Climate change has become a very important global issue and has risen to the top of the international political agenda. Tourism’s contribution to climate change has been the subject of considerable research and debate, with the UNWTO estimating the tourism industry generates 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Research shows air travel dominates the overall greenhouse gas emissions from the international tourism industry. The rapid growth of low cost carriers has opened up international holidays to the masses, as well as enabling more wealthy members of society to become hyper-mobile tourists. The expansion in the aviation market has realised people’s social and cultural aspirations for international travel and has resulted in air travel becoming firmly embedded in contemporary tourism practices. Although air travel contributes the bulk of tourism’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is the wider tourism practice that needs to be addressed, as tourists engage in air travel in order to fulfil their desires for international holidays, rather than specifically consuming flights because of ‘a love to fly’. Treating holidays as a social practice, in which the type of holiday, destination and transport mode are considered integral to the holiday package, this research examines tourist understanding of and engagement with climate change. The aim of this study is to analyse the role that the climate change impacts of holidays play in the decisions of tourists in order to develop a conceptual framework of the barriers to behavioural change. A mixed methods strategy has been employed, based on a sequential exploratory design. The results of focus group research in the initial qualitative stage of data collection and analysis were used in the formulation of the questionnaire survey adopted in the second quantitative stage of the study. The survey generated 647 useable questionnaires and was conducted in the Bournemouth postcode area using a drop and collect technique. A cluster sampling design was adopted based on postcode sectors and a probability sampling method was used at each stage of the process. The findings of the research indicate that levels of awareness of the impacts of flying on climate change are high, but awareness and understanding of other ways that holidays contribute to climate change is low. Climate change impacts do not feature in the thoughts of the vast majority of tourists when they are planning their holidays, and only a very small minority of respondents in the questionnaire survey said that they think about the impacts their holidays have on climate change. Although there were high levels of awareness of the impacts of air travel on climate change, this did not manifest in tourists’ holiday decisions and their attitudes towards behavioural change. The most salient barriers to behavioural change in a holiday context are a combination of internal, external and structural constraints. Cluster analysis shows that different barriers to action are more prominent for different groups and that some groups identify fewer barriers to behavioural change than others. A pattern reflected throughout the analysis was that respondents that had taken the most overseas holidays in the last 3 years were also those that exhibited lower levels of awareness of the contribution of holidays to climate change, were less likely to consider climate change impacts as being important when planning their holidays, and expressed the strongest reluctance to change their future holiday behaviour. The results of the research illustrate the magnitude of the barriers to action and demonstrate the enormity of the task facing policymakers in achieving significant changes in holiday taking behaviour.

It has been suggested that identity issues lie at the heart of our desire for travel. It is widely acknowledged that travel plays an important part in shaping the perception of self through experiences of other people and places. U sing repeated travel as an indicator of status via initiatives such as frequent flyer programmes is also well established in existing literature . However , relatively little has been documented about how identity can influence a n individual’s travel choices . An increase in tourism mobility has been related to environmental problems, with air travel being a contributor to climate change. Behavioural change is considered to be one method that could bring about a reduction in tourism related CO 2 emissions . However, evidence suggests that instigating behavioural change within tourism is problematic and there is a need to better understand the role played by p ersonal identity in tourism decisions. The aim of this study is therefore to enhance the understanding of the role played by personal identity in tourism mobility. Studies have shown that in order to gain insight in to identity there must be an underst anding of the narratives used to create and affirm identities. Therefore, a narrative approach was used to explore the travel life histories of 24 participants. A second interview examined how interviewees viewed their identities and tourism activity in the light of environmental debates and concerns. Data were analysed using a thematic and dialogic/performance approach. Results indicate that identities play a major part in travel behaviour and decisions. Identities are contextual and can override one a nother at certain times. Thus, an individual with a strong environmental identity at home may choose to perform a conflicting identity when away. This thesis presents the various ways identity and tourism mobility are linked. Identity issues highlighted in this study include: using narratives of tourism to present identities; travel being motivated by the emergence or avoidance of possible selves ; and identities linked to significant others driving tourism 4 travel through the desire for connectedness, sta tus and perceived expectations of the significant other. This research contributes to knowledge by introducing new perspectives to identity and tourism research. It goes some way to explaining why policies promoting behaviour change have not succeeded. In addition, this research proposes that policy makers or marketers should place more emphasis on the importance of the tourists’ identity

Businesses operate in an increasingly complex and competitive environment (Anderson and Atkins 2001; McGee and Sawyer 2003), which poses challenges and difficulties that no business can face alone (Beverland and Brotherton 2001). This is particularly true for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (Fuller-Love and Thomas 2004), given their characteristics, especially at the current time when the western world is experiencing a severe economic and financial crisis. SMEs are characterised by having gaps in competences or resource portfolios (due to lack of substantial investments) (Dennis 2000), and by having small establishments, local ownership, lack of information and certain skills (Morrison 1998; European Commission 2003), lack of know-how (Schermerhorn 1980), and scarce resources (e.g. human, financial and material) (Morrison 1998; European Commission 2003). Thus, SMEs need to look for specific ways that can help them to bring in complementary strengths and thereby be more competitive. This is especially true for those SMEs located in peripheral and rural areas because they have to face additional constraints to their activity, such as location, limited size of the market and labour market conditions (e.g. Keeble and Tyler 1995; North and Smallbone 1996; Stathopulou et al. 2004). The establishment of cooperation relationships/initiatives comes at the forefront of the list of options that can be adopted by SMEs operating in specific contexts, namely operating in complementary industries (Wargenau and Che 2006; Roach 2010), as it is the case of wine and tourism industries, and operating in rural areas Smallbone et al. 2002). Inter-business cooperation can be adopted by SMEs to overcome some of their location-related difficulties (Smallbone et al. 2002), to face the challenges posed by the business environment, to achieve their objectives (e.g. European Commission 2003; Miller et al. 2007), to attain a stronger position, and be able to compete more effectively, than they would do if in isolation (Fyall and Garrod 2005). The (potential) benefits that may result from cooperation to businesses are widely acknowledged and therefore, cooperation relationships/initiatives are seen as strategic necessity rather than a choice (Chen and Chen 2002; Beckett 2005), being a major feature of contemporary competitive environment and central to overall business strategies (Abdy and Barclay 2001). However, and despite the above, cooperation between SMEs is more limited than what would be expected and suggested in the literature. Not only many SMEs have little knowledge about, and show a weak tendency towards cooperation as a means to overcome their natural weaknesses (e.g. European Commission 2003; Ussman and Franco 2000; Hoffman and Schlosser 2001, Correia et al. 2007), but they also struggle to reconcile the desire to follow their own interests with cooperation with other businesses (Fyall and Garrod 2005). Thus, it seems that the same characteristics that strengthen cooperation relationships/initiatives may simultaneously represent a hindrance to it. This seems to be particularly true in the case of Portugal (Ussman and Franco 2000; European Commission 2003). Therefore, this research aims at contributing to a comprehensive understanding of what are the influences on decisions towards cooperation, and on operation and outcomes of cooperation from the point of view of SMEs’ owners/managers because of their strong involvement in the owning, managing and making decisions. Literature of generic cooperation, SMEs, and on the specific context of wine and tourism industries supported and informed this study. To accomplish the proposed goals and objectives a quantitative methodology grounded in the positivism paradigm was adopted. Data was collected in the Douro Valley in the north of Portugal from wine and tourism businesses through structured face-to-face interviews (through interview-based questionnaire) (200 questionnaires were obtained). The selection of tourism owners/mangers was based on a stratified random selection. Wine respondents were selected through a systemic sampling method. Data collected has enabled the identification of the factors influencing the decision to whether, or not, cooperate, and also the influences on cooperation operation and outcomes. At the theoretical level, this research has demonstrated the appropriateness of studying inter-business cooperation from an all-encompassing perspective. This study has also shown the appropriateness of blending different theories to study reasons for cooperation in the context of SMEs. It has also identified the influences perceived as the most important by owners/managers for cooperation to happen between businesses operating in the same (horizontal) and/or in a different industry (diagonal). At the practical level, this study is contributing to applied knowledge in a specific region of Portugal by offering original data about inter-business cooperation in the Douro Valley in the context of wine and tourism industries, what has not been collected before. The results demonstrated that although cooperation is a practice that has been already adopted by owners/managers in the Douro Valley in that will be adopted in the future, this is not the case for a considerable number of the wine and tourism business. In the Douro Valley, inter-business cooperation is informal and is a relatively recent practice, involving a small number of partners. Perceptions and expectations of positive outcomes in terms of the achievement of businesses’ objectives, prior knowledge, personal relationships, and trust are crucial for cooperation to occur in the Douro.

The purpose of this research is to present a thorough analysis of image formation among first-time visitors to an Aboriginal (Mi’kmaw) cultural site. The thesis is an initial attempt to examine theories in consumer behaviour and reformulate a model in the destination image literature to empirically test the influence of personal (motivation, cognition-affect) and stimulus (promotional) factors on impression of an Aboriginal tourist destination. To gather primary data, visitors to The Glooscap Heritage Centre, in the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada completed a self-administered questionnaire. In total there were 309 valid samples. Over 80% of respondents in this study were interested in exploring cultural heritage, learning about cultures and ways of life (motives) and visiting cultural attractions (cognitive). Affectively, respondents felt the destination would be a pleasant (4.37/5), relaxing (4.10/5) and exciting (4.07/5) place to visit. Survey results imply most tourists were exposed to the tour guide’s message (82%), followed by the tour operator (53%), then the brochure (29%), and finally the travel agent’s information (19%). However, exposure did not correlate with effectiveness in image formation. The brochure impacted image the most (4.33/5), next was the tour operator (4.12/5), followed by the tour guide (4.08/5) and lastly the travel agent (3.9/5). Survey results imply the destination can more effectively use its key communication tools to enhance its image. Current study findings provide important implications and can aid in the design of marketing campaigns to create and improve Aboriginal destination image. One significant undertaking in this study was to draw upon the actions of other key regions and situate thesis results in the wider context of Aboriginal tourism growth. The role of this research in relation to destination development is considered broadening the implications to a global setting beyond the immediate context of the study.

Colloquially known as foodies (Barr & Levy, 1984), there is a group of people who have a deep interest in food and eating. Such people are often skilled amateurs (Stebbins, 1992), with a high level of knowledge about food and ingredients. Foodies collect food experiences, and visits to celebrated restaurants, much as tourists collect souvenirs (Morgan et al. 2008). Many foodies are well-off people from the middle classes who are also internet users. For them, online consumer reviews have become an important information resource, in particular food blogs which provide amateur restaurant reviews (Zhu & Zhang, 2010; Pantalidis, 2010). Those who do read food blogs prefer their reviews to those of supposedly “professional” reviewers who work for traditional publications, as bloggers are seen as more independent. Such amateur reviews aid in spreading word of mouth attitudes within a community of consumption. The members of these groups furthermore share their knowledge with each other via the medium of the blog. This thesis is based on two major areas of theory, and applies them to the concepts of foodism and food blogging for the first time. Firstly the thesis critically examines the key themes of foodism and food blogging as a form of Serious Leisure. Helen Yee is a foodie whose intense interest in food and eating is so strong that she writes a blog, called Grab Your Fork, with almost daily posts on the food which she has eaten. This “citizen journalism” (Bruns, 2007) takes her blogging into the Serious Leisure arena. Secondly, Tajfel and Turner’s (1979) theory on Social Identity Theory has not previously been applied to either foodie communities or blogging communities. In the case of Grab Your Fork the network of individuals who have developed an on-line community are also foodies, so the example was able to be applied to both situations, and was shown to be an appropriate model to explain such a community. The attachment of emotional involvement to the group and their values and ethos structure as presented within this theory links to the concept of Serious Leisure in that in Social identity Theory, it is the self-confirmation as being an in-group member or out-group member that defines a person’s definition of themselves (Shamir, 1992).

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This thesis is developed through a critical discussion of key literature for understanding cultural influence on tourist consumer behaviour and also an empirical investigation of Mainland Chinese tourists when adopting travel e-commerce in China. Previous research in the field of ecommerce adoption and diffusion in China has focused on the influential factors in terms of technological/infrastructural unsettlement, economic instability, and lacking governmental support. Less attention has been given to the cultural influences affecting e-commerce behaviour in tourism and its cultural context. This thesis attends to this lack with regard to Chinese consumer culture and tourists' behaviour, preference, and attitude, as culturallyinfluenced practice towards online travel purchase in China. The major contribution of this thesis therefore is both to explore the existence of cultural influence on travel e-commerce adoption and diffusion in China, and to investigate how and to what extent the Mainland Chinese culture is influencing the behaviour, attitude, and preference of the Mainland Chinese tourists when adopting online travel. Through a theoretical discussion, it concludes that in order to achieve the objectives stated above, a multiple-staged research strategy is adopted consisting questionnaire survey, focus group discussion, and sub-structured interview to investigate the experiences of the Mainland Chineset ourists as well as current servicep roviders when adoptingt ravel e-commercein China. Two major conclusions are drawn from this study. Firstly, from both theoretical discussion and the empirical investigation, the research reveals that it is more appropriate to understand the current situation of travel e-commerce adoption and diffusion in China as a joint effect made by external (mainly economic, technological) and internal (mainly personal/behavioural)f actors. And secondly, the research findings suggest that to some extent culture influences the purchase behaviour, motivation, and consumer preferences of the Mainland Chinese tourists while adopting travel e-commerce in China. It is also identified by both the Mainland Chinese tourists and existing travel service providers that culture affects almost every process of online travel purchase in China from the tourists approaching or searching for useful information regarding their travel arrangementsto the actualp urchased ecision making.

Through a wide range of benefits, the coral reefs help to sustain the lives and welfare of many people in Egypt. They are a source of food, employment, leisure, protection, and medicines. Ras Mohammed is renowned globally for the diversity and richness of its coral reefs, rated amongst the world's best. Such uniqueness makes the park a major recreational attraction and the cornerstone of ecotourism within South Sinai. A total of 495,382 people visited Ras Mohammed in 2008/09. The volume of tourists and the over-development along the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba have degraded the reef. A significant root cause of the reef degradation is the absence of relevant data which can economically reveal the benefits provided by the coral reefs and the cost of their damage. An ecosystem services approach that can support the management of coral reefs in the context of the seascape and takes into account the impacts of the land use should be adopted. In order to successfully achieve the dual goals of reef protection and income generation, the management of Ras Mohammed needs to understand visitor preferences for reef quality and other attributes of the park. Management plans should be based on these preferences as well as the physical characteristics of reef sites. By incorporating these preferences for distinct alternatives featuring different levels of the attributes, welfare measures can be estimated and thus more efficient targeting ofefforts can be achieved. Based on the results presented in this study the attribute that the visitors attach the highest value to is the reef quality which indicates the importance of maintaining this feature in order to keep the popularity of Ras Mohammed as a tourist destination. Armed with a broader, deeper knowledge of the different aspects of the ecosystem, we will be better equipped to safeguard the future of coral reefs.

This study examines the nature and methodology of basic research required for the development of strategic plans for tourism in the regions of Scotland. The first part of the study forms a broad introduction. The components of basic tourism research are defined and placed within the overall context of the tourism planning and development process. Since the nature of research required is in part dependent on the objectives of the organisations involved in the planning process, a brief appraisal of those organisations, their functions and aims is undertaken. The final part of the introduction is a review of the methodology of the most important previous research studies falling within the scope of this work, as a basis for identifying methods which might be satisfactory within the Scottish context. In the second part of the study, a methodology is developed and tested for one particular aspect of tourism research, - the survey and analysis of existing patterns of demand. A full scale survey was mounted for the Highlands and Islands region, adopting the cordon survey method, which had been used very little in tourism research prior to the start of this study. The method and justification for it are explained and evaluated critically. The conclusion drawn is that, with modifications, the method can have outstanding advantages and should be adopted for planning research of this type wherever resources permit. Consideration is then given to the analysis of such data, which, it is suggested, should have two principal purposes - to obtain a picture of the balance between supply and demand for-tourism resources and for basic community infrastructure used by tourists; and to obtain an understanding of the factors which caused the patterns of demand, as a basis for forecasting the way in which the future-changes may occur. Analysis to achieve these two ends is illustrated by use of the data obtained relating to tourism in the Highlands and Islands. In demonstrating an assessment of the balance between supply and demand for daytime activities, three particular aspects are examined: visiting places of interest, golf, and touring by car. To obtain an understanding of the factors underlying the patterns of tourism, extensive analysis of the relationships between variables is undertaken. Finally, on the basis of the research reviewed and the work undertaken relating to the Highlands and Islands, proposals are put forward regarding the nature and methodology of future programmes of tourism research for planning at a regional level. Each of the aspects of research, as defined in the introduction, is considered in turn, with proposals being illustrated where appropriate by reference to studies currently being carried out in Scotland. Guidance is given as to the way in which the outputs from each individual piece of research must link together to provide inputs required for strategy generation.

Political conflicts, and their influence on tourism, get vast academic attention. In tourism research these have typically been dominated by a positivist philosophy, with a pre-conceptualised hypothesis and a researcher who is trying to be neutral. Constant conceptualisation of the research in this manner has resulted in theory saturated with technical extradisciplinary knowledge, which is difficult to employ both academically and pragmatically. This field study was conducted in Northern Ireland (long-term conflict) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (major conflict), employing unstructured and semi-structured interviews as a main research method, and overt participant observation as an auxiliary research method. The researcher carried out a thematic analysis of the data, adopting a critical theory perspective. The aim of this research was to explore the processes, and to identify the significant issues, affecting) tourism following a long-term, major political conflict. Further, the methodological aim of this research was to create an emancipatory knowledge in such a way as to make a contribution to existing theoretical concepts. In order to create this emancipatory knowledge, the researcher employs a critical theory approach, whose main postulates are interdisciplinarity, reflexivity and audiencing, dialectism and criticality of the Orthodox theories. In the context of this research, tourism is marginalised in a generic social science discourse. Furthermore, the research addresses the marginalisation of the peripheries, i. e. Bosnia is marginalised both in tourism discourses and in a generic context. A psychology of periphery has been developed throughout the centuries; e.g. Bosnia was peripheral to the Ottomans, Habsburgs, Fascists, Communists and nowadays the EU. Furthermore, in the context of Northern Ireland, this research considers the perspective of communities which historically have been socially and politically excluded. This research addresses aspects of tourism in a generic post-conflict society, resulting in the development of the phoenix tourism concept, through which the research data has been analysed. The phoenix tourism concept helps to explain that the process of post-conflict tourism development goes far beyond economic enhancement and technical knowledge, putting it in the context of rising, re-building and reconciliation. Therefore, this part of the research quest resulted in the deconstruction of "dark tourism" theories, by conceptualising war inherited sites, taking them out of the imaginary tourism context and putting them back into their real contexts and, thus, giving them their real meanings. The main characteristic of phoenix tourism is that it is not a permanent label, but one stage in the process by which a conflict becomes a genuine tourism heritage.