Sustainable tourism is a heavily researched concept but in reality there has been limited implementation of the principles and practices of sustainable tourism for destinations. Adopting a destination focused perspective, this thesis presents research which expounded Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a practical, new and innovative approach to sustainable tourism development i.e. computer-supported sustainability. A literature review revealed that there was no specific study focusing on the uses and applications of ICT for sustainable tourism development despite the mention and benefits of doing so. However it did identify that several opportunities existed in destination management for using ICT as well as a collection of ICT-based tools/applications which can be used for managing different aspects of sustainable tourism. Therefore an investigative analysis was necessary in building a solid body of work on the uses and applications of ICT for sustainable tourism as a practical approach for destination managers. These findings formed the input for the primary research which was conducted in two phases: surveys administered to destination managers and eTourism experts followed by semi-structured interviews with experts in this domain identified from the surveys. The primary research alongside the literature findings led to the development of a descriptive framework which identified, categorised and described the uses of these ICT-based tools/applications for managing tourism‟s impacts. Assessment procedures based on the sustainability goals of the destination were then developed in order assist destination managers selecting the ICT-based tools/applications that were best suited for managing the sustainable tourism development of their destinations. The conclusion of this research clearly identifies that destination managers‟ sophisticated application of ICT to sustainable tourism is the next logical and practical step they can take in making sustainable tourism a workable reality for their destinations. This research is the building block for prospective research in the ICT-sustainable tourism domain. Future research avenues would be to use the results presented to determine the suitability, applicability and feasibility of the ICT-based tools/applications presented for destination managers. This existing research can be used to develop a more co-ordinated approach to theory development and engage in more empirical research to address tourism challenges with regards to using ICT for sustainable tourism development.

The ever-increasing use of the Web as a channel of distribution within the tourism industry naturally leads to a situation where its effectiveness needs to be examined and justified. While there is a growing realisation of the need to assess the effectiveness of a Destination Management Systems (DMS) based websites, research into this area in the tourism domain has been quite limited and narrow in focus. This situation is further compounded by the fact that currently there is little in the way of appropriate models and techniques in place to manage a DMS based websites effectively and that there is a general lack of consensus when it comes to defining and understanding its standards and concepts. This thesis describes a methodology for the development and evaluation of a comprehensive set of weighted dimensions and criteria for measuring the effectiveness of DMS based websites. Ultimately, from a DMS perspective, website effectiveness depends on how well a website performs with respect to the related business goals. The scope of the research was limited to assessing the impact of DMS effectiveness on the accommodation sector. This research began by employing a Delphi study to generate, validate and prioritise a comprehensive set of dimensions and criteria for measuring the effectiveness of a DMS. The Delphi study successfully identified a total of 12 dimensions and 105 criteria required to assess DMS based websites effectiveness. These components were incorporated into a comprehensive evaluation framework applied specifically to evaluate the effectiveness of a DMS based websites using a diverse range of approaches and perspectives. The evaluation phase of the research took place over an eight month period and concentrated on testing this framework using VisitScotland.com as a test bed. The outcomes from the evaluation phase successfully demonstrated that the framework provides DMS management with a comprehensive method to measure and manage the effectiveness of their Web presence by not only identifying areas of the website and website strategy that needed attention but also by providing advice and suggestions on how to improve these areas.

The aim of this research was to examine the factors influencing in-trip tourists’ adoption of information and communications technology (ICT) tools/applications which support sustainable tourism. While ICT is a source of competitive advantage for businesses, there is limited research on how ICT can be used to support sustainable tourism development. At the same time, there has been greater consumer awareness about sustainable tourism but a challenge in translating this knowledge into action. This thesis therefore sought to explore and integrate these complementary elements. The study adopted a sequential mixed methods approach. Phase 1 employed an e-survey among sixty-six (66) eTourism experts, while Phase 2 of the study involved thirty (30) semi-structured face-to-face interviews with leisure tourists in the city of Edinburgh. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyse Phase 1 and thematic analysis for Phase 2. The findings from the survey demonstrated that location based services were identified amongst the main ICT applications to support sustainable tourism. Geo-caching, ambient intelligence and context aware applications were among the new or emerging applications that eTourism experts felt were likely to change the way tourists experience a destination in the future. The interviews demonstrated that social connectedness motivated the use of in-trip ICT with social media being the primary platform. Mobile value elements, personal innovativeness and perceived enjoyment were postulated as influencing use behaviour. The results also illustrated the need for destinations to mix new media with some traditional strategies based on the destination’s info-structure, tourists’ source markets, tourists’ profiles and sources of in-trip information. This thesis has made an original contribution to knowledge by examining the actual use of in-trip ICTs by tourists in relation to sustainable tourism. Future research needs to explore and measure how perceived enjoyment, personal innovativeness and mobile value elements influence technology use behaviour.

Internet Room Diagramming Solutions (RDS) has been regarded as not only one of the most innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) marketing media for raising the profiles of hotel and convention centre properties, but also as a practical tool to try out and to communicate planners’ ideas on meeting and event designs. However, there is little research specific to RDS in the hospitality management and the event management research fields. In the first phase of this research, a three-round modified Delphi technique was employed with an expert panel to generate, validate and prioritise a comprehensive set of dimensions and criteria for measuring the productivity and effectiveness of a leading RDS in the marketplace, and a hierarchical structure of these dimensions and criteria is presented. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used in the third round to generate relative priorities and to give weightings of these dimensions and criteria. In the phase two of this research, an AHP survey was conducted with the venue operators in the U.S. chain hotel systems for revalidation of the priorities and weightings of the dimensions/criteria which had been previously identified by the Delphi Panel experts. The client base of the leading RDS provider, MeetingMatrix, was used to conduct this survey. Forty-eight effective responses from the survey results have successfully revalidated some of the relative priorities in comparison with the Delphi results. Consistency exists in the priorities of criteria in Impact on Business Partner Relationships, Impact on Customer Satisfaction and Organisational Context. The criteria identified in this research could be adopted in order to conduct further research concerning performance measurements such as the ICT Balanced Scorecard for strategic management. The research methodology and approaches used could also be applied to performance measurements for general innovative ICT applications such as social media.

Despite a ubiquitous interest, the concept of collaboration remains elusive. Regardless, the pervasiveness of discourse pertaining to it continues to infiltrate policy as public sector reform advocates for behaviour and practice driven by an ethos of “joining-up”. The interdependency of the transport-tourism relationship provides an opportunity to consider collaboration in a context where the benefits of integration can be substantial. Within island domains the reliance of tourism economies on efficient transport systems is intensified. Consequently this research presents an analysis of the scope, role and nature of collaboration between industries whose sustainability is to a large extent symbiotic and critical to local prosperity. A review of the literature demonstrates a lack of focus on research pertaining to a stakeholder perspective of the transport-tourism relationship. Within the island environment, studies on this scenario of cross-industry engagement further diminish although the argument expressing the significance of transport in tourism is vociferous. Gaps were also identified in the conceptualisation of collaboration inhibiting a universal definition and thus a comprehensive understanding. The primary research adopted a qualitative approach. Data was collected through a series of semi-structured interviews from stakeholders across transport and tourism who fulfilled pre-considered criteria. The key findings identify constraints to collaboration in the form of structural disparity while divergent industry objectives further impede practical integration. Despite this, the role of “islandness” neutralises barriers to engagement. The propensity to cultivate social capital within these boundaried geographies provides an environment naturally conducive to the creation of collaborative capacity. Consensual development of shared goals between collaborating parties manifested as intrinsic for the purpose of buy-in and commitment throughout the collaborative process. Similarly, an absence of leadership in practice resulted in highlighting the fundamental role it delivers within collaboration. The empirical findings provide both practical and theoretical contribution. Further they present policy-makers with evidence-informed suggestions to address impediments which prevent the practice of collaboration.

This study sought to investigate whether there was a relationship among environmental performance, economic results and social media presence that contributed to the competitive advantage of Florida Green Lodging Program eco-certified hotels. While eco-certifications were not specifically cultivated for marketing on social media websites, the two-dimensional logos were developed as a meaningful marketing tool that can also be used in an online environment to convey a firm’s commitment to environmental standards. Therefore, gaining an understanding of what connects the added marketing benefit of an eco-certification and the utility usage of an environmentally conscious hotel holds the possibility to garner positive economic results for firms that commit to specific eco-certification standards. Built on a literature foundation of sustainable tourism, social media and theories that unite both subject matters, the study adopted a mixed-methods, sequential explanatory research design with an emphasis on the quantitative findings. The investigation was organized in two phases. The initial phase analyzed data from the FGLP to determine if relationships existed. The second phase provided supportive qualitative data to better comprehend the statistical findings discovered in the first phase. The study utilized both primary data collected from web-based surveys and dialogue paired with secondary data garnered from government forms and social media websites. The pragmatic underpinning of the study permitted the collection, analysis and interpretation of the statistical results combined with supportive qualitative findings structured by six hypotheses that addressed the study’s aim and objectives. The findings revealed 15 statistically significant relationships. Only four relationships contributed a positive economic result and 11 provided negative economic consequences to the eco-certified hotel. The statistical results were paired with qualitative concerns about the program’s commitment to marketing and communication efforts. In addition, the study revealed a management factor may be limiting the relationship among environmental performance, economic results and social media presence, which could be addressed if a more holistic and cross-functional management approach was implemented at an eco-certified property. This work contributes to the growing research between sustainability and marketing, and the use of social media within the hospitality industry, which extended the theoretical foundation of the resource-based theory for future research. The study made an original contribution of knowledge with its use of the resource-based theory to determine the statistical relationships of the physical and fiscal operations of eco-certified hotels in relation to their social media presence. It also extended the definition of marketing ‘resources’ to include seven social media web sites. Future research could continue the investigation among environmental performance, economic results and social media presence to include larger samples, different regions, non-certified hotels and even a contextual review of social media participation. Such findings hold the potential to understand if complementary relationships exist and if hotels could employ the findings to increase its return on investment in both environmental and marketing initiatives.

As the tourism industry faces economic, social, political and other challenges, there is a need to develop adaptation strategies to reinforce business sustainability of organisations. Ski resort destinations have been chosen to determine and analyse factors as actual and potential barriers to maintain a sustainable business practice. The academic debate revealed a number of gaps, critical issues for the ski industry to be addressed. Concurrently, a lack of an empirical data requires research in order to develop a set of sustainability determinants for generic ski resort use. In line with that, the mixed methodological approach aims to investigate comprehensively factors of business sustainability and sustainability determinants and incorporates two research methods: the qualitative and the quantitative research techniques. The qualitative methodological stance allows arranging a qualitative research and, therefore, conducting interviews among the chosen Scottish and Swiss ski resorts for the purpose of a comparative analysis. The quantitative methodological stance assists to use a series of the Delphi Survey rounds and permits to engage the experts from the industry, selected carefully based on the objective criteria. The findings became a basis for novel concept “internal business sustainability” in relation to ski resorts. The collected data allowed providing recommendations for government, ski resorts generally, ski resorts in Switzerland, ski resorts in Scotland, VisitScotland and Graubünden Tourism. The Delphi study contributed significantly to the field of knowledge and a new framework was developed for a future selection of a model of sustainability indicators for generic ski resort use. The developed framework consists of a set of sustainability determinants in the form of the adaptation strategies with regard to the changing environment, changing in government policies about sustainability, changing in economic climate, changing in socio-cultural environment and changing in technology. All of the elements of the new framework were examined, evaluated and filtered during three consecutive rounds of the Delphi and reached consensus, which show their validity.

This interdisciplinary thesis breaks new ground in the fields of food and media studies, in the specific areas of culinary capital and food TV. On food studies, this thesis theorises that the state plays the role of meta-tastemaker, legitimising some foods as a source of social distinction in order to support national ideologies and beliefs. The social prestige that citizens accumulate thanks to these foods is what this thesis defines as national culinary capital. On media studies, this thesis analyses how national culinary capital is represented on television, and how the media and the nation negotiate it. Only by merging the two disciplines has this thesis been able to catch the sense of the complex power relationships between the nation and the media. Through the analysis of two national TV food travelogues, the Italian Ti Ci Porto Io and the British Jamie's Great Britain, this work draws on Bourdieu's concepts of statist and cultural capital, and on Naccarato and LeBesco's theorisation of culinary capital. Cultural studies views of national culture and television, and theories on nation-building contribute to the theoretical framework. Methodologically, this study applies political economy and Bourdieu's field analysis to Italian and British TV and food TV, and to the broadcasters and production companies of the shows. In addition, moving image and semiotic analysis of the travelogues clarify how the two shows represent national culinary capital. An interview with the Italian producer, and a failed interview with the British one shed further light on the national ideologies represented by the shows and linked to food. The results show how, in the two countries, national culinary capital supports different ideologies with similar aims. Moreover, while in Italy the state exerts its power over the media in a stronger way, in Britain the media prove to be powerful enough to shape an independent form of national culinary capital, embodied by the media invention of the celebrity chef.

Sustainable tourism and rural development are much examined research areas. Within these, the importance of community-centric approaches is becoming more and more recognised; however, specific research upon which community-centric development strategies could be built seems to be lacking. This thesis addresses this research gap with the aim to explore the nature of co-operative tourism and its potential towards sustainable rural tourism development in India from a stakeholder perspective. A literature review demonstrated the benefits of co-operatives as a sustainable business model, particularly for poor communities of developing countries; however, a clear gap emerged with regard to investigating tourism and co-operatives in the same context. This research contributes to filling this gap in knowledge and outlines the clear theoretical benefits of adopting a co-operative business model as a community-centric approach to tourism in the context of rural India, while also pointing out considerable challenges in its practical implementation, such as possible limitations to the ability for self-help. Fifty qualitative semi-structured interviews were carried out with stakeholders of a co-operative tourism project in two states of India: Uttarakhand and West Bengal. Twenty-six of these were conducted with farmers who are members of the tourism co-operatives presented in this study, ten with members of the wider community in which the project took place and fourteen with tourism professional and academics local to the areas. Focus was put on in-depth exploration of participants’ experiences, implying qualitative methods and a phenomenological research approach. The findings revealed a clear theoretical advantage of a co-operative approach to tourism development, which has potential to address and alleviate many of the challenges associated with tourism and host communities, and which is intensified in poor peripheral areas. However, there are significant practical challenges, which need to be addressed in order for this comparative advantage to translate into practice. These challenges are manifested in a sense of dormancy in the participants, a lack of skills and significant language difficulties. A limit to the principle of self-help, which is inherent to co-operative activities, was identified as creating effective marketing links and hence, requiring ongoing external support. This research study makes an interdisciplinary contribution to the literature on sustainable tourism, rural development and co-operative studies. In addition, it provides a starting point for further empirical research on the co-operative business model as an approach, which has not yet been sufficiently conceptualised for tourism. Furthermore, it contributes to the wider debate on sustainable rural development through tourism. Future research could usefully investigate how the challenges identified in this study, such as limitations to the principle of self-help, lack of initiative in participants and creating marketing linkages could be addressed.

Globally tourism is one of the biggest industries and its role is considered key in economic development. In South Africa, tourism is one of the main economic drivers. Thus, tourism contributes to the gross domestic product, generates foreign exchange and provides sustainable employment opportunities. In order to facilitate local economic development (LED), local destination marketing organisations (DMOs) need to ensure that their operations are geared towards optimising the economic advantages related to tourism growth and development. As a result the DMOs must be strategic and well-managed. One way of achieving this is to ensure that the board of directors and specifically the non-executive directors (NEDs) practise good governance. In South Africa, three (3) types of DMOs are found, namely those that are funded by local government and incorporated into the municipality. The second type of DMOs is funded by the private sector. The third type of DMOs is those funded by both the local government and the private sector. In this case, the DMO has an agreement with the local government in terms of what their mandate is and what the agreed outcomes would be. A board of directors, comprising both executive directors (EDs) and nonexecutive directors (NEDs) is responsible for the governance of the local DMO. The main research problem of the study is the attributes and experience of the nonexecutive directors that serve on the boards of DMOs in accordance with developmental standards of best practices. In order to address the main problem, the following research objectives were formulated: To identify best practice by examining the literature as to how NEDs are prepared to serve on boards of both listed and non-listed organisations. To determine whether any policy frameworks provide guidance to NEDs serving on DMOs in South Africa. To examine whether any training or preparatory programmes exist specifically for NEDs in DMOs. To investigate whether NEDs should have specific attributes that would improve their governance of DMOs. To develop a set of recommendations that would assist NEDs to play a more effective role when executing their responsibilities. In order to address these research objectives, a quantitative research methodology was adopted sampling all the DMOs in South Africa that could be identified and were governed by a board of directors. For this purpose, a self-completed questionnaire was distributed to the board of directors of DMOs and specifically the non-executive directors. The results of the study indicated that no guidelines existed that DMOs could follow to better prepare the NEDs of local DMOs. Furthermore, no policy frameworks provide guidance to NEDs serving on local DMOs. The only guidelines that exist are generic guidelines of the King IV Report for NEDs of listed and non-listed organisations. In addition, Pike (2016:108) listed a number of characteristics of good governance. The study also revealed that no training or preparatory programmes exist for the NEDs of local DMOs. Finally, the study highlighted five (5) attributes that NEDs consider as critical in fulfilling their obligations. These include the empowerment of NEDs, the commitment of NEDs, communication with NEDs, job satisfaction of the NEDs and the need for NEDs to understand policy frameworks relevant to their tasks.