Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

As a result of academic research into the effects of mass travel, an industry of alternative tourism has emerged. Application of this research has resulted in myriad forms of tourism, two of these being ecotourism and educational travel. Ecotourism represents a response to what is the destructive nature of the mass tourism industry and its damage to host communities' social, economic and environmental systems. Educational travel is an attempt to use tourism for education, such as trips arranged by university study abroad programs. I contend that both forms of alternative travel represent a reactive approach to mitigating the impacts of mass tourism. The potential of educational travel is not realized as it provides no framework or guidelines as to how students can apply the information and knowledge they have acquired on their trip. I will define a new type of tourism, advocacy travel, which seeks to address the shortfalls of ecotourism and educational travel. Advocacy travel is tourism as a strategy used by activists to educate, promote ideological awareness and motivate participants to work for social change. Global Exchange, a non-profit organization, has been using organized tours as one component of their activist strategy since 1989. Tours to destinations that are politically charged are used as a tactic to create a more politically aware and active citizen from an average person living in the United States. The ultimate goal of the tours is to promote change in the participant that will translate into an increased level of activism around the international issue about which Global Exchange is attempting change. This study is specifically aimed at determining whether tourism utilized in this manner can have a successful outcome for the organization employing it. I developed and distributed a survey questionnaire to Reality Tour participants from both the Cuba and Chiapas programs. Results reveal that the trips do promote an increased awareness of general news and world events and, to a lesser degree, serve to make the participant more politically active overall. However, this result is not equally applied to all participants. Those who indicate a previous awareness of the specific situation of their destination or a more general political knowledge are more likely to report that the Reality Tour inspired them to change. Also, I found that the Reality Tour participant differs greatly from the average US citizen in terms of education level, income, area of residence and occupation. / Graduation date: 2002

Texte remanié de: Thèse de doctorat--Histoire--Toulouse 2, 2004. / Bibliogr. p. 383-408. Notes bibliogr. Index. Résumés en français, espagnol et anglais. Diff. en France.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 281-313). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 473-509). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 17, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Thesis advisor: Dr. Tim. P. Vos. Includes bibliographical references.

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The rapid growth of the Cuban tourist industry into the island's main currency generator fostered the emergence of new tourist stakeholders, from both the public (state-owned tourist facilities) and private sectors (micro-enterprises or cuentapropistas). It is crucial to understand how new participation and new organisational structures in the industry can shape and enhance the long-term sustainability of tourism in Cuba. A case study of an emergent alternative tourism destination in Western Cuba (Vinales Valley) reveals complex and striking relationship patterns between stakeholders. In particular, the degree of participation in the industry by the region's various tourism entities is highly uneven, with state entities dominating, as expected. My discussion of the findings suggests that Cuba could draw from its experience in creating well-organized networks of mass organizations to foster a climate of trust and the increased participation among tourist stakeholders.

In the post-cold war era, debate has been renewed regarding the United States' foreign policy towards Cuba. One aspect of this debate concerns the link between U.S. policy and prospects for future democratisation in Cuba. The thesis examines three theories ("squeeze", "communication" and "normalization"), which suggest that either increasing or decreasing economic and diplomatic ties with Cuba will encourage prospects for democratisation. The paper assesses the validity of these theories by using a theoretical framework to explain regime legitimacy, and considers which policy offers the greatest potential for regime change. Next, the paper looks at the current Cuban political and economic environment to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Castro regime. To conclude, the author suggests that the current U.S. policy of opposing trade and diplomatic links with Cuba will have a counter-productive effect in encouraging democratisation.

In Cuba, the act of growing flood in the city has become a way of life. Since the beginning of the "Special Period in Time of Peace", brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, Cubans have engaged in many forms of urban agriculture (UA) to cope with the food crisis affecting the Island. In Havana, the popular garden movement occupies 8% of total urban land in agriculture (3.4% of urban land) and is practiced by 18,000 gardeners who produce vegetables and fruit, and raise small livestock to increase food security and generate income. The purpose of this study was to provide estimates of the user benefits of UA, as well as qualitative and quantitative information related do this activity. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to elicit users' willingness to pay (WTP) for the land they use, that is currently provided at no charge by the stale. The average WTP was estimated at 23.5 pesos/1000 m2/month under current conditions and 34.4 pesos/1000 m2/month with improvements in water and anti-theft services. These amounts represent about 11% and 14% of monthly household income, respectively. Aggregate WTP for popular gardens in the city of Havana was estimated to be 6.88 million pesos/year (344,000 $US) and 10.07 million pesos/year (503,500 $US) with the proposed improvements. The study has produced important results that give an indication of the use and non-use value of UA for gardeners of Havana. Results also suggest that CVM is a non-market valuation technique that can be successfully applied in Cuba, and can provide information to be integrated in cast-benefit analysis frameworks that assess the importance of UA.