10th Critical Tourism Studies conference Opatija, 26th to 30th June, 2015 Methodological complexities in investigating the transformative potential of conscious tourism Tomljenovi ć , Renata Ateljevi ć , Irena This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
TOURISM ... ... transformational force for … since it involves great achieving world-wide movement of people and sustainability –embedded in money current political and social context …. It is an important economic • • EC „tourism helps to strengthen activity the feeling of European citizenship by embodying contacts and • It is a social force – 1 billion exchanges between citizens travellers in 2012 creating even regardless of differences in more contacts with hosts and language, culture and traditions” fellow travellers (2010) • European Tourism Forum (2013) „Tourism as a force for economic growth, social change and welfare” This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
CURRENT KNOWLEDGE • transformative power of tourism ignored in political and scholarly arena and engaging in issues of true sustainability is not considered serious scholarship (Webel, 2007) • studies on transformative power of tourism fragmented (Pritchard, Morgan, Ateljevic 2011) – Economic impact studies – economic contribution and competitiveness overshadows social aspects of tourism – Socio-cultural impact studies – monitoring impact/introducing remedial actions (planning framework); those grounded in sociology/anthropology focused on negative impacts – all ignore tourism potential to enhance well-being, QOL and social interaction – Tourist/consumer (demand-side) studies – focus on practical issues of motivation, satisfaction, experiences, decision making models; lack of insight into the process of personal changes undergone by tourists – Tourism studies in general – nurture isolationist approach studying tourism in its own right, based on rational, positivistic approach; transformation engaging with emotions, hopes and feeling devalued as they fall outside market parameters This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
ENVIRONMENT Over the last 50 years eco-system changed more rapidly than at any time in recorded human history (World Watch Institute) This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
ECONOMY • unrestricted growth strains our natural resources • reach – poor divide with 86 man(!) controlling 50% of world’s wealth with the gap increasing (Shiva, 2015) • millions of working poor – youth unemployment, longer working age, multi-generational households, food vouchers - realities of developed nations This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
• Increasing job stress and burnouts WHAT ABOUT US? • Pointless rat race • Lack of jobs security and high • happy on prozac personal debts • Lack of family security and • cancer and increasing divorce rates; • Social alienation and the lack of depression community – • Lack of spirituality and increasing existential questions on meaning of life Poverty and Inequalities Unhappiness Obesity Consumerism This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
CALL FOR CHANGE…. PARADIGM SHIFT • from the rational / positivistic world view of economic efficiency to ... • Transmodern paradigm – the new mind set: planetary citizenship of interdependence and biosphere politics, partnership model of caring economics, egalitarian and respectful vision for all living beings, spiritual (non-religious), circular, hopeful (Ateljevi ć 2009, 2011) The significant problems we have - cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which - we have created them. Albert Einstein This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
Transformation • ‘At the dawn of the Third Millennium, human civilization finds itself in a seeming paradox of gargantuan proportions. On the one hand, industrial and technological growth is destroying much of Nature, endangering ourselves, and threatening our descendants. On the other hand, we must accelerate our industrial and technological development, or the forces we have already unleashed will wreak even greater havoc on the world for generations to come. We cannot go on, and we cannot stop. We must transform’. ( Alan Atkisson (2006) ‘Sustainability is Long Dead - Long Live Sustainability’ In Keiner, M. The Future of Sustainability, pp.231- 243).
THEORETHICAL FRAMEWORK • Tourism as a social force – theme reinvigorated by the post 9/11 security and political challenges, economic and financial collapses and threats posed by climate change – Spurred by the ‘critical turn’ studies (Ateljevic, Pritchard, Morgan) rejecting positivistic paradigm Tourism and peace Transmodern paradigm Transformative travel • Peace as presence of justice, • New world vision – new value • Within confines of tourism harmony, equity, freedom, set emerged an idea that a wholeness, personal dignity, particular (transformative) travel • Cultural creatives ( Ray and society well-being – fruitful experience will alter the long- Anderson) theoretical foundation for term thinking of individuals to • LOHAS market segment tourism study (Heassly 2010) produce social change and • Out of which emerged: empirically under-explored delivers ideals of sustainable • transmodern tourists living and development (Ateljevi ć ) • Consious travellers (Pollock) This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
TRANS-TOURISM: Objective To critically investigate the role of tourism in attaining the vision for sustainable world of peace and harmony and to develop tools and options in order to provide policy proposals and practical models to harness the transformative power of tourism This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
RESEARCH CHALLENGES • Methodological complexities – Tautology - are participants in transformative travel experiences already transformed? – Research focused on attitudes but there is a weak link between attitudes and behaviour; how likely that the exposure to new perspective will lead to the behavioural change? – Taking immediate post-trip measurement likely to fail to capture any behavioural change? – For transformative travellers to become sustainability ambassadors – do they pass on new values, attitudes and behaviour to the members of their social circles? – If tourism is a transformative social force then transformative tourism practices need to be built into the mainstream tourism experiences – an issue completely neglected. This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
TRANS-TOURISM: METHODOLOGY • Mixed – method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods • Target groups: a) Cultural creatives - to investigate the impact of travel (if any) on their transformation b) Transformational tourism entrepreneurs (motivation, business practices, key success factors) c) Tourism stakeholders – for mainstreaming transformative travel practices Geographical scope – European countries: • a) UK b) Germany c) Hungary d) Croatia This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
TRANS-TOURISM: METHODOLOGY (cont.) • Primary data collection: a) A survey of cultural creatives b) Discussion forum for those cultural creatives claiming transformation through travel c) In-depth interviews with transformational travel providers (12; 4 each in Hungary and Croatia, 2 each in UK and Germany) d) Participant observation in transformative travel experience (1 Croatia, 1 Hungary) e) Longitudinal ethnographic research of those partaking in transformative travel (in-depth interviews, diaries) f) In-depth interviews with national policy makers and tourism industry leaders for the mainstreaming in Croatia This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
Thank you! renata.tomljenovic@izgzt.hr irena.ateljevic@iztzg.hr www.transtourism.hr www.iztzg.hr This project has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, under the project no. 6164.
Recommend
More recommend
