This exploratory research seeks to understand the practices and experiences associated with Chinese tourists from the People’s Republic of China to the UK, both the reception by UK citizens and their own reflections of self. This PhD situates individual experience within collective historical structures and contemporary socio-political and economic forces. It investigates the partial identity of Chinese individuals through the frameworks of globalisation, nationalism, post-colonialism and traditionalism. These frameworks are empirically driven, which offer explanations to Chinese visitors’ public identity and self-identity, which are interconnected and interdependent (Alcoff, 2000). Identity has become a prism through which various aspects of contemporary life are exposed and observed (Bauman, 2001). The debate between structure and agency (Archer, 1982) is the key to address this dimension of identity. This study will establish a set of perspectives that attempts to understand contemporary Chinese people, drawn mainly from historians’ scholarly efforts. These perspectives involve the role of the Chinese state, historical contingencies and consumer capitalism (i.e. structure) in conditioning contemporary Chinese people’s values and behaviours. Following Sandberg and Alvesson (2011), this research is drawn from problematisation of existing theories. It is a response to the dominance of quantitative empirical research that concerns business marketing and a lack of in-depth exploration into the values, and political and socio-cultural implications to Chinese individuals. It calls for a departure from essentialist and deterministic perspectives of Chinese culture; and from the uncritical analysis of the political context of the development of tourism in China (Nyíri, 2006). In so doing, the thesis has employed multiple methods to explore virtual media spaces, and tourism spaces where it is possible to observe the identities of Chinese visitors. Adopting documentary source analysis, discourse analysis, ethnomethodology and ethnography, the research explores particularities, deeper meanings and subtleties associated with the practices and narratives of Chinese visitors. Drawn from two sample news articles from The Guardian and The Daily Mail, it is found that Chinese visitors are represented primarily through shopping patterns, which were however appropriated by online readers, who utilised a range of discourses (e.g. anti-immigration, economic dependency, international trade relations) to frame and discuss the Chinese subject (Weimann, 2000). This set of public identity of Chinese visitors is considered as UK’s host nation perspective, which was not expressed by English employees in retail servicescapes (Bitner, 1990). Adopting ethnomethodology (Garfinkel, 1976), I worked alongside these workers and attempted to illicit their responses to Chinese visitor behaviours. Their presentation of self (Goffman, 1967) suggests that their authentic views were not obtained. With the aim to dwell into the subjectivity of Chinese individuals, I travelled with a group of Chinese students who came to London for a three-week educational tour. I observed their experiences in the classroom, during sight-seeing and relations with their host families. I conclude that the Chinese state has not extended cultural authority (Nyíri, 2006) in UK tourism and pedagogical spaces. Following Zhang and Schwartz (1997), after Derrida (1994), I adopted the theory of critical inheritance to investigate how Confucian values are adapted and redacted in contemporary China. To explore students’ gift consumption practices through the deconstructed framework of guanxi and filial piety, I discovered that students were not free from disassociating filial love to consumer goods. Many students had a strong patriotic identity, shaped by anti-Western sentiments, expressed in quotidian ways of speaking and action (Billig, 1995). With respect to global identity, they distinguished themselves from the peer through their appreciation of Western popular culture (Bourdieu, 1984), and exhibiting an aspirational identity (Hall, 1996b). Although institutional Black racism (Fanon, 1986) is prevalent in China, students’ individual morality was found confronting racial prejudice, observed from their relationships with host families. Chinese individuals are historically and politically conditioned, however they negotiated wider structures in both their home society and in a culturally different environment. The researcher is influenced by the cultural studies tradition (Hall, 1980) and post-positivist realism (Moya and Hames-Garcia, 2000), which rejects the position of epistemological relativism. This research topic arose from the connection between public issues of social structure, relating to China and its international relations, and the researcher’s personal observation and sensitivities towards conflicts that could be described as relating to the politics of place arising from these issues (Mill, 2000).

This thesis concentrates on the subject of destination marketing with a specific focus on the process of developing strategiesthrough a Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) for a peripheral area, illustrated by a case study from the Danish island of Bornholm. It investigates the theoretical foundations for destination marketing, concluding that there should be a shift in focus from general marketing theory to a broader application of organisational theories and associated fields, enabling the DMO to improve performance. The specific conditions for and structures of peripheral areas indicated that the process in these areas should be adapted to the circumstances generally experienced there. Specifically the predominant occurrence of life-style businesses in peripheral areas, either as micro- businessesor SMEs, which are planning on a short-term basis, need to be included in the strategic planning process by viewing them as `cooperative customers'. Thus, applying the principles of marketing to the development of the strategy itself and viewing the strategic plan as a `product' of the DMO. The theoretical analysis showed that DMOs cannot control all of the components of the marketing mix, but they can cooperate with the providers of the destination mix and incite `coopetition' for the benefit of the visitors. The case study portrayed the DMO at a mature cold-water resort in a European peripheral area; it also illustrated the general development of tourism to the island and the impact of this development on the organisational structure of the tourism industry. It is assumed that the findings are transferable to other destinations that operate under similar conditions.

The United Nations Research Institute of Social Development (UNIRSD) published a monograph after their workshop in Geneva 1994 on the development of Cambodia. Among the various issues the workshop revealed the pressing need for research regarding the post-conflict economic strategy, the socio-psychological effects of the war, appropriate forms of foreign aid and delivery mechanisms, and the roles and responsibilities of different types of local, national and international institutions involved in processes of rehabilitation and reconstruction. In response to this fundamental quest for knowledge, this study is designed to investigate the development of tourism in the war-tom Cambodian economy in the mist of poverty and social problems. International intervention and assistance, the role of government and the Third Sector!, and community participation are key embedded units for the study. The thesis also intended to examine the appropriateness of the approaches employed by the government and international aid in promoting tourism. Although this thesis focused on Cambodia, findings and discussions are highly relevant to other less developed countries (LDCs), especially those having a background of war and/or civil turmoil. The thesis also addresses questions related to tourism as a development agent for economic growth, social rehabilitation and political development. For example: • How can tourism serve to reactivate processes of economic growth and social development without seriously affecting the allocation of resources and current structure of the economy? • How can tourism development be activated given the contextual limitations? • Why should government intervene in the development process and how does one ensure the results will be accomplished with minimal disturbance to the social system? • What kind of new social problem(s) and/or distortions in the economy, if any, have been induced by tourism and/or the liberalization of the economy? The delimitation of the study to tourism is for practical reasons. On the one hand, it is impossible to investigate the situation in Cambodia and make meaningful recommendations without refining the scope of study. Tourism, on the other hand, is the world's largest single industry and one on which many countries have pinned their hopes. It is renowned for its ability to generate income, to attract foreign investment, to create employment and as some including the World Tourism Organization and the Pope John Paul II even argue for its capability to promote peace2. This thesis developed a tourism system model by theoretical induction making use of Cambodia as the subject of study. The ultimate vision of the study is to enhance the body of knowledge and thus to capitalize tourism as a development agent for the rehabilitation of a war-tom economy and social institutions to fight both poverty and marginalization. The findings of the study revealed the most current situation in Cambodia by applying the model of the tourism system and the model for tourism development proposed. The proposition that free-market capitalism might not work for less developed countries was tested and proved to be valid. This thesis revealed the barriers and potential of tourism as a development agent for LDC by using Cambodia as the subject for investigation. Specific recommendations were given. Although it might seem controversial given the difficulties as illustrated in the analysis, Cambodia has very limited option for development. The thesis also argued that many obstacles in the development are administrative. Once the problems were addressed, a significant increase in demand can be expected. This study attempts to provide answers to developmental questions. However, more questions and gaps in knowledge emerged in the process of the study. This study, as originally designed, is not an end in itself but a stepping-stone to further studies. To conclude, allow me to cite the words of Joan Healy, Overseas Service Bureau Australia, "to understand the meaning of this time we do well to see it through the experiences and aspirations of ordinary Cambodians. Then our questions change. We ask about ways they see to ease suffering and contribute to peace. We face the fact that we do not know so many answers.

This thesis aims to address the research gap of understanding the relationship between "creativity" and "job-related motivators" in Hong Kong Chinese hotel employees. The Psychometric approach to measure creativity was adopted, and specifically Byrd's model (1971) was used as the instrument to measure creativity. Risk taking and Creativity are the two factors in Byrd's model. Kovach's (1980) ten job-related motivators were adopted as the measurement of work, which includes both intrinsic motivators and extrinsic motivators. Moos' (1986) Work Environment Scale was adopted as the instrument to measure organisational climate. This instrument has three dimensions, the relationship dimension, the personal growth dimension, and the system maintenance and change dimension. The sample consists of 983 hotel employees, and the data were gathered using the questionnaire method. The data analysis proves that there is a relationship between creativity and job-related motivators (r = 0.311) with a high significance level at 0.000. However, there is no significant difference found for this relationship in the eight different organisational climates, High vs. Low organisational climate and various innovative indexes. Two demographic variables, i. e. "Education level (r = 0.469) and "Level of Job" (r = 0.444) were found to exert a significant difference over the relationship between creativity and job-related motivators. The study also discovered there is a relationship between creativity and organisational climate (r = 0.339) with high significance level. Similarly, no significant difference existed in the eight sub-sample organisational climates. A number of 2 way MANOVA tests were conducted and significant differences were found which justified further ANOVA and post hoc tests. In each dimension (creativity, job-related motivators, organisational climate), several interaction effects were found in various demographic factors. The author developed a See-Saw model to explain the relationship between creativity and job-related motivators. Like the see-saw in every child's playground, both sides (creativity and job-related motivators) of the rod of the see-saw can be independent variables, and they can both exert a force on each other. Risk-taking was found to be placed on the far left side, while Intrinsic Motivators was found to be placed on the far right side. The author recommends six C's for motivating creativity in the hotel industry in Hong Kong. They are: 1. ) Creating a macro culture by education, 2. ) Commitment from top management, 3. ) Congratulating success by reward and recognition, 4. ) Courage - risk taking, 5. ) Change - willing to accept new things and 6. ) Communication - exchanges of opinions for incubating creative ideas. To conclude, this research satisfies both etic (universal) and emit (cultural specific) objectives. The etic approach proved that creativity is found in Chinese culture, and there is a relationship between creativity and job-related motivators. However, there was no significant difference by different organisational climates in the Hong Kong Chinese culture (emit approach). National Chinese culture may have a more influential impact over this relationship.

This study addressed the issue of residents' perception of tourism in two Small Island developing states and sought to compare resident's support for tourism between a mature destination and a less developed destination. This was achieved using a linear model, based on previous work by Jurowski et al (1997). Another objective was to compare the findings with those of a previous study conducted in 1990. Employing ethnographic techniques, the research was carried out on the two peripheral communities of Speightstown and Charlotteville in the Caribbean islands of Barbados and Tobago, respectively. The first stage involved a pilot study which consisted of two focus group meetings. The outcome of these sessions provided useful information for refining the draft questionnaire, which underwent further refinement after piloting on the streets. The second stage was the main survey of 420 residents conducted over 8 weeks using the questionnaire as an interview schedule. The findings suggest that there is widespread support for tourism development in both communities despite their varying levels of tourism sophistication and residents' perceptions of negative consequences of tourism. This apparent paradox was explained by Social Exchange Theory. Key variables which influence support for tourism were found to be personal and community benefits, socio-environmental impacts and community attachment. A proposed Caribbean Tourism Support Model was found to be more applicable in the Barbados context and this may suggest that several other factors influence tourism support in emerging destinations such as Tobago. This study makes a useful contribution to the body of knowledge on hosts' perceptions of tourism as it builds on previous research conducted in other countries while it provides empirical evidence of the applicability of established theories reported in the subject literature. Further, its significance is also derived not only from its use of consistent methodologies in each of the two study areas, but also in the fact that both surveys were conducted within the same timeframe. In this light, it may be considered pioneering research. Nonetheless, this study remains exploratory in nature indicating that further research is necessary in developing a deterministic model of support for tourism development in a contemporary Caribbean context.

This research investigates the perceptions of hill tribe people in Northern Thailand of the sociocultural impacts and changes in their communities resulting from the interaction between themselves, their communities and the incoming mainly Thai, origin, external tourism actors (ETAs), such as tourism authorities, tourism businessmen / investors and tour operators. In Thailand, most studies on the impacts of tourism have been limited to economic analyses, and the socio-cultural impacts of tourism on hill tribe people has been under-researched. Of the previous studies of the socio-cultural impacts of tourism, the majority have examined the impacts from host and guest interactions, emphasising the negative social impacts resulting from the influx of tourists in general. Specific research on the interaction of local hill tribe people with incoming ETAs has not been reported. To fill this gap, this research aims to compare the perceptions of two hill tribe peoples (the Karen and Hmong), both those working for ETAs and those who do not, in terms of their employment experiences and perceived socio-cultural impacts resulting from the arrival of ETAs. In order to achieve the research aim, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. A sequential approach was adopted incorporating a mixed methods design in order to better answer the research challenge of exploring the participants' views and perceptions. Building on a thorough literature review the first phase of primary data collection adopted a qualitative approach. Focus groups were used to explore the local hill tribe perceptions towards the interaction between ETAs and themselves, and their perceptions towards socio-cultural impacts upon themselves and changes in their community. Then semi-structure interviews were used to gain more in-depth details from selected participants. Themes from this qualitative phase were then used in the second stage of primary data collection to develop an essentially quantitative questionnaire, to measure, by means of a large scale survey, the perceptions of the selected population. The fmdings suggest that exposure to the social and cultural characteristics of ETAs, have significantly influenced some of the values, beliefs and lives of tribal people. However, despite the impacts resulting from the arrival of ETAs, these hill tribe people tend to be in favour and perceive these impacts and changes as positive changes. Moreover, the fmdings also suggest that differences in ethnic background, working environment and gender can be factors that influence perceptions of these hill tribe people. However, each factor, ethnicity, working environment, gender, exerts differing degrees of influence upon the perceptions of these hill tribe people toward different issues regarding impacts from ETAs. In addition, individual's perceptions toward impacts from ETAs differ despite their having the same ethnic background. However, the evidence gathered suggests that ethnic background does still control, to a degree, these differences with the result that while people's perceptions do differ in many ways nevertheless those from the same ethnic background tend to show greater similarities in their perceptions and actions when compared to those of different ethnicities. To this end, this study has pointed out several recommendations for future research together with the implications of the findings from this research on tourism management and policy makers.

This is an inductive research project which critically evaluates the application of stakeholder theory to the analysis of tourism destination networks. It explores the dynamics of the relationships between the tourism organisations involved using the case of Agra, India. Cities and towns become tourist destinations because of the activities of a large number of organisations to provide attractions, accommodation, and accessibility. Understanding the relationships between these organisations can explain how tourism developed and is currently managed, which will in turn help not only existing and potential tourism businesses but also destination management organisations to act more effectively. This research examines the relationships of power and dependency that exist between individual and group organisations and the way in which they motivate their behaviour towards each other in a tourism industry. The review of the literature identifies the key attributes of stakeholder power in these relationships to be resource and network bases of power. However, tourism stakeholders join social networks and power can be limited by ethical constraints, either embodied in laws and regulations, or in mutually accepted codes of behaviour. These sources of influence are termed legitimacy. This research also demonstrates that urgency is an important attribute and this is examined because it is instrumental in making these relationships dynamic. Qualitative interviews were conducted with tourism stakeholders (both commercial and non-commercial) in Agra, India to identify and analyse the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of their relationships with others within their network. Consequently, these relational-attributes were further sub-classified to aid a better understanding. An analytical framework is developed to facilitate understanding and evaluate the implications of stakeholder relationships within a tourism destination scenario. Consequently, it was found that urgency is the most important attribute of all with respect to making a decision or carrying out an act.

This research explores the followers of the book The World’s Most Dangerous Places. These tourists deliberately travel to dangerous destinations where there is a high level of violence due to civil unrest, conflict or war. The research has focused on the Black Flag Café, an online tourism-based community created by the writer Robert Young Pelton, author of the books Come Back Alive and The World’s Most Dangerous Places. This is a case study that has made use of virtual ethnography and descriptive content analysis to explore the forum and its members. The research has identified four factors which influence the forum members’ decision to travel to a dangerous place: a search for selfactualisation through “it” or peak experiences; a desire to improve self-image and to obtain status from travelling to dangerous places; a search for an “authentic” travel experience; and finally their awareness and perception of danger and acceptance of the residual risks involved in travel to dangerous places. The study shows that the forum members enjoy pushing the boundaries of risk, undertaking a form of edgework. The research also explores the forum members’ sense that travelling to dangerous places can result in other benefits including familiarity with death, gaining arousal from risk taking (flow) and the possibility of repeat travel to increasingly dangerous places. The conceptual framework developed from the research displays the danger tourist’s approach to travelling to dangerous places. This framework identifies five benefits which participants obtain from travelling to dangerous places: flow, self-actualisation, improvement to self-esteem, the achievement and/or maintenance of status and familiarity with death. While this framework has been developed for the tourists who travel to dangerous places, undertaking danger tourism, it could equally be applied to other high-risk activities.

The present research addresses a gap in the academic literature on the transformation and development of coastal destinations in the transition economy of Bulgaria. It takes further the tradition in tourism studies that calls for the incorporation of the contextual change in the process of destination development. The purpose of this study was to determine whether, and in what ways, the nature of the socio-economic and political transition has influenced the processes of tourism development of a coastal tourism destination in the period 1989-2009 and if the tourism stakeholders have incorporated and implemented the principles of sustainability in the transformation and operation of the tourism sector, with the associated questions of why, why not, and how. In order to answer the research questions, a case study research was undertaken in the Varna-Balchik destination on Bulgaria‟s North Black Sea coast, which allowed the study of the whole spectrum of developmental processes in the period of transition. Data for the research was collected using a multi-method research approach with a combination of secondary data and primary data gathered using qualitative research techniques including a series of stakeholder interviews and observation. The semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with decision-makers, involved in tourism development in the destination studied at some time over the studied period (1989-2009), from the stakeholder groups at a local, regional and national level. This research employed the path-dependent path-creative approach to analyse the nature of transformation and conceptualise the forces which impact on tourism development on Bulgaria‟s North Black Sea coast. The research findings indicated that sustainability did not fit well into the rapidly changing CEE transition context. In spite of the increasing empowerment of the local communities and their attempts to achieve balanced development by implementing integrated and long-term planning, the primary data revealed growing concerns over the ineffectiveness of policy-making, the increasing urbanisation of the coastal strip and the competitiveness of Bulgaria‟s North Black Sea coast tourism offer. An analytical framework was developed based on the research findings to explain the specific development path(s) of the destination studied. It took into account the political (politicising), psychological (mentalities), institutional dimensions of transition (property rights, social networks and local empowerment), the role of the state (reduced state intervention) and the individual (human capital). Some of these themes (politicising and mentalities in particular) have been largely absent from previous research on tourism in transition and from the wider tourism studies.

It is universally recognised that, globally, the tourism industry is a noticeable contributor to the carbon footprint. The magnitudes of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from specific tourism products and services at local levels are less established and large variations in estimates exist. Diversity of the tourism sector, constraints in data procurement and under-development of methods for tourism carbon impact appraisal are the primary reasons. These hinder accurate evaluations and hamper development of reliable carbon performance indicators, thus making direct comparisons between tourism products and services difficult. The issue of the ‘indirect’ carbon impacts, additional carbon requirements from the nonuse phases of a product or service life cycle, which can be further magnified by the supply chain, is of special concern. These carbon footprints have never been comprehensively assessed in tourism, especially at the level of specific products and services. The evidence from the non-tourism literature suggests that the ‘indirect’ carbon impacts from tourism-related activities can be high, thus calling for more indepth research on this issue. The aim of this study is to contribute to the development of reliable carbon footprint assessment methodologies in tourism. It proposes an approach for more holistic estimates of GHG emissions from tourism products and services and appraises the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method whose merit in estimating the ‘indirect’ carbon impacts is broadly recognised. The evidence of the application of LCA in tourism is limited. To test the viability of a new technique in the tourism context, the study employs a case study approach and applies a simplified derivative of LCA, Life Cycle Energy Analysis (LCEA), to assess the carbon footprint from a popular tourism product, a holiday package tour. LCEA is compared against existing methodological alternatives for estimating carbon footprints from holiday travel. This is to understand strengths and weaknesses in the LCA (LCEA) approach, to critically evaluate the new technique compared to the alternatives, and to identify the most accurate and cost-effective method for holistic assessment. The assessment results demonstrate the importance of the ‘indirect’ GHG emissions in tourism. The findings also show that, despite the new outlook it brings to tourism carbon footprint appraisal, LCEA cannot effectively capture the full range of carbon impacts. This is because a number of methodological inconsistencies affect the accuracy of estimates. As limitations are also typical for the more established methodological alternatives, a new, hybrid LCEA-related assessment approach is developed. It is argued that this hybrid method can address the identified methodological shortcomings, thus representing currently the most rigorous technique for carbon impact appraisal in tourism. This study does more than reinforcing the methodological base for tourism carbon footprint assessment by developing a new method. It provides recommendations on how to improve the general quality and enhance the reliability of LCA (LCEA) for application in other industries where it has a long-standing tradition of use. Directions are also proposed on how to refine collection of the input data for carbon footprint assessment in tourism, in order to obtain more accurate results and reduce uncertainty in estimates. Last but not least, suggestions are made on how to integrate more carbon-effective practices in the design of specific tourism products and services.