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Reflections On How The Covid-19 Pandemic Can Change Tour Guiding, Luis Miguel Brito, Cristina Carvalho

International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

This short editorial paper reflects on the Tour Guiding industry in 2020 and the impact of COVID-19. The paper suggests that while the pandemic and its associated lockdowns has devastated the tourism industry, it has also encouraged those working in the industry to be more innovative and imaginative in their business practices. While the impact of the virus is acknowledged, it is proposed that 2020 may be a turning point in redefining tourism in general and Tour Guiding in particular.

International Journal Of Tour Guiding Research Volume 2(I) Table Of Contents, Kevin A. Griffin, Luis Miguel Brito, Glen Farrugia

International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

No abstract provided.

The Covid-19 Pandemic And Religious Travel: Present And Future Trends, Daniel H. Olsen, Dallen Timothy

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has had dramatic effects on both the health and economic stability of countries around the world. While several scholars and media commentators have suggested that the pandemic would be a good time to reset an unsustainable tourism system, left out of these discussions has been the impacts on religion and religious travel. The purpose of this paper is to review the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on religion and religious travel, including the tensions that have arisen between religious communities, governments and health officials. The paper then discusses potential futures regarding religious travel in a …

The ‘Dark Power’ Of Instagram: Prospects And Threats For Tourism Organisations, Nicola Capolupo, Valerio Giampaola, Gabriella Piscopo

International Journal of Islands Research

The key to understand and analyse the dynamic relationship between territories, organisations and tourists is currently undergoing significant changes. Due to both their endogenous and exogenous factors, territories should be read as complex adaptive systems (CAS), i.e. systems structurally composed of different sub-systems which interact with each other and help to improve the central systems thanks to the interconnections established among themselves. Thus, in this scenario, territories evolve into potential tourism destinations if these changes make them particularly attractive and capable of setting a profitable dialogue with new emerging tourists profiles. As a matter of fact, contexts and in which …

Evolution Of Tourism, Challenges, And Its Sustainability In An Island State: Case Study Of Malta, Silvio Attard

International Journal of Islands Research

This study analyses historic developments in Malta’s tourism industry, focusing on the changing characteristics of demand and supply. The recent surge in inbound tourism appears to be largely driven by increased air connectivity to and from Malta. The advent of low-cost carriers is considered an important positive supply shock on the local sector. At the same time, the sustained shift towards stays in private accommodation can be partly explained by changing preferences, but also by capacity constraints in collective accommodation establishments. Moreover, the paper discusses the economic importance of tourism for the Maltese economy. It also examines the issue concerning …

From Insularity To Islandness: The Use Of Place Branding To Achieve Sustainable Island Tourism, Angeliki Mitropoulou, Ioannis Spilanis

International Journal of Islands Research

This paper aims to outline the role that place branding plays in shaping a new framework for sustainable island tourism. Islandness, as a contemporary context, underlines that islands share a set of unique features and they need to be studied on their own terms; they combine elements of urban and rural regions at the same time. Place branding is evolving as a crucial element for differentiated marketing that conditionally can also form an alternative tool to achieve sustainability for island regions. Therefore, policy makers need to examine tourism policies for island regions through the lenses of Nissology. It is commonly …

Competitive Intelligence For Insular Territories, Pierre Fournié, Henri Dou

International Journal of Islands Research

For centuries, the intrinsic and ubiquitous parameters of insular territories have governed social, economic and political life within the island and with outer territories. Besides some biological and physical determinism, there exists a psychological factor that conducts islanders to feel that they possess a rich and a unique identity (Gombaud, 2007:593). Nowadays, islands are impacted by communication technologies and globalization, international law and politics. The opening to tourism, international trade and foreign capital, modifies the usual landmarks and often means that traditional activities and know-how are abandoned. Historically located at the periphery, islands suddenly appear at the centre of multiple …

Developing Island Identities Through Citizen Approaches? The Contribution Of Cultural Rights Exploratory Approach By Two Islands In Brittany, Leila Damak, Danielle Pailler

International Journal of Islands Research

The identity of insular territories is generally built from top-down and ‘institutionalised’ political logics. However, in the challenge for differentiation between territories and islands, these approaches have their limits. It appears necessary to coordinate external economic and tourism development issues with local territorial issues, by identifying cultural resources as understood by cultural rights. To deploy a renewed island territorial marketing, would be a question of implementing participatory projects and methodologies to meet the following challenges: How to create a common culture? How to promote citizen tourism? How to reveal the identities involved? Our research proposes to analyse the challenges of …

Wine Tourism In Island Destinations: The Case Of Crete, Nikolaos Trihas, Anna Kyriakaki, Efthymia Sarantakou, Konstantinos Tsilimpokos

International Journal of Islands Research

Wine tourism is a type of special-interest tourism which has recorded a remarkable growth over the past few years, creating challenges and opportunities for wineries and wine regions to diversify and gain a competitive advantage. Many wine regions around the world – including several island destinations such as Tenerife, Sicily, Santorini, Corsica, Sardinia – have recognised the economic benefits of wine tourism, although much effort is needed to transform a wine region into a wine tourism destination. Within this framework, this paper aims to explore the level of wine tourism development in the Greek island of Crete. To achieve this …

Ijir Title Page And Table Of Contents Vol. 1(1), Giovanni Ruggieri, Patrizia Calò, Razaq Raj, Kevin A. Griffin

International Journal of Islands Research

No abstract provided.

Branding The Sacral Landscape: Religious Content In Regional Tourism Marketing, Set In A Post-Secular Society, Markus Hilpert

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

There is a paucity of research on the branding of sacral landscapes as a regional strategy in tourism marketing. On the one hand, the concept of place branding, to date, has been transferred very little to sacred destinations, while on the other hand, religious content and modern tourist marketing barely fit together. Nonetheless, the perception of religion in a postmodern society opens up new opportunities for sacred places to reposition themselves in the competition faced by tourist destinations. The aim of this article is to show how German tourism regions with a religious focus build their brand. Through analyzing six …

Anchorite Sacred Caves In Serbia: Balancing Between Pilgrimage And Religious Tourism Development, Aleksandar Antić

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Serbia is a country with diverse karst terrain, full of various surface and underground karst formations. This terrain is one of the factors that influenced the development of cultures and civilizations in this area. Many archaeological findings indicate that prehistoric people found refuge, safety and peace in many caves in present-day Serbia. The natural environment has also influenced many spiritual endeavours, which have shaped cultural identities throughout history. In this study, Orthodox anchorite sacred caves in Serbia are explored, as well as their related pilgrimage activities and potential for religious tourism development. For the purpose of this research, three pilgrimage …

(Re)Inscribing Meaning: Embodied Religious-Spiritual Practices At Croagh Patrick And Our Lady’S Island, Ireland, Richard Scriven, Eoin O'Mahony

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Responding to calls for critical interrogations of pilgrimages, our paper examines how different religious meanings are (re)inscribed in spaces through the performance of annual events in a post-secular context. This focus reveals how pilgrims’ embodied practices are fundamental to continuing definitions of these locations as sacred places. Using accounts of the Croagh Patrick and Our Lady’s Island pilgrimages in Ireland, we trace the movement of people in these spaces focusing on how meanings are forged, refracted, and challenged through the performances. These mass embodiments assert traditional understandings of Christian worship and looser spiritual interpretations, while simultaneously involving secular concerns. The …

The Consequences Of Guiding Profession Deregulation For The Status And Training Of Tourist Guides: A Portuguese Overview, Luis Miguel Brito

International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

In the present neoliberal market economy, the so-called free tours and their unlicensed tourist guides found the perfect environment to practice their activity, which is often criticised by licensed guides. The overall difference between the two types of guides is related to the fact that licensed guides have a formal specific education and training to do their job, sometimes complemented with continuous professional development, whereas free tours’ guides don’t. Therefore, several questions come to mind: Since unqualified guides are actually working without any training, should there be any formal education for tourist guides? How useful is formal and continuous training …

The Role Of Tourist Guides In The Multi-Vocal Presentation Of Heritage, Veronica Barbara

International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

People tend to think of heritage sites as places for education and entertainment. In reality, visitors also seek sites for other reasons, often more personal in nature. This is due to the different voices within the heritage experience which make sites not only highly contested areas but also sensitive spaces to interpret and present. Based on the qualitative research done for an MA dissertation entitled ‘Are we being multi-vocal? The case of presenting Archaeological Heritage in Malta’, the author explores the different values that artefacts and sites have for different people and how the visiting experience can lead from the …

Roles And Responsibilities Of A Tourist Guide And Their Trainers: Reflections And Recommendations, Vincent Zammit

International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

My first ever guiding experience, was telling stories to my siblings and cousins, and other friends who would bother to come with me around the streets of my home-town, Valletta. I remember my first visit to an exhibition, back in 1970. As a 15-year old I was impressed with all the exhibits, coming from all over the world. I also remember reading the captions and wondering how was it possible to remember all that information. Maybe the seeds of guiding were already there. Interest in visiting places and guiding continued. For thirteen years I worked as a guide with the …

On Tourist Guiding: Reflecting On A Centuries-Old Profession And Proposing Future Challenges, Luis Miguel Brito, Glen Farrugia

International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

This paper provides a historical overview of Tourist Guiding, followed by some thoughts and reflections on how we can improve and develop our profession into the 21st Century. Thus, the paper traces the main developments of the profession through time. The idea of the paper is to offer a context to this new Journal, and hopefully entice the reader to draw useful parallels when critically reading the content of this and future issues of this publication.

Introduction To The International Journal Of Tour Guiding Research, Glen Farrugia, Luis Miguel Brito, Kevin A. Griffin

International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

No abstract provided.

Ijtgr Volume 1(I) Table Of Contents, Kevin A. Griffin, Glen Farrugia, Luis Miguel Brito

International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

Table of Contents for the Inaugural Issue of The International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

Governance In A Globalised World, Richard Woodward

Books/Book Chapters

Discussions surrounding the sources of power and authority that govern the social world have taken place since ancient times. Finally, in the latter half of the twentieth century, it appeared that this debate had been decisively resolved in favour of the view that governance was the preserve of governments. This was a consequence of the ascendance in the social sciences of methodologies that presupposed human activities to correspond to the territorial boundaries of sovereign states. The privileging of sovereign territoriality did not reflect a poverty of scholarly thinking but was a by-product of their social world. (Taylor, 1996). By the …

Spatial Changes Of Pilgrimage Centers In Pilgrimage Studies – Review And Contribution To Future Research, Justyna Liro, Izabela Sołjan, Elżbieta Bilska-Wodecka

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Pilgrimages and pilgrimage centres are a subject of research often undertaken from the perspective of geographic sciences. Geographical research on pilgrimage movement and sanctuaries is important due to its focus on the spatial aspect. This article analyses the current state of research on pilgrimage centres. The main trends of the current studies include: the phenomenon of pilgrimage in terms of religion, society, culture and tourism; as well as its impact, including on the development of the settlement and; studies of pilgrimage centres, in particular their impact on space in various spatial and temporal scales, as well as; the conclusions drawn …

Understanding How Social Entrepreneurs Fit Into The Tourism Discourse, Ziene Mottiar, Karla Boluk

Books / Book chapters

This chapter discusses how social entrepreneurs fit into the existing tourism discourse. It examines four areas of literature in particular, tourism entrepreneurs, sustainability, destination development and intrapreneurship, and analyzes how introducing the concept of social entrepreneurs into these discussions is useful, and contributes to our understanding. Furthermore the paper illustrates that as social entrepreneurs are relevant to a broad range of issues in the tourism literature this should prevent the development of research silos where social entrepreneurship scholars seek out their own vein of research. The nexus of common ground and interests, as displayed in this chapter, should enhance the …

The Importance Of Local Area As A Motivation For Cooperation Among Rural Tourism Entrepreneurs, Ziene Mottiar

Articles

This paper explores the issue of entrepreneurial motivations among rural tourism entrepreneurs in choosing to engage in cooperation. It analyzes literature which deals with the role of entrepreneurs and the development of rural destinations and highlights the fact that the role of entrepreneurs has been understated. Using mixed research methods and studying two rural areas in Ireland it addresses research questions such as why do rural tourism entrepreneurs engage in cooperation? How did this cooperation emerge? And how do they choose who to co-operate with?

The key finding is that while these entrepreneurs are motivated to co-operate as they think …

Demographic Characteristics Influencing Religious Tourism Behaviour: Evidence Form A Central-Eastern-European Country, Anna Irimias, Ariel Mitev, Gabor Michalko

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Although religious tourism and pilgrimage have been widely studied there is very limited research that explores the peculiarities in attitude and behaviour among tourists with different demographic factors. The present exploratory study enhances the discussion on perception of religious tourism behaviour. Specifically, eleven statements on attitude and behaviour were explored among 345 Hungarians with different socio-demographic backgrounds. The results show that there are significant variations between senior and young travellers: seniors see as important, the educational purposes and feelings of national identity related to sacred sites while these are less motivating for the young. The frequency of participating in religious …

Shrine Pilgrimage (Ziyārat) In Turco-Iranian Cultural Regions, Mehdi Ebadi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Academic studies, dedicated to various aspects of religiously motivated travel have increased steadily, especially in recent years. Despite the huge amount of publications related to tourism and religious pilgrimage, there is still a gap between abstract theory and empirical research. Studies devoted to pilgrimage in the developing countries generally, and Islamic regions in particular are rather few in number in spite of its socio-economic importance and widespread practices. The present work tries to address this relative lack of attention and will shed more light on the tradition of shrine pilgrimage (known as ziyārat) in Turco-Iranian cultural milieu that is almost …

Ritual Journeys In North America: Opening Religious And Ritual Landscapes And Spaces, Daniel H. Olsen

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The religious landscape of North America is different from other regions of the world in that not only is there a lack of a highly visible religious elements, but also the idea and practice of pilgrimage and ritual travel is not as pervasive as in Europe and Asia. However, there are many human-built and natural spaces marked by Roman Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, Indigenous peoples, and members of other faiths which are subject to either formal or informal pilgrimage-like travel. Visits to these sacred sites have intensified with the rise and expansion of tourism after World War II, conflating pilgrimage-like travel …

Religious Tourism And Italian Sacred Mounts: Experiences Of Networking And Co-Operation At A Unesco Site, Raffaella Afferni, Carla Ferrario

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

A Sacred Mount is a historical holy site and former pilgrimage attraction. It is a devotional complex located on a mountain, and composed of a series of chapels and shrines in which scenes from the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary or the saints are represented through paintings and sculptures. In 2003 the Sacred Mounts of Piedmont and Lombardy were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List being considered as representative of something that can be understood, in part, through visitor interactions with the areas in which they are located (see Di Giovine, 2009:208).

The visitors to Sacred Mounts are: …

Forms Of Pilgrimage At The Shrine Of Khāled Nabi, Northeastern Iran, Mehdi Ebadi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage (religious tourism) is one of the fastest growing forms of tourism. Nevertheless, there is still a gap between abstract theory and empirical research about this form of tourism in the literature. This dearth of tourism studies is even more glaring in the field of Ziyārat or pilgrimage in Islam which in spite of its importance and wide extended practice have been mostly ignored in tourism and geographic literature. The present study features one such area that is (almost) unknown within the community of tourism and geography researchers. In Iran, religious pilgrimage has a long tradition. Numerous sacred places with …

A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Weekend–Trips In Religious Tourism: Insights From Two Cultures, Two Countries (India And Italy), Kiran A. Shinde, Katia Rizello

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper explains peculiarities, significance, and universality of weekend-trips as significant form of religious tourism using a comparative analysis of this phenomenon in two pilgrimage sites from two different cultures (and countries), namely, Vrindavan in India and the Shrine of Santimissi Medici in Italy. The findings derived from a case-study approach and visitors’ survey method confirm that religious tourism falls under the more general category of leisure and that visitors who flock to these places on weekends do not coincide either with general models proposed in the extant literature, nor can they be assimilated to the conventional categories of pilgrims …

The Museumification Of Rumi’S Tomb: Deconstructing Sacred Space At The Mevlana Museum, Rose Aslan

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tourists and pilgrims from across Turkey and around the world flock to the tomb of Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273), one of the greatest poets and Sufi masters in Islam. Since 1925, the Turkish government has relentlessly struggled to control Islamic influences in society and to channel people’s devotion to the memory of Kemal Ataturk (d. 1938) and his secular ideology. This article argues that by restructuring the layout and presentation of the tomb complex of Rumi, and putting the sacred space through the process of museumification, the Turkish state has attempted to regulate the place in order to control …