Tourism has become one of Egypt’s main sources of income and has undergone rapid privatization and subsequent growth. This has resulted in numerous policy and implementation gaps including those in environmental policy. Egypt’s natural resources are thus threatened by this unsustainable tourism growth. This study analyses the impact of the tourism privatization movement in Egypt on the distribution of environmental responsibility between the private and public sectors and the environmental consequences. Changes in the roles of the private and public sectors in tourism and other roles, priorities, and agendas that each stakeholder may have are considered in this thesis. In order to gather information for this study, Egyptian laws and legislations pertaining to the areas of the environment, tourism and investment were examined. Secondary data from government sources about tourist numbers and characteristics, and about investment trends in Egypt were also obtained and examined. A series of interviews of key informants from the public sector, private sector, and NGOs were also conducted in the Egyptian capital city, Cairo, and on the Red Sea. Two Red Sea cities, Hurghada and El Gouna were visited and environmental initiatives in them were observed and made note of. This study finds that the Egyptian private sector is more successful than the public sector at planning and managing environmental initiatives, and that Egypt’s tourism pricing policy is a key influence on the level of environmental degradation. In terms of laws and regulations, it was found that Egypt has a sufficient number of environmental regulations and institutions; but that the challenge lies in their functioning and efficiency, and that the government’s environmental initiatives are largely symbolic and designed to attract foreign aid. These findings suggest that Egypt should focus on improving the quality rather than increasing the quantity of tourism. Accordingly, the marketing competitive advantage should be the quality and uniqueness of the destination rather than its low price. In terms of private-public sector interactions, governmental institutions should assume a more active role in environmental protection and should employ experts and knowledgeable professionals as decision makers, while the private sector should be encouraged to undertake large-scale tourism projects. It is found that sustainable tourism cannot be achieved without the contribution and collaboration of both parties in tourism planning and development.

This study examines the relationship between parks and adjacent communities, through a case study of Bon Echo Provincial Park and the village of Cloyne. Two objectives are identified. First is to assess the nature of the relationship between Bon Echo and the community from the perspective of local community members, using the Grounded Theory methodology. The second objective is to provide recommendations, based on the findings of the case study, using the framework of the Healthy Communities approach. These objectives are met through primary and secondary data collection. The former consists of thirty-two personal, semi-structured interviews that were conducted with community members. The latter includes a variety of documents written about the park, the village and the general area. The study finds that the park has been an important part of this area for many years. It demonstrates that three types of relationships exist between Cloyne and Bon Echo. The formal relationship is the ‘official’ relationship between the park and the community. The functional relationship describes how the community perceives and uses the park. The facilitative relationship highlights how the park facilitates (or creates) costs and benefits to the community, and how it influences sense-of-place. Finally, the study demonstrates that the community would like to see change in its relationship with the park. As such, six recommendations are provided that are in line with the Healthy Communities approach. These recommendations illustrate that the overall relationship could be improved by encouraging the park to localize their methods and practices. By localizing provincial parks and helping to develop stronger local tourism economies, both the park and the community will benefit.

Destination image is a concept created by different demand and supply agents. The balance between what is expected and what is being delivered is essential in promoting the destination. The main goal of this study is to describe the different destination images related to Dracula tourism in Transylvania. This is accomplished by looking at the Western tourists’ expectations and demands as expressed in their travel blogs, and by analyzing the supply side through the elicitation of information from locals and Bran Castle tour guides through qualitative interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the content, visual and audio information on sampled blogs and interviews. This method identified 11 different themes which captured the overall destination image. The themes focused primarily on historical and fictional images of the destination, on the type of tourists visiting Bran Castle, but also on the locals’ image and response to Dracula tourism. The findings of this study reveal that the majority of Western bloggers visit Bran in search for Count Dracula; however, the Bran Castle tour guides focus on presenting the historical truth. Local residents, although seeing Dracula as a national hero, sometimes adopt the mythical image as a marketing or product development tactic in selling to visitors. Nevertheless, the stakeholders involved in the creation of the image each fit into different destination image frameworks, allowing for the creation of an overall destination image based on historical and fictional elements.

Industrial remains can be found in many regions that experienced industrialization. However, they are, in general, at risk of loss through destruction and abandonment. Promoting tourism can be a helpful tool for regional restructuring and economic development. The creative economy is also emerging as a powerful tool for reinvigorating economic growth, employment and social cohesion of those areas, which may affect the development of touristic activities and industries. However, little research has been done to link creative economy theory and industrial heritage tourism. This paper elaborates on and clarifies the link between industrial heritage tourism and creative economy, and illustrates the impact of creativity and the driving role of the creative class in industrial heritage tourism through a case study. The study site, 798 art zone, is a newly emerged tourism destination in China which developed based on an abandoned soviet-style factory. Through analyzing the initiation status of tourism development in the factory, the interests of visitors, the influences of tourism, and the role of artists, the research reveals the dramatic change under the impact of tourism and more recently added development boom that has taken place at the 798 art zone. The findings identify the characteristics of 798 art zone in different periods and the contributions of the artist community to the art zone. Unlike most industrial heritage tourism sites, the development of 798 art zone was bottom up owing to the creativity of artists. With their creative eyes, artists identified the special features of the abandoned factory (high ceilings, historic design, open spaces, and abundant natural light), and used their creativity to add artistic feelings to this area. When the factory was facing the fate of being razed, they pulled together. With their efforts, the factory was preserved and 798 art zone was acknowledged by the government. The results are in accord with the creative economy theory that creativity is the driving force of economic development and improve the understanding of how creativity and tourism interact. The development pattern of 798 art zone might not apply precisely to any other places in the world, but it provides an effective alternative model for revitalization of old industrial sites as well as other tourism sites. Some management related suggestions and concerns about 798 art zone and tourists profile are proposed. Both practical implications and academic insights are presented based on the major findings of this study.

This study examined the role volunteer tourism played in the conservation of elephants in Chiang Mai, Thailand. A case study was conducted to determine whether volunteer tourism at the Elephant Nature Park (ENP) had an effect on elephant conservation. Specifically, this study looked at how volunteer tourism and the ENP had an impact on: non-volunteer tourists, elephants, the local economy, and government policy. Mixed methods were used to attain the data in this study. Self-administered questionnaires were created to determine the impact volunteer tourism had on non-volunteer tourists. Results showed an increase in non-volunteer tourists’ awareness of elephant tourism, volunteer tourism and elephant conservation during the time they spent at the park. Self-administered questionnaires were also used to determine whether members of the local community felt they were receiving economic or social benefits from volunteer tourism and the ENP. The data showed that community participants felt they were receiving both economic and social benefits but their responses varied depending on sex, age, and how long they had lived in the region. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted to determine the role the ENP had on the conservation of elephants in Thailand and government policy. Interviewees consisted of experts in the industry who were knowledgeable about elephant tourism, volunteer tourism, and the ENP. The data indicated that the ENP created awareness about elephant conservation issues with non-volunteer tourists, volunteers, the community, and government officials. However, the ENP did not have any measureable effect on government policy. The model of volunteer tourism utilized by the Elephant Nature Park has been shown to be effective in conserving the domestic elephant and in creating awareness about domestic elephant conservation issues in Thailand.

Heritage tourism is employed by many countries to facilitate economic development as well as to assist in the preservation of heritage. Different stakeholders have different and sometimes conflicting expectation in the process of converting heritage resources into marketable products. Heritage tourism is especially complicated because public and private, historical and sometimes ethnic resources are involved. Despite the fact that some literature is devoted to the impacts of the designation and management of heritage tourism on residents, little research has been done on how government roles and associated political perspectives can affect the way that heritage tourism develops. Detailed comparative studies that are undertaken from this perspective are rare. This research uses experiences of Daxu ancient town and Yangshuo town, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, to compare the influence of governmental involvement on heritage tourism development. Key stakeholders’ perceptions (tourists, entrepreneurs, residents and governments) were examined in both towns through quantitative and qualitative research. A tourist survey was conducted to collect data on their experience on their trips. A resident survey was conducted to collect data on local residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts, and their judgments of the government’s performance in tourism administration and promotion. Entrepreneurs were interviewed to understand their motivations, situations and expectations for their businesses. Finally, government officials were interviewed to understand the policies, marketing, and official attitudes and involvement in tourism development. Economic advantages have been a driving force in heritage tourism development in both towns. Yangshuo is in a more mature stage of tourism development than Daxu which is still in the initial stage. Residents in both towns show high expectations for tourism development, but Yangshuo residents are surer about most of the impacts brought by tourism. Entrepreneurs are often local investors and are struggling in Daxu while, in Yangshuo, tourism entrepreneurs are often from elsewhere and include international investors. Yangshuo entrepreneurs are more entrepreneurial, highly responsive to the market and are contributing to the attractions of Yangshuo. Government attitudes toward tourism are very different between Daxu and Yangshuo. Yangshuo’s government accords great importance to tourism and actively supports its tourism development and, as such, tourism boomed in Yangshuo. Daxu’s government passively supports tourism. This study confirms that variations in government support can greatly influence the style and pace of tourism development.

This study investigated various aspects of the gambling engaged in by Ontario casino employees. Five casinos participated in the study, which involved a survey sample of 934 employees and an interview sample of 21 employees. The study found that the casino employees exhibited rates of problem gambling that were over three times greater than rates that past studies have found in Ontario’s general population. The employees’ problem gambling was primarily explained by employees who increased their gambling after beginning their jobs and employees who were attracted to their jobs because of prior gambling involvement, although neither of these characteristics was especially common overall. The increases and decreases in gambling that some employees experienced after beginning their jobs were precipitated by a variety of workplace influences associated with the employees’ exposure to gambling; their exposure to patrons; their exposure to the casino work environment; and the existence of training, regulations, and resources. The prevalence of problem gambling and other behavioural gambling patterns also were found to relate to numerous employment variables, such as department and shift. Based on all of these results, various policy recommendations and suggestions for future research are provided.

The contributions of heritage attractions in cultural plans and economic development have long been recognized in the academic literature. However, despite the involvement of museums in such initiatives, there is little written on these issues from the perspective of the museum itself. Museums are important institutions that fulfill many functions in today’s society. While they have long been known as centers of education, cultural preservation and community, museums are increasingly being called upon in new ways that are outside their traditional preserves, including their position as one of the main attractions for cultural tourism. Museums and other cultural sites are the focus of many tourism and cultural plans being used to stimulate economic development. Nevertheless, the museum literature continues to focus on internal issues such as access, authenticity and conservation, with little discussion on the presence of tourists and tourism in the museum. This study aims to add to the existing body of knowledge concerning museums as a tourist attraction by examining curator perceptions of tourism in their museum, in light of their position in cultural and economic plans.

The purpose of this thesis is to understand the experiences and meanings of tourism employment for Muslim women in the Middle East, including the positive and negative aspects of this form of employment. The study was conducted in Oman, which was the research site and cultural setting for this study. The theoretical paradigm that guided this study was social constructionism. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was also used for this study in order to interpret and analyze the collected data into themes. A combination of convenience sampling and snowball technique was used to recruit participants for the interviews, resulting in a total of 9 interviews being conducted with local Muslim women working in the Oman tourism industry. The data were collected through open-ended interviews conducted face to face, using a semi structured interview format. The analysis process led to the development of seven themes. The seven main themes related to finding work in the tourism field, facing negative attitudes, challenges of tourism work, dealing with negative attitudes and challenges, the importance of tourism work in women lives, an expanded vision of tourism work, and implications for social change. The study revealed that the idea of women’s tourism work as exploitation is complex and multi-layered in Oman. Although there were some indicators of exploitation for the Omani tourism workers in this study, this form of work was also shown to be a source of benefits and form of empowerment for women. Further, the study revealed that tourism employment could also be seen as a site for women’s resistance, particularly for Muslim women seeking to change attitudes towards women, and to create a new society.

While meanings of leisure have been widely studied from Western perspectives, to date, few researchers have explored the meanings of leisure in non-Western cultural contexts. However, in an era of globalization, it is particularly significant to explore leisure experiences of people from non-Western cultures. This study is then designed to investigate the role leisure plays in a Chinese culture context. Specifically, Chinese university students’ leisure experience and the values they ascribe to leisure in relation to their lives as a whole is examined. Their ideology of work and its impact on leisure participation is addressed in particular. In a Chinese university, criterion sampling method was first applied to recruit Chinese students who could provide information-rich stories about their leisure participation. Snowball sampling method was also used to find more information-rich cases for this exploratory study. 11 participants were engaged in this study. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted to discover leisure experience of these students. Data analysis was guided by a constructivist grounded theory approach to understand the participants’ perceptions and meanings of their leisure experience. The data analysis resulted in three major themes. The first theme “Valuations of Work” addressed that the students placed high valuation on work and their life was ruled by work. The second theme “Two Spheres of Leisure” illustrated the students’ ideology of leisure and its impact on their leisure experience. The last theme “Causes for the Subordinate Role of Leisure”revealed two underlying causes that shaped the subservient role of leisure in the students’ daily lives. The emerged themes reflected that the students’ lives were centered around work; and they gave little consideration to their leisure participation. Holding such work-leisure ideology, the students’ leisure participation cannot always contribute to their well being. Therefore, this study advocates the implementation of leisure education in China, which may facilitate the Chinese people to build a balanced and healthy life style.