The intent of this research was to identify the effectiveness of a destination brand as determined by international tourists visiting the destination. The Caribbean can be viewed as a homogeneous region to many individuals seeking sun, sand, and sea; therefore, product differentiation is essential. Destination branding represents and distinguishes a country among competing nations. This concurrent mixed methods study set forth to investigate the effectiveness of the Saint Lucia destination brand. The following objectives underlie this research: i) to explore how the current destination brand was chosen, ii) to evaluate tourists’ perceptions and images of the destination, iii) to explore the relationship between tourists’ perceptions and destination choice, and iv) to evaluate the extent to which the destination brand influenced destination choice. The research findings indicate a lack of awareness concerning the new destination brand. A lack of brand communication and insufficient exposure has been detrimental to the overall success of the destination brand. A conceptual model for the development process of a destination brand was suggested to enhance destination brand effectiveness. The six essential stages include market research, destination image, targeting and positioning, brand identity, communication of the brand, and continuous monitoring and evaluation throughout. It is recommended to engage in monitoring and improvement initiatives of the brand to better gauge its effectiveness; to enhance exposure of the brand through effective niche marketing initiatives that showcase the diversity and unique attributes of Saint Lucia; and finally, to work towards transforming the destination brand into a national brand.

Members of the Gitga’at First Nation are committed to supporting the ecological integrity of their territory, as well as the vitality of their community and way of life, through carefully selected and implemented local development initiatives. This case study focuses on community member perspectives on ecologically supported cultural tourism. The first objective was to describe aspects of the local context shaping perspectives on tourism development. The second objective was to synthesise perspectives on the appropriate use of resources and on the appropriate application and sharing of local and elders’ knowledge for tourism. The third objective sought to identify services and linkages with other institutions considered important for a business aligned with local development priorities. There is potential for eco-cultural tourism to support local needs and interests if its development is directed and controlled by the Gitga’at and is based on a process of deliberation within the community.

In this mixed-method study, I explore the idea that an entrepreneurial orientation serves as a key driver of nonprofit organizational performance, and that a focal nonprofit’s set of collaborative ties moderates that relationship. I theorize that for nonprofits operating in an environment characterized by resource scarcity, possessing an EO is vital. More specifically, I theorize that organizations with smaller and less heterogeneous sets of collaborative ties benefit more from an EO than those with larger and more heterogeneous sets. I also explore the possibility that a focal nonprofit’s pattern of collaborative ties may be a function of that nonprofit’s EO. These ideas are tested using an original data set collected from a sample of the estimated 200 economic development organizations operating in eastern Kentucky. This is an area where economic growth has been particularly elusive, and where a deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial and collaborative practices of nonprofits might be especially valuable. The results reveal some significant empirical support for these ideas, and point to a promising research program aiming to uncover the interactive effects of EO, collaborative networks, and nonprofit performance across a range of organizational contexts.

Members of the Gitga’at First Nation are committed to supporting the ecological integrity of their territory, as well as the vitality of their community and way of life, through carefully selected and implemented local development initiatives. This case study focuses on community member perspectives on ecologically supported cultural tourism. The first objective was to describe aspects of the local context shaping perspectives on tourism development. The second objective was to synthesise perspectives on the appropriate use of resources and on the appropriate application and sharing of local and elders’ knowledge for tourism. The third objective sought to identify services and linkages with other institutions considered important for a business aligned with local development priorities. There is potential for eco-cultural tourism to support local needs and interests if its development is directed and controlled by the Gitga’at and is based on a process of deliberation within the community.

The role of food in tourism has recently received increased attention within the spheres of destination marketing, tourism development, and academia. Cuisine appreciation is an indelible aspect of the holistic, polysensual experiences that travellers seek thesedays (Crouch & Desforges, 2003; Everett, 2009). The experience of cuisine is the overarching theme for this study. It addresses a contextual gap concerning the concepts of image, satisfaction, and behavioural intentions (which have been abdundantly researched from a destination perspective) applied to cuisine and the travel experience, in India. Specifically, this study’s purpose was to determine foreign travellers’ likelihood to recommend India for culinary tourism based on their perception of its cuisine and satisfaction levels with culinary experiences during their travel to the country. Additional aspects of the culinary behaviour of foreign travellers to India, such as their frequency of patronising Indian culinary establishments, types of establishments they visited, key sources of cuisine knowledge, and their opinion on cuisine knowledge based on culinary experiences in the country, are also revealed in the study. As well, the study incorporated a comparative analysis between how Indian cuisine is perceived vis-à-vis Thai, another globally popular cuisine. A cross-sectional quantitative research design was employed in this study. A questionnaire comprising of six-point Likert scale questions for cuisine image, satisfaction with culinary establishments, and recommendation for culinary tourism, and a combination of additional close and open-ended questions was posed to a convenience sample of foreign travellers to India. Data analyses consisted of frequency analyses, and parametric and non-parametric tests to address the research questions and establish correlations between the study’s central concepts. The results indicate that the sample of foreign travellers’ perception of Indian cuisine was positive overall and equivalent in comparison with that of Thai cuisine. A majority of respondents were satisfied with their culinary experiences in the country and recommended India for culinary tourism, in spite of the culinary challenges faced. The results also indicate that cuisine experience featured prominently as one of the most enjoyable aspects of their trip and that foreign travellers patronised Indian culinary establishments on a frequent basis. Respondents used affective as well as cognitive sources of cuisine information and a majority felt that culinary experiences in India had an ameliorative effect on their overall cuisine knowledge. This study carries particular pertinence in light of recent efforts on the part of the Ministry of Tourism, India to promote culinary tourism as a distinct tourism segment. Although the study cannot claim to be wholly conclusive as it is limited to a small convenience sample, the results provide valuable insight on this previously under-researched topic. Acknowledging the aforementioned caveat, implications and recommendations for three stakeholders are presented: culinary tourism marketers, owners/managers of culinary establishments, and the academic community. It is suggested that stakeholders contextualise the learnings from this study to their unique needs from a culinary tourism promotion and managerial standpoint. Being that this is an exploratory study, further research is recommended to explore the nuances of the study’s central themes with respect to phenomenon of culinary tourism.

This thesis examines the notion of developmental local government within the context of the implementation of a local economic development policy and the interrelationship that exists between national development frameworks underpinning growth and development objectives developed at the national and provincial spheres of government and the local economic development policy executed at the local sphere of government. Chapter One provides a historical overview of the Integrated Development Plan and of Local Economic Development in the Republic of South Africa. The concept of a developmental state within the context of the Republic of South Africa and also the evolution of the system of local government are examined. Chapter Two discusses research methodology within the context of the discipline of public administration and provides a distinction between qualitative and quantitative research and the rationale behind the adoption of a qualitative research approach for the purpose of this study. An overview of Public Administration and Public Policy literature is broadly discussed in Chapter Three. The theoretical framework of developmental local government and its characteristics is discussed in the same chapter. The trajectory of national economic development policies, namely, the Reconstruction and Development Programme, the Growth, Employment and Redistribution Policy, Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa and New Growth Path and the interrelationship with the LED policy objectives are examined in Chapter Four. The analysis of the case study underpinning this study and presentation of research findings flowing from a field research undertaken in the Emakhazeni local municipality situated in the Mpumalanga province of the Republic of South Africa are discussed in Chapter Five. An LED policy implementation model suited for developmental local government is also discussed in this chapter. The overall deductions, recommendations, limitations of this study, and suggestions for further research are presented in Chapter Six. / Thesis (DAdmin)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / School of Public Management and Administration / unrestricted

Partant d’une analyse à la fois historique et ethnographique, ce travail, qui s’inscrit dans les débats contemporains relatifs aux processus d’identification collective, vise à analyser les usages sociaux des références aux singularités locales, principalement dans leurs dimensions politiques et économiques. La recherche est centrée sur un « pays » des Pyrénées centrales, le Couserans, en Ariège, mais se déploie aussi au niveau du département et de la région Midi-Pyrénées. Une première ligne historique permet de revenir sur le processus de formation et d’institutionnalisation des références aux singularités locales ainsi que sur le développement de politiques de promotion territoriale s’appuyant sur ces références, insistant sur le pittoresque folklorique du Couserans et de l’Ariège. Une seconde traite plus spécifiquement de la période du gouvernement de Vichy en Ariège et dans la région toulousaine. Une troisième s’attache aux redéfinitions des mouvements régionalistes après-guerre et à la relance de politiques de l’authenticité dans les années soixante-dix dans le cadre des politiques d’aménagement du territoire. Dans un deuxième temps, en se centrant sur des phénomènes contemporains, l’approche ethnographique aborde les liens entre les processus de patrimonialisation du monde rural et les logiques de « développement local » engagées dans le cadre de la politique de pays, initiée par les lois dites « Pasqua » et « Voynet » de 1995 et 1999. L’analyse traite tout d’abord de la question des usages sociaux du patrimoine, en se centrant sur les pratiques associatives tout en les rattachant aux transformations sociales perceptibles sur la zone d’étude. Ensuite, à partir du suivi de la mise en place d’un pays « Voynet » dans le Couserans et de certaines actions menées au niveau départemental, elle s’axe sur la stratégie de l’authenticité utilisée comme politique de développement local à ces deux niveaux. / This thesis seeks to analyse a series of issues pertaining to social uses of folklore, traditions and rural heritage. Based on historical materials and an ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in the Couserans, a small “pays” located in the western part of the French (department of the Ariège, in the central Pyrenees), the analysis focuses on the economic and political dimensions of “policies of authenticity”, promoting local singularities. First, the thesis investigates historical issues: the genesis of social representations of this “pays”, in having a look to the part played by nineteen century’s folklorists in the institutionalisation of these images, the political uses of folklore and tradition under the Vichy gouvernment and the consequences of such uses after the Second World War. The analysis focuses then on the relations between two main aspects of contemporary process. First, I begin by describing the “rural tradition renewal” wich can be observed in this part of the Pyrenees during the 1990s. I stress on the fact that the aim of such renewal practices was the valorisation of rural heritage and the promotion of “local authenticity”. In the same time, this aim was directly integrated in contemporary public policies towards rural development, especially with the creation of new territorial development public structures, the pays, created by the “Voynet” act in 1999. After the creation of such a pays in Couserans, the use of rural heritage as a key tool for social and economic development will enhance the construction of images of authenticity and the transformation of the socio-economic functions of the territory.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The Republic of South Africa is faced with an extremely problematic high rate of poverty, shortages of skills and youth unemployment. This phenomenon is amongst blacks (predominantly African and coloured). This thesis therefore, argues that job creation is a very important measure to address youth unemployment and related socio-economic problems though; the majority of youth in South Africa have been classified as unskilled, uneducated and unemployable. The implementation of skills development programmes remains a huge problem. It has been also assumed that youth development programme have been inaccurately interpreted. TheYouth development is an evolutionary development in which all young people are engaged in attempting to build skills, and competencies, to meet their social needs and for the development of the community (Pittman 1993: 3). It is in this regard that the researcher selected Belhar in the Western Cape as a setting to investigate the problematic mentioned above. Although the 2011 census report stated that people living in the area of Belhar have access to electricity, refuse removal, water and sanitation, up to now poverty and youth unemployment remain alarming in this community. The study indicates that there is a youth development policy existing on paper at all levels of South African governments however its implementation remains a major problem. The research is exploratory in nature and uses qualitative techniques of inquiry. The researcher also uses secondary data such as conference papers and the City of Cape Town’s budget documents as a form of gathering information for analysis. The study explores the present youth programme and local government’s capacity in the surrounding community of Belhar. The data collected during this study through interviews, reveals that the youth programme is in existence in Belhar, however there is incapacity and lack of cooperation between the councilors, Belhar youth leaders and the City of Cape Town’s Municipality. The study further reveals that since ever the youth programme started in December 2013 under the leadership of the Belhar councilors, there were only two beneficiaries from the “youth” of that entire community who got employment after attendance for skills training. The finding further indicates that the programme mostly did not achieve its goals.

The central objective of the research study was to evaluate the 2020 Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy, with reference to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM). The Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy for the NMBM was developed in 2004 in relation to the need for Local Economic Development. The need for Local Economic Development (LED) has been mandated by the national government of South Africa as prescribed in the direction toward developmental local government post - 2000. The National Framework for Local Economic Development in South Africa serves as a strategic implementation guide for municipalities. The National Framework for Local Economic Development provides a supportive foundation to assist municipalities such as the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in improving its economic development through concentrations on suggested actions. Through support for municipal Local Economic Development strategies, the objective of Local Economic Development was to offer local government, private sectors, non - profit organisations and local communities the opportunity to work together to improve the local economy. The aim has thus been to enhance competitiveness and encourage inclusive sustainable growth. The 2020 Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality includes its strategic approach to promote sustainable growth within its specified municipal environment. Formulation of the strategy includes descriptions of sector strategies as a mechanism to promote transformation and improved economic development in a sustainable manner. Content Analysis and the case study methods were utilised to evaluate the 2020 Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy in the undertaking of the research study as a way of examining the formulation of the Local Economic Development strategy of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, in order to determine v the shortcomings in Local Economic Development as brought about by ineffective policy formulation process. Discourse Analysis was also used to understand the policy foundations as influenced by the previous apartheid regime and its accompanied injustices on the citizens of South Africa. The brief descriptions of major economic developments and sector strategies for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality shows the detachment of policy content from clear strategic action plans has depicted an incongruence in efficiency and sustainable development. This has placed developmental policy formulation under scrutinisation and evaluation. The findings indicate that there is a need for revision and/ or reformulation of the current 2020 Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in promotion of effective sustainable development and an improved local economy. The impact of a failure to revise and rework the strategy has detrimental effects on the promotion of an effective and efficient economy in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. Therefore, the lack of detail within the 2020 Citywide Economic Growth and Development strategy must be tackled by policy formulators to ensure economic growth and an alignment with the objectives as contained in the national mandate for economic development.

Thesis (M. Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The rationale for the establishment of nature reserves and protected areas has emphasized community benefits in terms of job and market opportunities, generation of income, facilitation of entrepreneurship and business, and the creation of an enabling local development environment within which locals would acquire the ability to make productive use of available opportunities and to resist the threats associated with poverty, deprivation, social exclusion and inequality. Evidently, the promotion of nature reserves has in recent years seen an unprecedented and, in many ways, uncomfortable convergence of the local economic development and environmentalism. Theoretically, the increasing popularity of nature reserves rests on the assumption that an enabling local economic development environment would be established wherein increased tourism would precipitate economic growth, job-creation and such other qualities which are collectively characterized as local economic development. However, in practice the interface of nature conservation remains scarcely tested. The study used Timbavati Nature Reserve which is adjacent different Villages including among others Timbavati Village to argue that the practice of nature conservation is far from popular pronouncements, captivated by the conjecture of an enabling local economic development environment. For the purpose of this study, a sample of 99 households from Timbavati Village was used to investigate the effects of nature conservation on LED. The findings of the study affirm that nature reserves are inherently preservationist and focus on protection of biodiversity, maintenance of critical ecological processes as well as ecosystem goods and services rather than “pro-poor growth” and “growth-focused” development paradigms. That is, the findings demonstrated that the Timbavati Nature Reserve is not contributing optimally towards LED as expected by the local communities. Although a general judgement could not be made, however, 28.3% of the respondents disagreed that the nature reserve produces desirable effects and 15.1% agreed that the nature reserve have undesirable effects on the village while 86.5% of the respondents were neutral on both effects. Additionally, the dearth of LED activities in the village vi indicated that the Timbavati Village does not get an injection from the nature reserve towards LED. Such findings indicate that the question of community ownership and access to natural resources remains unresolved where abundance of natural capital co-exists with poverty among communities. Thus, lack of integration, coherence, access to resources, local ownership, community participation and equal benefits sharing is apparent in most nature reserves and other protected areas including Timbavati Nature Reserve. Therefore, the study concludes that the Timbavati Nature Reserve is yet to contribute towards local economic development because its practice is devoid of community development principles. / University of Limpopo