communities, since it generates pride and interest in local community traditions (Piccard, 1996). Cultural tourism is expressed through several means such as artifacts, relics, architecture, traditions and local events and festivals.

Event tourism as a catalyst for rural development Contingent upon the available natural and cultural resources or other features of a rural area, policies for the development of rural tourism utilise events and festivals as key attractions (Butler, Hall and Jenkins, 1998; Higham and Ritchie, 2001; Roberts and Hall, 2001). This also happens in the case of Troodos. In general, event and festival production can be a versatile means of promoting a rural community’s appealing features and attracting tourists who might otherwise never visit (Janiskee and Drews, 1998). Yet, the beneficial effects of festivals extend well beyond generating tourism revenues and include strengthening the social capital of rural communities (Fortes, 1936; Walter, 1981; Derrett, 2003; Arcodia and Whitford, 2006) and enriching the quality of small-town life (De Bres and Davis, 2001; Picard and Robinson, 2006; Brennan-Horley, Connell and Gibson, 2007). In terms of tourism development specifically, the main value of festivals is that they provide entertainment that dramatically increases a community’s visitor appeal. They can generate event-based tourism by simply hosting differently-themed festivals at appropriate intervals throughout the year (Janiskee and Drews, 1998), extending the life cycle of the destination (Chacko and Schaffer, 1993). Thus, the potential of event tourism for rural communities as a major revenue source prompts them to create new events and festivals, as the case of Troodos illustrates. However, insufficiencies within rural communities often result in failure of events, causing frustration to residents. Key failure factors that have been identified in the literature include lack of funding, inadequate

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marketing or promotion, lack of strategic planning and human resources expertise (Getz, 2002; Lade and Jackson, 2004). As is shown in the case of Troodos, rural communities often capitalise on their culture, history and tradition to become tourism destinations. The mobilisation of heritage serves to celebrate a seminal aspect of the host community’s life (Janiskee and Drews, 1998; Xie, 2003; McCabe, 2006; Ray et al., 2006), while promoting the host community as a desirable destination and generating tourism revenue. This leads to the increasing production of events in the guise of community revitalisation, especially in disadvantaged areas or communities which face challenges related to economic depression (Cameron, 1987; Ziakas and Costa, 2010). In other words, festival forms are increasingly being ‘invented’ and organised with the purpose of attracting tourist audiences, as well as catering for various types of communities (Robinson, Picard and Long, 2003). Thus, the value that events may provide is as much social as economic (Higham and Ritchie, 2001; Xie, 2003). As evidenced by the Troodos region, themedevents and festivals are being produced by blending sport, culture, tradition and entertainment to celebrate and project an aspect of local heritage and/or economy. Consequently, these themed-events and festivals deliver a social experience to local people, such as celebrating local identity and shared values (Derrett, 2003), and in turn, they can be used as a marketing tool to enhance the image of the host community and attract tourist visitation (Janiskee and Drews, 1998). Since the use of events in rural tourism development is expected to derive both economic and social value for host communities, the creation of a common policy framework for economic and social leverage of events (Chalip, 2006; O’Brien and Chalip, 2008) is imperative. This could help set common objectives, coordinate strategies, organise ancillary activities supporting common goals, and facilitate the building of relationships among different stakeholders. In other words, a common policy framework is imperative in event tourism in order to create social and economic outcomes. In so doing, the development of event portfolios is an avenue for strategically integrating an array of events (of different types and themes) and jointly leveraging their economic and social benefits (Ziakas and Costa, 2011a; Ziakas, 2013). The potential of event portfolios has been demonstrated in the case of rural communities. An event portfolio can enable the mobilisation and sharing of an integrated set of local resources in the organisation of different events, it can create operational synergies between sport and cultural events, and it can ultimately achieve leveraging of disparate events for community and tourism development purposes (Ziakas and Costa, 2011b). Therefore, the

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existing events calendar of Troodos could be strategically elevated to form a regional event portfolio that would be leveraged for sustainable community and tourism development. The emerging themed-events and festivals in the region constitute raw material that needs to be comprehensively and operationally coordinated in order to obtain sustainable event outcomes.

The imperative for sustainable rural development The tourism product of Troodos is an example of small-scale tourism which in its current state does not create problems to the sustainable development of Cyprus. The activities are environmentally friendly and aligned with practices that protect the natural environment. Moreover, cultural activities are grounded in local life, promoting the cultural heritage of the area, its local customs, products and economy. For example, the activities of sightseeing, walking, visiting nature reserves, bird watching, cycling, and skiing promote sustainable forms of tourism and provide benefits to the surrounding area of Troodos. Additionally, the range of activities offered throughout the year aim to establish Troodos as an all-season destination, hence minimising the diachronic problem of seasonality in Cyprus tourism. Nonetheless, as this chapter shows, there are certain burdens that constrain efforts for sustainable rural tourism development such as lack of collaboration among local stakeholders, limited involvement and volunteerism in tourism development initiatives, administrative fragmentation and social inertia. How, then, can sustainable rural development be enabled in Troodos to effectively remedy these problems? And what is the source of these problems that needs to be taken into account when formulating and implementing tourism development plans? In general, rural tourism development efforts often fail due to the lack of strategic and participatory planning capable of bringing together all the community stakeholder groups (Costa and Chalip, 2005). The root cause of this failure primarily lies in the clash between planners’ worldviews and those of residents (Chalip and Costa, 2012). Chalip and Costa’s (2012: 25) ethnographic study of a Portuguese rural community illustrated this clash of worldviews: Planners focus on economic growth, seek returns from enlarged tourism scope, expect benefits to trickle down, and see hospitality and tourism development in its national and regional context. Consequently, they push policies even in the absence of local support, favour return migrants as partners and are frustrated when local support is not forthcoming. Locals

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are skeptical about the growth enabled by hospitality and tourism, and fear that growth could threaten social equity. Consequently, they may distrust planners, feel the need to criticise hospitality and tourism plans, act in ways that thwart those plans and fail to capitalise on opportunities.

This clash in the worldviews of planners and locals seems to also exist in the case of Troodos, creating a number of problems which constrain mutual understanding, empathetic communication and efficient collaboration. The convergence of different worldviews is a socio-cultural process that inevitably takes a lot of time to be completed. However, community negotiation and adoption of a common vision for a rural area could facilitate this process and put in place the operational mechanisms needed for sustainable rural development.

Concluding thoughts and directions for future research The future of rural tourism depends upon its capacity to provide an alternative means of development capitalising on the particular assets of a region that are capable of attracting special interest or niche tourism. In the case of islands such as Cyprus that have long been established as coastal mass tourism destinations, the development of rural tourism requires the repositioning and rebranding of the island’s tourism product. Future research needs to explore the means for effectively repositioning and rebranding island destinations. According to the findings of this case study, the deployment of cultural heritage and natural resources can substantially diversify the tourism product of an island and enhance its authenticity. However, if visitation is increased in the future it could deplete the resources of a region and threaten its sustainability. To prevent this from happening, policies for rural tourism development need to be built upon a common sustainable framework that caters for the economic, social and environmental needs of a rural area. As the case of Troodos illustrates, cultural heritage tourism can be the central pillar of rural tourism development, while event tourism can act as a catalyst adding vibrancy and publicising a region’s appealing features. The synergy of cultural heritage tourism and event tourism can therefore provide a robust basis for developing sustainable rural tourism products and services in island destinations. We need to know more about how this synergy can be enabled. In this regard, for instance, the emergence of regional event portfolios on islands needs to be explored in terms of their potential to contribute to sustainable rural tourism development.

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In summary, the case of Troodos reveals, on the one hand, substantial opportunities for alternative rural tourism development on islands, but, on the other hand, indicates inherent weaknesses that exist in the administrative frameworks and socio-cultural fabrics of rural island destinations. A more comprehensive and analytical account of these issues needs to be undertaken in future research so that on-going problems that rural areas face can be tackled. Overall, academic research in rural tourism should examine more critically, from a strategic standpoint, the emergence of alternative special tourism in rural island destinations, hence informing pertinent development policies. This suggests the potential for undertaking fruitful policy-relevant research that can eventually build a knowledge base for developing the central axes of rural island tourism and its sustainability.

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CONTRIBUTORS

Norliza Aminudin (PhD) is a senior lecturer at the Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. Her main research interests are in relationships between sustainable tourism and regional development, global environmental change and cross-border second home, community-based tourism, indigenous tourism and culture and heritage. Saleh Azizi is adjunct faculty in the Global Leadership and Sustainable Development Programme (GLSD) at Hawai‘i Pacific University and a PhD candidate in the Department of Urban and Rural Planning at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. He teaches environmental history in the GLSD programme. His research interests focus on local sustainable and resilient food movements through community and volunteer participation in Hawai‘i. Fazeeha Azmi (PhD) is a senior lecturer in the Department of Geography, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. She graduated from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and obtained her M.Phil and PhD from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway. She teaches human geography, development geography, economic geography and gender and development planning. Her research interests are development issues, gender issues, youth and children, and post war development. Holti Banka is pursuing his PhD at the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, College Park, focusing on international development and economic policy. He has been involved with projects at the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. His primary academic research looks at ways of achieving financial inclusion and economic growth through the use of electronic payment instruments. He received his BA in economics and mathematics from Williams College, Massachusetts, and his MPP from the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland. Ester Bardone (PhD) is a researcher in ethnology at the Institute for Cultural Research and Fine Arts, University of Tartu, Estonia. Her research interests include rural tourism, small-scale rural entrepreneurship

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that is related to different forms of the experience economy, processes related to heritage production in Estonia, and changes in Estonian food culture. Nikolaos Boukas (PhD) is an assistant professor of hospitality and tourism management at the European University Cyprus. He holds a PhD in management studies from the University of Exeter, UK. His research interests concentrate on sustainable management of niche tourism, focusing on cultural heritage management, youth tourism, and event management. Nikolaos is also the programme coordinator of hotel, tourism and event management at the European University Cyprus, as well as the collective director of the Centre for Sustainable Management of Tourism, Sport and Events (CESMATSE). His work has been published in several peer review journals and at academic conferences. Anne Buchmann (PhD) teaches at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and is an awarded lecturer, researcher of qualitative, in-depth studies, and referee of academic papers, with extensive work experience in the theory and practice of environmental management and the tourism and film industries. She is a member of several academic and professional research networks, and works as an expert reviewer for European Union projects. Anne has long been interested in cultural science and media studies. In particular, she has been following the cultural significance of historical and fictional figures, including J.R.R. Tolkien, A.C. Doyle and the many interpretations of Sherlock Holmes. She completed a PhD on the film tourism phenomenon in New Zealand in the 2000s, which spanned from early local and runaway productions all the way to the enduring Lord of the Rings phenomenon. Nowadays she contributes to debates into how filming and tourism can economically and culturally boost regions around the world. Richard Butler (PhD) holds positions as emeritus professor of tourism at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and visiting professor at NHTV University, Breda, Netherlands. He is a geographer, with degrees from Nottingham (BA) and Glasgow (PhD) Universities, and taught for thirty years at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, then at the University of Surrey, where he was Deputy Head (Research) at the School of Management and at the University of Strathclyde until his mandatory retirement in 2010. He has published seventeen books on tourism, and has authored over a hundred journal articles and chapters in books. His main areas of research are tourism destination development, tourism in remote

412

Contributors

areas, seasonality, and the sustainability of tourism. He is a founding member and former President of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism and a past president of the Canadian Association for Leisure Studies. He has served as consultant for UNWTO and for government agencies in the UK, Canada and Australia, and is on the editorial board of several tourism journals. He is a former avid bird watcher and both a coarse golfer and coarse cricketer. Jane Carnaffan (PhD) has a varied academic background in languages and education as well as development and environmental studies. She graduated from Newcastle University with a PhD in human geography. Her thesis is entitled ‘Peru: Land of the Incas? Development and culture in responsible, home stay tourism in Peru’. She has presented her work to audiences from a wide range of disciplines, including the AAG (Association of American Geographers) and at Leeds Metropolitan University, where she was awarded the 2007 ITT (Institute of Travel and Tourism) Award for Outstanding PhD Research Presentation. She is currently a teaching fellow in human geography at Newcastle University, UK. Andrea Collins (PhD) is a lecturer at Cardiff University’s School of Planning and Geography. She has interests in ecological footprinting and assessing the impacts and legacies of major events and festival. She has been involved in several studies which have examined the environmental impacts of tourism, major events and festivals. Her research on major events has received a great deal of media coverage including the New Scientist, Nature, BBC, Sky, The Guardian and Independent newspapers. She was a member of the London 2012 Carbon Technical Advisory Group (2008-2009), which informed the development of a carbon footprint methodology for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Malcolm Cooper (PhD) is professor emeritus and holds the position of professor of tourism management and environmental law at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu, Japan. He is a specialist in tourism management and development, environmental and water resource management and environmental law, and has published widely in these fields. He has held previous appointments at the Universities of New England, Adelaide and Southern Queensland (Australia), and Waiariki Institute of Technology (New Zealand) and has worked in the environmental planning and tourism policy areas for federal, state and

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local governments in Australia and as both a private consultant and a consultant to the governments of China and Vietnam. Katherine Dashper (PhD) is senior lecturer in events management at Leeds Beckett University, UK. Her research interests include gender and sexuality within sport, leisure and tourism, with a particular focus on equestrianism and rural recreation. She is currently researching humananimal relationships within rural leisure spaces. She has published in a variety of international peer review journals and is editor of Sports events, society and culture (Routledge, 2014; with Thomas Fletcher and Nicola McCullough) and Diversity, equity and inclusion in sport and leisure (Routledge, 2014; with Thomas Fletcher). Hélène Ducros (PhD) is currently a lecturer in international studies at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. She holds a PhD in geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Her research addresses place-based development, identity, and economics in the rural areas of industrialised countries. She is particularly interested in local actors and community-centered processes involved in the interpretation, management, and promotion of local and regional heritage landscapes. At UNC, she also earned a J.D., focusing on international and comparative law, as well as the interconnection of the law with disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Christina Engström is a PhD candidate in human geography at School of Technology and Business Studies, Dalarna University, Sweden. Christina’s area of research concerns tourism and its implications for indigenous communities. Specifically, she is interested in the opportunities and restraints tourism can offer indigenous communities from social, economic and political perspectives. In her masters degree project, Christina studied seasonal workers in Swedish winter tourism destinations and explored their potential willingness to become permanent residents in the tourist resorts. Rhys Evans (PhD) is an associate professor of rural development at the Norwegian University College for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Jæren region of Norway. For the past fifteen years he has specialised in developing academic ideas in ways which can be used by rural communities to build social, cultural and economic vitality. Since 2008 his research has focused on the human-horse relationship and he is the convener of the Equine Research Network, an international network of

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Contributors

primarily social science researchers who focus on human-horse relations. He is a member of the Horse Commission of the European Association of Animal Sciences and regularly convenes equine-focused sessions at European conferences. He is currently completing two research projects on the use of native breed horses for tourism development in the North, and is the editor of the EqRN Bibliography of Human-Horse Relations, which can be found at www.eqrn.net . Jodie George (PhD) is a research associate and lecturer in cultural geography at the University of South Australia. Her research is concerned with the cultural meanings of place, examining how the discourses and practices of tourism and ‘rurality’ may impact upon the construction of particular locations, to better understand issues of belonging, community and sustainable practice. She has been a researcher on several projects examining identity and inclusion in regional areas and has published in a range of journals including Continuum, Transnational Literature and Social Alternatives. Mark Griffiths (PhD) is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oulu, Finland. His work focuses on global civil society, citizenship and volunteering with a methodological concern of practicing socially-engaged research. Much of his research output is concerned with engaging elements of power in a way that remains open to the possibilities of a better future. Henrik Halkier (PhD) is professor of tourism and regional studies at Aalborg University, Denmark. His main research interest is the role of public policy in development of tourist destinations and regions, and publications have focused on the politics and discourses of development policies from the local/regional through to the national and European levels. He is currently working on knowledge and innovation processes in destination development, and on the role of food tourism in tourism development and place branding. Pennie F. Henriksen (PhD) is former assistant professor of tourism at Aalborg University, Denmark. Currently she is project manager at the regional DMO in North Jutland, Denmark. Her main research interest is the interplay between private and public tourism actors in the development of tourist destinations and regions. Her work has focused on small tourism firms’ inter-organisational relations and the role socially embedded relations have in terms of knowledge and innovation processes at firm

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level and tourist destination level. Her work has also focused on entrepreneurship among small tourism firms and the (in)direct influence of public policy. Maarja Kaaristo is a researcher and PhD candidate in ethnology at the Institute for Cultural Research and Fine Arts, University of Tartu, Estonia. Her main research interests include tourism, rural identities, history of Estonian ethnology, and the subject of domesticated animals. Monkgogi Lenao is an early career tourism studies lecturer at the University of Botswana, where he has been since July 2012. He holds a BA in social sciences (environmental science) and an MSc in environmental science (tourism) from the University of Botswana. He is currently enrolled for a PhD in geography (tourism studies) at the University of Oulu, Finland. His current research investigates the use of community rural tourism as a tool for economic diversification in the developing world. Monkgogi has presented papers at several international conferences and has published articles in internationally peer reviewed journals. Lindisizwe Magi (PhD) is professor emeritus and research fellow in the Department of Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand. A geographer by training, he specialises in recreation, tourism and environmental studies. He is former vice-president of the International Geographical Union [IGU] and a member of the South African National Committee of the IGU. He is also associated with the Commission on Geoparks and that of Geography of Tourism, Leisure and Global Change. Lindisizwe continues to supervise postgraduate students and engage in related research, producing refereed publications. Michael Mackay (PhD) is adjunct senior lecturer in human geography at Lincoln University, New Zealand. His primary research interest is in the processes and outcomes of rural change, particularly the emergence of new landscapes of production and consumption and accompanying ‘placebased’ identities. His current fieldwork is interpreting the economic, sociocultural and landscape changes occurring in rural localities and small towns in New Zealand’s South Island, particularly areas of high amenity. That research is contributing a New Zealand perspective to scholarly debates on rural commodification, rural land use conflict, rural tourism, amenity migration, multifunctional rural space and the global countryside.

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Contributors

Peter Möller is a PhD Candidate in human geography at Dalarna University, Sweden. Peter is writing a thesis on how young adult inhabitant’s lives are affected by a dominating tourism industry in rural areas, and if tourism can contribute to making those areas more attractive among young adults. Peter’s broader research interests are local and regional development in rural contexts, young adults, tourism and mobility. Mary Mostafanezhad (PhD) is a lecturer in the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago and holds a PhD in cultural anthropology from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. Her research interests lie at the intersection of the political economy and cultural politics of tourism development. Mary has published on volunteer, cultural and ecotourism in northern Thailand. She is also the author of Volunteer tourism: Popular humanitarianism in neoliberal times (Ashgate, 2014), the co-founder of the Critical Tourism Studies Asia-Pacific Consortium and on the executive committee for the American Anthropological Association Anthropology of Tourism Interest Group. Koji Nakamura (PhD) is a specially appointed professor and deputy president of Kanazawa University, Japan. He holds a PhD in entomology from Kyoto University. His major field of interest is long-term insect population dynamics in Japan, Indonesia and other tropical countries. He served as the co-chair of the scientific assessment panel of the Japan Satoyama-Satoumi Assessment (JSSA). Recently, he has been involved in the research, conservation and sustainable use of Satoyama-Satoumi in Noto Peninsula, Japan. He has been serving as the director of Noto Satoyama Meister Training Programme (2007-2011) and Noto SatoyamaSatoumi Meister Training Programme (2012-). Nothile Ndimande is a lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Zululand and a council member of the Society of South African Geographers. She holds an MSc from Oklahoma State University and now teaches rural geography, tourism planning and sustainable development. Her research interests are in rural governance, sustainable integrated rural development, rural tourism and community based natural resources management. She is involved in the design of a proposed Masters programme on integrated rural development to be introduced by the University of Zululand.

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Janemary Ntalwila (PhD) is a principal research officer at the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, responsible for planning, implementing and coordinating wildlife research, supervising projects, developing and evaluating research programmes, training staff on wildlife conservation, and dissemination of research findings. She holds a PhD in ecology. Her research focuses on community-resource management, humanwildlife interaction, wildlife ecology, community-based tourism enterprises, and conflict resolutions based on natural resource management. She has published a number of papers and articles on human-wildlife conflicts. Jessica Pacella is currently in the late stages of her doctoral thesis at the University of South Australia entitled: 'Trading travellers’ tales: Performing knowledge exchange in backpacker hostels'. Her research focuses on youth hostels as sites for travellers to engage in understandings of cultural difference, sense of self and the importance of technology in the construction of ‘mobile’ homes. She has published in, and was a guest editor of a special edition of Social Alternatives and has previously published in areas of national identity, branding and media discourse. Cecilia Pérez Winter is an anthropologist from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is currently working on her PhD in social anthropology at the University of Buenos Aires with a scholarship from CONICET (National Scientific and Technical Research Council). She has been working in Brazil and Argentina analysing the social construction of cultural heritage and tourism. She is participating in two research projects from the Institute of Geography and the Institute of Social Anthropology, both from the University of Buenos Aires, concerning the valorisation of rural areas and the development of heritage and cultural policies in the Buenos Aires province. Harvey Perkins (PhD) is professor of planning and director of ‘Transforming cities: Innovations for sustainable futures’ at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He has research interests in the broad areas of urban and rural transformation and their management. This research has examined and theorised elements of urban, peri-urban and rural social, economic and environmental change under neoliberal and late-modern conditions. It has included research into tourism growth and development which has dramatically influenced New Zealand’s people, settlements, landscapes and economy over the last 30 years. His most recent

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Contributors

publications include Place, identity and everyday life in a globalising world (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012). Sylvine Pickel Chevalier (PhD) obtained her doctorate in geography and specialises in sustainable tourism development. She is an associate professor (maître de conferences) in ITBS (Ingénierie du tourisme, du Bâtiment et des Services) of the University of Angers, France. She studies the effects of tourism on societies and their environment in France and in Indonesia. She is also interested in sports tourism and leisure, especially horse riding as an international social phenomenon. She has presented her research at numerous international conferences and has published in a variety of books and journals. Rosie Roberts (PhD) is an interdisciplinary cultural studies scholar whose work focuses on the intersections of culture, place, equity and belonging. Her PhD research expanded upon labour centred constructions of skilled migration, demonstrating the diverse mobility pathways and visa categories that migrants experience over time and through space. She was awarded a Maurice de Rohan International Scholarship to undertake part of her doctoral research in the UK and USA. Rosie is employed as a lecturer in Aboriginal education at the David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Research. She is currently engaged in research exploring issues of community identity in regional festivals as well as a project examining educational aspirations within low socio-economic status communities. Emmanuel Sulle is a researcher and PhD candidate at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, in South Africa. He has published a number of articles and reports on Wildlife Management Areas and wildlife-based revenues in Tanzania. His recent co-authored article ‘Tourism in Maasai communities: a chance to improve livelihoods?’ was published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism. His current research focus includes inclusive business models, land tenure and rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. Nick Taylor (PhD) is principal and director of Taylor Baines and Associates, a private social research firm specialising in social assessment and community development and organisation in rural and urban settings. He is a former university staff member and a past president of the International Association for Impact Assessment. His research has examined aspects of rural social, economic and environmental change,

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specialising in assisting rural communities to increase their livelihood options, resilience and social wellbeing. He has completed major research programmes on rural, heritage and eco-tourism, including case studies of tourism strategies and planning in rural New Zealand. Maria Thulemark is a PhD candidate at Dalarna University, Sweden. She is currently working on her PhD thesis which focuses on the importance of tourism in rural development with a special interest in in-migration and tourism employment. Her research is based on both quantitative and qualitative methods including micro data analysis, in-depth and focus group interviews. Maria’s broader research interests lie within the field of regional development, tourism, mobility, lifestyle choices and migration. Kazem Vafadari Mehrizi (PhD) is an assistant professor at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu, Japan. He is a specialist consultant in Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems for the FAO, and in Satoyama traditional landscapes. He teaches tourism policy and research methods. From 2008 to 2011 he was research fellow in rural revitalisation at the Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa City, Japan, and JSPS-UNU post-doctoral research fellow, United Nations University, Institute of Advanced Studies UNUIAS, Kanazawa City, Japan. Vassilios Ziakas (PhD) is senior lecturer in events management at Leeds Beckett University. He earned a BSc in physical education/sports science from Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and MSc in recreation management from Loughborough University, UK. He received his doctorate in sport management from the University of Texas at Austin, USA. Vassilios’ research interests focus on issues relating to sport and leisure policy with an emphasis on identifying the means for incorporating sport/leisure programs and events into sustainable development strategies. His work has been published in a range of peer reviewed journals and he is the author of the book Event portfolio planning and management: A holistic approach (Routledge, 2013). Perla Zusman (PhD) holds a PhD in geography from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She is a researcher from CONICET in Argentina and works at the Institute of Geography of the University of Buenos Aires. Her research topics are the epistemology and history of geography, and historical and new cultural geography. Her recent publications deal with subjects such as frontiers in the territorial formation of Argentina, and the

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Contributors

configuration of landscapes through heritage and touristic processes in rural areas in Argentina.

INDEX

agriculture 22, 45, 46, 49, 64, 134, 138, 140, 172, 197, 200, 204, 237, 291, 322, 325, 341, 350, 357, 378 apartheid 284-5, 288, 291 Argentina 9, 305, 307-10, 315 Arugam Bay 191-3, 195, 198, 2012, 205-7 Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of France 10, 60, 73 authenticity 18, 100, 230, 232-3, 236-7, 239-40, 243, 251, 256, 283-4, 290, 316, 353, 397, 405 bird watching 2, 16, 215, 216, 3223, 327-9, 331-2 Botswana 13, 172-6, 179, 181, 185 Buenos Aires province 15, 304-7, 311-6 commodification 43, 44 community 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 22, 26, 29, 30-2, 48, 7980, 82-92, 94, 116, 122, 124, 127, 136, 140, 142-3, 152, 17486, 202, 206, 215, 217, 219, 221-3, 229-31, 234-44, 355-7, 260, 268-9, 271-81, 284-5, 287, 289, 294-5, 297-8, 304, 307, 312, 323, 325, 331-5, 338, 3403, 345, 347-50, 353-8, 367-70, 375, 380, 402-5 community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) 210 conservation 14, 42, 46, 49, 50, 53, 177, 181, 210-5, 217-9, 221, 223-5, 230, 277, 280, 284, 2868, 293-4, 296, 298, 333, 385

crafts 44, 46, 103, 175, 178, 196-8, 239, 257, 259, 262, 273-6, 278, 330-3, 401 Cromwell District, Central Otago 10, 42, 48-9, 51-2, 54 diversification 43, 45, 51, 75, 174, 243, 270, 357, 399 Ecological Footprint 12, 151, 152, 153-5, 158, 159-67 education 6, 13, 14, 71, 140, 198-9, 202, 204-5, 217, 234-40, 242, 270, 272, 277, 284-5, 287, 289, 292, 298, 386, 398 employment 1, 33, 90, 117, 151, 157, 172, 173, 181, 193, 197-9, 205, 221, 223, 233, 241, 284-5, 294, 297-8, 325, 331, 353, 378, 391 Enduiment WMA 211, 215-8 environmental impact 12, 151-4, 157, 165, 167, 384 Estonia 11, 98-9, 101-7, 109-11 ethnicity 103, 177, 189, 191, 231, 234, 273, 278, 280, 290, 354, 356 events: 10, 11, 12, 43, 46, 53, 81, 85-6, 90, 92-3, 99, 151-2, 154-8, 163-6, 251, 271, 330, 349, 376, 381-3, 393-4, 396, 402-4; festivals 10-1, 43, 46, 51, 62, 69, 79-80, 83-5, 87-94, 151-2, 154-5, 164, 166, 236, 376, 381, 391, 394-5, 401-4; Gorgeous Festival, McLaren Vale 79, 82, 84-94; Hay Literary Festival 12, 151-3, 157, 159, 160, 166; Kangaroo Island Art Feast 79,

Index

422 82-3, 87-90, 94; Port Lincoln Tunarama Festival 79-81, 88 Fair Isle 16, 322-4, 327-35 fishing 13, 29, 42, 49, 80, 91, 104, 105, 191, 192, 196, 197, 200, 204-5, 253, 272, 273, 330, 350 France 6, 10, 17, 59-61, 63-6, 71, 73-4, 377, 380, 381, 384, 386 gaucho 309, 311-3, 315 gender 11, 125, 157, 178, 196, 202, 205, 234, 386 global: 1, 3, 9, 10, 12, 16, 26, 41, 45, 47-9, 51, 55, 60-1, 63-5, 703, 75, 128, 194, 212, 232, 240, 307, 313, 322, 340, 382, 399; global countryside 45; globalisation 5, 45, 65, 71, 75, 82, 115, 116, 117, 118, 124, 337, 381 guides 63, 99, 104, 105, 111, 177, 197, 199, 272, 278, 362, 398 Hawai’i 12, 135, 138, 141, 147, 148, 368 heritage 15, 16, 43, 46, 53, 55, 59, 60, 62, 65-6, 67-71, 82, 93, 111, 174-5, 177-8, 233, 271, 273-4, 278-9, 290, 296, 303-4, 306-10, 312, 314-6, 327, 375, 379, 3812, 385, 393-5, 399, 400-1, 403-5 hiking 29, 49, 104, 105, 106, 277, 391, 394, 395, 397 Hobbiton, Matamata 17, 41, 363-6, 370 home stay 14, 200-1, 229-31, 23344 horse riding 2, 102, 104-6, 375, 384 India 11, 110, 115, 118, 192 indigenous peoples 15, 233, 267, 271, 274, 277, 279, 280, 311; Aboriginal peoples 93, 272; Afro-Argentine 305, 308, 313, 315, 316; Batek (Malaysia) 272,

277-8, 281; Jakun (Malaysia) 272, 277, 281; Mah Meri (Malaysia) 272, 273-5, 278, 281; Maori 17, 53, 362, 367-9; Semai (Malaysia) 272, 275, 281; Semoq Beri (Malaysia) 272, 277, 281 in-migration 23, 53 Japan 7, 16, 70, 337-41, 343, 345, 347, 350, 354-5, 358 kgotla 178-9, 185-6 Lekhubu Island 13, 175-7, 183, 186 Malaysia 15, 268, 270-2, 274, 27980 Mmatshumu village 175-7, 179, 180, 186 multifunctional countryside 10, 41, 47, 50, 55, 98 Muslims 189, 191, 202 national park 155, 158, 159, 173, 211, 212, 219, 224, 231, 272, 277-8, 281, 293, 383, 395 nature 3, 29, 33, 35, 37, 43, 46, 53, 59, 62, 75, 98, 99, 103, 104, 106, 108, 111, 153, 189, 231, 253, 272, 277, 284, 285, 287, 288, 293-4, 296, 303, 308, 316, 325, 340, 347, 392, 394, 404 neoliberal 11, 115-7, 123-8, 137, 235, 303 networks 7, 14, 30, 45, 60, 126, 137, 203, 233, 251, 253, 262, 348, 349, 383, 399 New Zealand 10, 17, 41, 42, 44-7, 49-50, 54-5, 362-5, 367-70, 372 NGOs 3, 14, 121, 185, 200, 206, 214, 216, 229, 232, 234, 235, 236, 238, 239, 242, 324 Noto Peninsula 339, 342-3, 345, 350, 358

Rural Tourism: An International Perspective Ololosokwan Village 211, 215, 21924 organic: farm 12, 134-7, 140, 142-3, 145-8; food 134, 135, 148 out-migration 5, 16, 22, 26, 341 Peru 7, 14, 229-37, 243-4 phenomenology 12, 100, 134, 1379, 141, 147 place promotion 51-3 poaching 213, 214, 215, 293 poverty 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, 182, 190, 194-5, 203-7, 271-2, 277, 284, 285, 287, 289, 298 Pro Poor Tourism 8, 13, 193-4, 206 rainforest 267-9, 279-80 restaurants 27, 33, 54, 85, 165, 197, 200, 203 representation 4, 10, 24, 25, 43, 74, 79, 80, 85, 89, 90, 94, 125, 126, 190, 235, 289, 291, 308 rural development 3, 17, 134, 285, 287-8, 293, 294, 337, 358, 378, 392, 401, 404 rural idyl 4, 15, 26, 35, 80, 84, 289, 291, 315, 316 ruralities 79, 80, 88, 93, 307 rural restructuring 3, 5, 43 rurality 2, 4, 9, 10, 22-7, 30, 35-6, 43-4, 64, 71, 75, 79, 80, 84-7, 89, 92, 94, 98, 104, 111, 136, 283-4, 306 Sälen, Sweden 9, 22-4, 27-37 satoyama 17, 338-41, 343, 347, 34951, 355-8 season/seasonality 23, 24, 29, 30-1, 32-4, 36, 74, 102, 104, 108, 116, 197-8, 200, 201, 203-5, 212, 253, 256-8, 262, 314, 327, 334, 369, 390, 394, 399, 404 sensescape 11, 98-101, 103, 106, 111-2; foodscape 11, 106-8, 111; naturescape 11, 104, 111; saunascape 11, 109, 111

423

Skive, Denmark 14, 252-5, 257, 259, 261 South Africa 5, 15, 173, 283-6, 28893, 296 Sri Lanka 13, 189-92, 200 sustainability 3, 8, 12, 18, 64, 79, 88, 94, 134, 136-8, 140, 142-4, 148, 153-4, 156, 204, 211, 225, 229, 230, 237, 240, 244, 268-9, 280, 341-2, 356, 366, 375-6, 378, 380, 383, 385-6, 401 Tanzania 1, 13, 210-5, 217-9, 221, 224 The Hobbit 17, 363-4 The Last Samurai 17, 362, 365-6, 371 The Lord of the Rings 17, 47, 361-2, 365 tourism: adventure 44, 376; community-based 13, 174-5, 180, 185, 211, 219, 223, 231, 345, 375; consumptive 210, 212, 221, 222, 224; equine 17, 37587; event 376, 402-3, 405; farm 11, 99-107, 109-11, 136, 138, 378; film 17, 361-4, 368-72; food 14, 47, 251-3, 255, 262-3; heritage 10, 53, 60-1, 70, 73, 174, 290, 376, 377, 399, 400-1, 405; indigenous 268, 271, 272, 276, 278, 280; island 391, 406; nature-based 231, 285, 291, 296, 376, 378, 379; non-consumptive 210, 221, 222, 224; responsible 136, 229, 268, 286; rural 45-7, 49, 55, 59, 65-6, 98-102, 104-6, 109, 111-2, 124, 127, 134, 1378, 148, 174, 176, 182, 185, 22930, 244, 284-5, 288-9, 291, 2938, 304, 307-8, 339-43, 345, 34950, 357-8, 361, 376, 382, 391-2, 397, 400-6; sustainable 17, 136, 230, 232-3, 237, 243-4, 268-70, 280, 286, 335, 372, 376-7, 380, 385, 389; volunteer 8, 11, 117,

424 125, 126, 136; wildlife 13, 2103, 215, 219, 224; wine 80, 395, 401 tradition/traditional/traditionalism 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 22, 24, 26-7, 29, 35-6, 42, 46, 52, 85, 92, 94, 102, 103, 107-10, 175, 178, 179, 182, 197, 198, 204-6, 229, 233, 238-44, 255, 268, 272, 278-80, 290-2, 307, 310, 33740, 347, 349, 350, 356, 367, 381-2, 386, 390, 392, 394, 396, 397, 401 Troodos, Cyprus 18, 390-8, 400-6 urban/urbanity 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 12, 22-7, 29, 31, 33-6, 45-6, 49-50, 61, 63, 65-8, 80, 84, 97, 91-2, 94, 99, 200, 202, 230, 235, 244, 278-80, 283-4, 288-9, 291-2, 296-7, 303, 307-8, 314, 316, 338, 340, 347, 357, 378

Index village 10, 13, 17, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28-34, 60-1, 63-71, 73-5, 103, 105, 115-24, 128, 175-83, 193, 195, 197, 198-203, 206, 210-5, 217-9, 221-5, 271-4, 276-7, 289, 291-2, 307, 331-2, 340, 341, 345, 347-50, 353-5, 358, 363, 354-6, 392-9, 401; cultural village 271, 273-5, 284, 290-2 volunteer/volunteering 11, 12, 18, 80, 82, 83, 90, 115-20, 122-8, 134-41, 143-8, 167, 357, 398-9, 404 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) 210-2, 214-9, 225 Whale Rider 17, 362, 367-9 WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) 12, 134-41, 144-8 young people 6, 12, 33, 68, 137, 138, 179, 180, 197, 199, 204