JTHM 2014.4

Journal of Tourismand Hospitality Management

Volume 2, Number 4, April 2014 (Serial Number 7)

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D

Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Volume 2, Number 4, April 2014 (Serial Number 7)

Contents Tourism

A Model for Sustainable Tourism Development in Inland Latin American Areas: The Case of the Northern Region of Nicaragua 141

Diego López Olivares

The Business of Creativity and Creative Arts for Business: Perspectives on the Potential for Zambia’s Tourism Promotion 155

Venkatesh Seshamani

A New Thinking of Loyalty for a Travel Product 161

Pan Ying-Jen, Wang Yi-Fong, Liu Min-Hsiung

Designing Tourism Routes From Tourism Behaviors and Needs of the Tourists in Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand 167

Thudsanaiyawan Doungmala, Noppamash Suvachart

Urban Heritage and Tourism in the Gulf: The Case of Dubai in the UAE 174

Djamel Boussaa

Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, ISSN 2328-2169 April 2014, Vol. 2, No. 4, 141-154

A Model for Sustainable Tourism Development in Inland Latin

American Areas: The Case of the Northern Region of Nicaragua

Diego López Olivares

Universidad Jaume I de Castellón, Castellón de la Plana, Spain

Central American countries’ globalisation processes have improved macro-economic situations, as in the case of

foreign debt, the same cannot be said for human development, where traditional societies have not had the capacity

to respond to instruments introduced through the new knowledge society. Linked to this, tourism and services

provide an opportunity to these countries because of the wealth of both their natural and cultural tourism resources.

However, these developments must embrace sustainable models of tourism and to achieve this, tourism must not be

presented as an end in itself, but rather as a tool for development. Here, we apply the model for integrated tourism

development to the area of study (the Northern Region of Nicaragua, Las Segovias).

Keywords: sustainable development, integrated planning tourism, integral diagnosis

Introduction

Many Latin American counties are amongst the least developed, as is the case of Central America, where

Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, or Nicaragua form part of what is known as the geography of poverty and

inequality (Kanbur & Lustig, 1999; Romero, 2004).

Although the structural adjustment plans applied since the 1980s have made progress in correcting the

major macro-economic imbalances such as inflation, public debt, etc. (International Monetary Fund [IMF],

2000; Gwartney & Lawson, 2001), the social reality at a local and regional level is very different. Thus, the

adjustment plans for the liberalisation of international markets, within the framework of the processes of

globalisation of post-modern society at the beginning of the 1990s, went beyond the power or capacity of

governments to define and apply autochthonous economic and social policies, as is reflected in the case of

Nicaragua (World Bank, 1991; Vargas, 2001; Avendaño, 2000; 2002).

Thus, the processes of globalisation of post-modern society have left these countries clearly on the side of

the “loser regions” (Benko & Lipietz, 1994), with the very limited response capacity of traditional local societies,

whose socio-economic structures face difficulties in accessing the instruments of the new knowledge society.

Nevertheless, faced with this situation, attempts have been made over recent years to take advantage of the

new economic trends, which include those linked to the tourism industry (Sánchez & Moreno, 1999) as a

significant system and instrument to encourage regional development (Mill & Morrison, 1992; Gunn, 1994;

Sessa, 1998; Hall, 2000; López, 2005). This offer takes the form of environmental (the region contains 10% of

the planet’s biodiversity) and cultural tourism products (the pre-Columbian and colonial civilisations).

Diego López Olivares, professor of Regional Geographic Analysis, director of Laboratory for Studies, Organising, and Planning

of Tourism Areas, Faculty of Law and Economics, Universidad Jaume I de Castellón. Email: [email protected].

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D

A MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

142

However, in regional tourism development, we should not fall into the contradictions deriving from the

“developmentalism” that has repercussions for both environmental and socio-cultural aspects. All of this has

arisen from the application of strictly macro-economic and sectorial approaches, while tourism has a

“polyhedral” and “transversal” character, especially in inland areas where the offer is represented by the

territorial resources as a whole and the region’s sectorial activities, normally dominated by small businesses

(Trejos, 1999).

In this sense, many developing countries have mimicked developed areas and have prioritised these

macro-economic aims of tourism (Burns, 1999), in many cases represented by the PASOLP tourism planning

model developed by Baud-Bovy and Lawson (1998), offering products under the clearly exogenous formula of

“holiday destinations”. Concerning this, authors such as Go (1998) and Vanhove (1998) pointed out the

difficulties that these “enclave tourism” models have in developing countries since they practically ignored the

local population. Concern has been expressed over this tendency in the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP, 2000) which states that development efforts have often focused on the encouragement of

economic expansion, while human development covers all the dimensions that contribute to defining the

quality and welfare of human life in an interdisciplinary way. Likewise, the development plan to emerge from

the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002 recognises the importance of

integrating the three components of sustainable development (United Nations World Tourism Organization

[UNWTO], 2001): economic growth, social development, and protection of the environment.

Hence, the old polemic on tourism planning facing developing countries is once again brought up here:

What should come first: tourism in the strictest sense or development? The answer is without doubt the latter.

Therefore, tourism must represent a way of encouraging, by means of integrated and sustainable strategies, the

global development, while putting the aim of the society’s welfare before the strictly sectorial objectives of

tourism.

Given the complexity of this approach (Murphy, 1985), planning efficiency must be improved through

greater participation of the local population so as to avoid endangering their viability, since social competitivity

is also involved alongside the economic issue (Aydalot, 1986; Camagni, 1991; Maillat, Quevit, & Senn, 1993;

Garofoli, 1995; Storper, 1998). How efficient this social competitivity will be depends on the capacity of

the social agents to act together and in agreement with various institutions; valid in relation to this is the

example to come from public institutions’ initiatives such as the European experiences of LEADER, PRODER,

etc. (López, 1999; 2009), in which tourism activities are integrated into general measures for action and present

an integrated “bottom up” plan.

In this sense, the integrated tourism analysis, in the same way as certain economic approaches, shares

cultural, social, and institutional valuations; in other words, the so-called “cultural turn” echoed in

the economic geography of recent years (Crang, 1997; Amin & Thrift, 2000; Hall, 2000; Moulaert & Sekia,

2003), which gives a more thorough view of what human development should be. In this respect, cultural

values can be efficient from an economic perspective, as they encourage, through their tacit knowledge in the

relational and organisational sense (Von Krogh, Ichijo, & Nonaka, 2000), the transmission of the processes of

innovation and management (Mariussen, 2001; Malmberg & Maskell, 2002), as well as bring values of

solidarity (Throsby, 2001) that, in the end, dictate the degree of economic success or failure enjoyed by a

society.


143

Finally, this paper expands on the conceptual aspects of an integrated tourism model and its application in

the Central American scenario, the case of the Northern Region of Nicaragua (Las Segovias), and presents the

results of the integrated tourism diagnosis.

Theoretical and Methodological Approach: Application in the Northern Region of Nicaragua

Based on the above, it is thus obvious that tourism initiatives lack of models and methodologies that match

the characteristics of each territory and the new notion of sustainable development, which would facilitate both

territorial and social cohesions.

Against this background, the main objective is to attain a series of strategies by means of models that bring

about improved development through integrated tourism systematisation, while. This involves carrying out an

analysis and diagnosis in which the specific objectives are as follows:

(1) To transform resources into products and enhance existing products;

(2) To match the product or products to the demand in order to establish the bases for greater competitivity

reinforced by training and new technologies;

(3) To propose territorial designs in accordance with the available resources;

(4) To identify “tourism environmental units” (TEUs) so as to prioritise exceptional projects;

(5) To match tourism development to the territory’s reception capacity.

Integrated tourism takes on importance as a result of the complexity and transversality presented by the

business of tourism. This is reflected in both the territorial and socio-economic and cultural dialectic of the

various spaces, where each area involved in this dynamic chooses a particular development model, thus

significantly influencing the characteristics presented by the basic tourism resources of the area.

Consequently, this requires not only the territorial planning of potential tourism zones, but also the

introduction of tourism planning models or methodologies based on integrated global strategies that foster

development in general. In this way, we approach a conceptual position in which tourism is presented as an

instrument for development rather than an end in itself. The weak socio-economic situation deriving from the

decline in agricultural structures, together with the healthy aspect of tourism and service industries may help to

generate synergies in other activities that to one extent or another form part of the tourist industry itself.

Tourism activity takes part in an integrated system, since tourism is constituted as a functional, dynamic

system that is, at the same time, socio-economically and spatially complex, where a variety of elements

interrelate in a constant process of readjustment. Thus, going beyond the simplification presented by the

UNWTO (1994; 1999), which basically recognises the two elements of supply and demand, our perspective of

development has a much broader dimension, integrating a range of different elements. In this line, the

integrated tourism system is made up of two levels (see Figure A1 in Appendix A), one of which, “A”, includes

a block of basic issues that represent the foundations of integrated tourism, amongst which we find territorial,

demographic, and socio-economic aspects. An analysis of these aspects should provide not only information on

the basic characteristics of these areas, but also their suitability to the territory where the tourism model to be

developed will be integrated. The second level, “B”, operates on the basis of level “A” and contains the

“elements of the tourism system” in the strict sense of the term. Amongst these elements, we highlight tourism

resources, markets or demand, companies directly related to tourism and those that generate synergies, and

institutions, which should facilitate factors that reshape the resources.


144

In addition, the conceptualisation of integrated tourism development must also intrinsically include the

following:

(1) The sustainability of resources, together with economic, social, and environmental viability and

profitability through productive qualification;

(2) The endogenous character of integrated development that forms part of sustainable development

(Cunha, 1988);

(3) An understanding that spaces are not of a closed nature, but that they participate in an “open system”,

although according to Dumolard, certain internal characteristics are preserved (Gómez Mendoza, Muñoz

Jiménez, & Ortega Cantero, 1994);

(4) Participation, since integrated tourism development requires society in general and both public and

private agents in particular;

(5) The carrying out of scalar approaches based on “TEUs”. These “TEUs” correspond to an area with a

basic territorial resource, or failing that, possess a minimum number of complementary territorial resources that

enable the advancement of tourism within that space (López, 1998; 2014).

Finally, eight phases make up the methodological planning process:

(1) Basic territorial demographic and socio-economic explorations; environmental explorations:

landscapes and environmental and urban settings; and quality of basic natural resources;

(2) Analysis and diagnosis of the tourism setting on sub-regional and regional scales;

(3) Inventory, evaluation, and potential of the tourism resources: quantification and distribution of

resources, resource hierarchy; resource weighting; and index of tourism potential;

(4) Analysis of the factors that affect the state of resource development: urban organisation and type of

settlements; building type and morphology; urban morphologies and main areas of identity; traditional fabrics

of society and new growth; communication and accessibility; and tourism management;

(5) Socio-tourism explorations into demand: survey of demand (in situ); interviews by means of

questionnaires with the main social and economic agents; telephone survey of travel agents in the main national

markets; round table discussions, explanatory day conferences aimed at raising awareness; and single-issue day

conferences on potential products;

(6) Analysis and diagnosis of the tourism companies and those companies that generate synergies on

integrated tourism development: diagnosis of tourism companies (state of infrastructures, diagnosis of human

resources, sources of financing and level of technology, extent of environmental impact, and degree of

competitivity, commercialisation, and marketing); diagnosis of theme tourism on which the companies are

based (present markets, potential markets, and non-regulated offer); and diagnosis of companies with possible

synergies with tourism development;

(7) Carrying out a global diagnosis by applying an SWOT analysis;

(8) A strategy proposal.

Application of the Integrated Tourism Model in the Northern Region of Nicaragua: The Departments of Estelí and Nueva Segovia

The study base in this research covers departments of Estelí and Nueva Segovia, located in the central

Northern Region of the Republic of Nicaragua (see Figure A2 in Appendix A). The two departments both share

a border with a third department, Madriz, and the three departments form an area known as Las Segovias.


145

The three departments cover an area of 9,212 km2 (Estelí 2,235 km2, Madriz 1,602 km2, and Nueva Segovia

3,123 km2) with a population of 430,953 inhabitants, which gives a population density of 46.78

inhabitants/km2.

The main indirect research sources for the research into these territories were: the Ministry of the

Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA, 2001); the Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER),

topographical map 1:50.000 numbers 2855 II, 2856 I-II-IV, 2857 II-III, 2954 I-IV, 2955 IV, 2956 I-III-IV,

2957 I-II-III, 2958 II, 3056 III-IV, 3057 III-IV, as well as the map of the administrative political division of

Nicaragua, scales 1:750.000.

For this territory areas study has been: the Nicaraguan Institute for Municipal Promotion (INIFOM), the

Nicaraguan National Statistics Institute. Associations referred to included: ADESO Las Segovias; the River

Estelí Basin Geographical Information Society (SICRE); the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute (INTUR); German

Technical Cooperation (GTZ); the Centro-American Integration System (SICA); and Fund for Tourism

Development (FODESTUR). The direct or field work resources included:

(1) Tourism resources. Fieldwork carried out during March, April, and May 2002, producing an inventory

with a total of 67 resources;

(2) The resources fieldwork was completed with contributions of the factors that reshape the offer in the

study area;

(3) Concerning demand, a total of 842 questionnaires were administered to tourists in 67 hotel

establishments in the departmental capitals of León, Granada, Managua, Estelí, and Nueva Segovia, and in the

tourism complex in Montelimar, on the coast of the department of Managua, with a sample margin of error of

+/-6% at a satisfaction level of 95.5%;

(4) Analysis of business structure.

Integrated Tourism Diagnosis of the Departments of Estelí and Nueva Segovia

Once an analysis had been made of the basic aspects and elements that make up the tourism system, we

went on to conduct an SWOT diagnosis of both the items making up the basic aspects and those comprising the

tourism system.

Synthesis of the Diagnosis of the Basic Aspects

Given the conditions of the population, there is still to a large extent a subsistence economy, partly as a

result of institutional weakness and scarce manoeuvrability on economic issues which, together with a fragile

social structure (deficiencies in the family structure and social roles), make any progress most difficult. The

property structure also has a major influence on this situation: the sharing out of land by the Sandinistas

(Reinhardt, 1987; Anibal, 1993) aimed to achieve greater social justice, but did not take into account that the

new structures generated, given that the conditions of production for essentially a coffee monoculture require

vast stretches of land to be viable, were destined either to the new trend to sell land or to a “kitchen garden

economy” with no guarantee of sustainability. However, positive aspects such as the importance of nationality,

the disposition towards sociability and political organisation together with the existence of social support

organisms were also in evidence.

Nevertheless, if the problems that give rise to poverty, in some extreme cases, are not solved, the risk of

social tension appears. To this end, a more integrated approach to solutions on the part of the administration

would be of great advantage.


146

In this sense, the economic structure is of vital importance to Nicaragua, and logically, also to the northern

departments. The burden of foreign debt, the interests on which constitute more that 15% of the fiscal

expenditure budget (Avendaño, 2000; 2002), should not be forgotten. This situation creates foreign dependency

that determines and conditions the economic dynamic. This is reflected in the trade gap, with the slowing down

of exports due to low internal production and scarce diversification. Likewise, foreign dependency has led to

limited government investment manoeuvrability, which has been most acutely felt in investment in services

with a direct repercussion on social welfare, reflected in the poverty of the country and the region.

The high costs of resources for production and the comparative advantages given to industries located in

free zones (Agosin, 2001), together with a financial market that finds it difficult to raise capital and designate it

to investment in production, reflect a lack of competitivity, especially in industry and agroindustry.

In spite of this situation however, Nicaragua, specifically the north, has natural resources that together

with certain macro-economic aspects, economic liberalisation, reduction of the tax deficit, reduction in foreign

debt, and reduction of inflation (Banco Central de Nicaragua [BCN], 2000; IMF, 2000) are seen as clear

strengths for future development.

Diagnosis of Tourism System Elements

Territorial tourism resources and “TEUs”. A total of 67 territorial tourism resources are to be found in

the departments of Estelí and Nueva Segovia. If we apply the analytical integrated evaluation (López, 1998),

their total value amounts to 136.25, of which 44.67% are historical-monumental, 28.40% are natural-landscape,

24.37% craft and gastronomy, and 2.56% folklore.

This implies that from an intrinsic perspective, these resources present medium-lower values,

particularly the natural and craft resources, although their low level of organisation and planning somewhat

lowers their value to tourism (see Tables 1 and 2). The final hierarchy of the resources is obtained by

multiplying the number of resources by the square of the obtained hierarchy, which for the study area reaches

the value of 336. In this sense, one positive aspect is that the variety of resources and their geographical

concentration enable us to propose a series of five “TEUs”: the town centre of Estelí; Miraflor-Moropotente;

Tisey-La Estanzuela and its immediate surroundings; the town of Condega and its surroundings; and the

town centre of Ocotal.

Furthermore, clear opportunities are also revealed, such as the increasing international interest in the

potential tourism products available in the north, a favourable climate, interest in the indigenous cultures,

administrative support.

The markets: demand. The most remarkable aspect regarding this factor is the lack of knowledge about the

country and the northern region by the tourist demand (see Figures 1 and 2). This is attributed to a long absence

of tourist information offices and the image of a country affected by conflicts, natural disasters, illnesses, etc..

The demand, in other words, the tourist visiting the northern region does not value the services provided as

highly as the self-evaluation made by the sector workers. Likewise, the low national demand for tourism

services (lack of promotion of the inland market) is presented as a setback or a weakness. This means that the

lack of product offer leads to a significant section of the potential demand remaining undefined. To this can be

added serious problems attending the increase in demand caused by the lack of structured products, which at

the same time should be accompanied by support in services (health, security, etc.) in order to achieve a

high-quality stay.


147

Table 1

Results of the Evaluation of Integrated Tourism Resources

Factor Variable Maximum score

Study of the area

%

Internal (X)

A. Intrinsic characteristics (specificity and singularity) 20 9.56 47.8

B. Degree of arrangement and internal planning 10

B.1. Infrastructures and degree of planning (5) 0.99 19.8

B.1.1. General infrastructure (2.5)

B.1.2. Urbanisation (2.5)

B.2. Tourist infrastructure and services (5) 0.71 14.2

B.2.1. Signalling and information service (2.5)

B.2.2. Equipment and services (2.5)

External (Y) C. External accessibility 10 5.64 56.4 D. Evaluation of the resource in the tourist market and volume of demand that it generates

10

3.40

34.0

Total 50 20.31 40.62

Notes. Source: Own elaborations. Calculation of primary hierarchy: J: (X + Y) × 5/50, where: J: Hierarchy; X: Internal factors;

Y: External factors; 50: The maximum score of the resource; and 5: The maximum hierarchy of the resource.

Table 2

The Analytical and Integrated Evaluation of the Tourist Resources in the Departments of Estelí and Nueva

Segovia (by Categories): Average Value of the Tourist Resources

Category

Internal factor (X) External factor (Y)

Hierarchy index A

B C D

B1 B2

Natural landscape 11.9 1.3 0.7 4.7 4.1 2.27 Historical monumental

7.9

0.8

0.6

6.1

2.3

1.77

Craft and gastronomy

11.1

1.1

0.8

5.6

5.1

2.37

Folklore and celebrations

7.5

1.2

1.2

4.5

3.0

1.74

Average total hierarchy

9.6

1.1

0.8

5.2

3.6

2.03

Note. Source: Own elaborations.

Despite all these drawbacks, the north presents some very positive aspects, including the fact that the

region’s clients value the service received more highly than that received by clients in the Pacific region.

The companies. This factor is notable for its lack of business culture and predominance of

micro-companies (see Figure 3) and at the same time determined by the high cost of technology, the absence of

which means that work is done with obsolete or old technologies. This low level of innovation presupposes the

continuation of traditional practices with deficient organisation at work, often manifested in overworked staff.

This, together with a poor tradition of business associations, leads to limited competitivity among firms, the

high costs of which foment the rapid disappearance of micro-companies.

However, the commercial tradition is present in all the difficulties mentioned, and the possibility exists to

create differentiating products by taking advantage of current legislation, although this legislation should be

more realistic vis-à-vis the possibilities available to the local businessman or woman. The company is

threatened by a series of problematics deriving from: the advantages provided in the free zones; the lack of


148

organisational capacity; the slow pace of financial reform; and the shortages in a code of good business

governance.

Deficient infrastructures are detected in the hotel and catering sector, particularly outside the departmental

capitals and the gastronomic variety on offer is limited, despite the availability of many exotic local products.

In part, this is due to a lack of knowledge by the population of these traditional values in the context of

tendencies within the tourism demand.

As for the administration, although laws do exist to encourage the tourism industry (INTUR, 1999), the

requirements for very high minimum standards make them somewhat difficult to apply, to which the problems

accompanying investment repayment must also be added.

The degree of commercialisation can be said to be low. This is affected by the few commercialisation

channels available, the lack of experience in the sector, and the lack of promotion. Likewise, the scarcity of

companies and resistance to forming associations, with practically all business activities in the hands of two

tour operators, represent a major handicap for the local businessman or woman.

Factors that reshape the offer. The serious deficiencies in the way the territory is organised, in particular

in the “TEUs”, represent a major weakness. Likewise, there is no adequate “main identification zone” (MIZ) or

“territorial access zone” (TAZ) in the town centres.

To this must be added the deficient road network, which shows very low densities especially in the main

network, or the problems linked to water and infrastructures. Deficits in services are also significant, particularly

in the scarcity of health services, due to low investment and high operating costs. On the other hand, the

north-to-south axis provided by the Pan-American Highway, together with low population density, appears as an

important strength for the north.

Nonetheless, certain aspects must be corrected because of the risk they present to tourism competitivity,

such as the lack of coordination, undisciplined town planning, and problems over investment prioritisation.

Figure 1. How well do you know the tourist resources of Nicaragua. Source: Office for Tourism Studies (GETUR), Universitat Jaume I.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

A little

Quite well

Well

Not at all/No answer

I know about the gastronomic and craft resources

I know about the folklore, celebrations,

and programmed events

I know about the monumental, technical,

ethnological, and artistic resources

I know about the natural landscape resources


149

Figure 2. How well do you know about the tourist resources of the Northern Region of Nicaragua.

Source: Office for Tourism Studies (GETUR), Universitat Jaume I.

Figure 3. Companies related to the tourist activity. Departments of Estelí and Nueva Segovia.

Source: Own elaborations, Instituto Nicaragüense de Fomento Municipal (INIFOM).

Conclusions and Proposals

In conclusion and as a strategy design, we can summarise that although the physical-natural environment

in the northern departments enjoys favourable aspects such as low seismic risk compared with other regions of

the country, or better climatic indices, the demographic and socio-economic situation of the area presents

serious hurdles to a balanced endogenous and sustainable development, to which must be added grave

economic and productive fragility marked by existing financing models.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

A little

Quite well

Well

Not at all/No answer

I know about the monumental, technical,

ethnological, and artistic resources

I know about the gastronomic and craft resources

I know about the folklore, celebrations,

and programmed events

I know about the natural landscape resources

30

738

1432

49 29

146

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600 A- Companies with main relations (hotels, inns, and shelters)

B- Secondary relations (restaurants, bars, taxi service, transport group, etc.)

C- Annexed services to the tourism (commerce)

D- Other annexed services (leisure and recreation)

E- Connected manufactures to the tourism (artisan factories)

F- Indirectly related activities (construction, mechanical factories, etc.)


150

Against this background, based as it is on a local endogenous and participative development approach, the

integrated tourism model may well provide an instrument to facilitate socio-economic activity.

However, in order to make this development possible in the departments of Estelí and Nueva Segovia, it is

necessary to improve the quality of the environment and its surroundings by bringing the basic infrastructures

up to standard in the departmental capitals and at the same time designing and strengthening the “MIZs”.

Likewise, the road connections among the main “TEUs” must also be improved. This must all be effected

under a local management plan so as to apply the principles of sustainable development.

These actions may at the same time facilitate the development of tourism products of this character

integrated with other activities. Products that may be created in accordance with the existing resources and with

the existing demand in the region are: cultural products associated with craft resources (leather in Estelí),

pottery produced using pre-Columbine techniques (Ducuale), archaeological resources (El Cebollal, Apagüis),

or murals (Estelí); nature/ecotourism in Miraflor-Moropotente or Tisey; agro-tourism based on the resources of

tobacco (Estelí) and coffee in Miraflor; or scientific tourism, given the tremendous potential in biodiversity and

the already existing facilities in both Miraflor-Moropotente (Ortiz & Barzev, 2000) and Tisey.

However, in order to activate and convert these resources into products, employee training must be

promoted, business and management training must take place in the small and medium-sized businesses and

business organisations, with a redefinition of the concept of the business network towards a strengthening of its

“relations” factor that takes advantage of both the tacit knowledge that forms part of the cultural wealth, and the

explicit knowledge to come from globalised knowledge and know-how.

The configuration of these products should be accompanied by communication and commercialisation

activities, both of which present major deficits. To do this, tourism know-how must be created on various scales

in order to place these receptor regions in the potential markets.

Finally, in order to successfully implement the above-mentioned aspects, tourism policy must be

optimised by means of public-private cooperation and partnership formulas, together with a commitment to

promoting a greater awareness and involvement of the population in the development of tourism. Of the steps

to be taken in tourism development, we highlight the following: to set up council-run tourism departments in

Estelí, Ocotal, and Condega; to create a register of craftsmen and women and craft industries, in line with

Law 306 (Art. 4.10.5); to set up a chamber for regional tourism in Las Segovias; and to promote new business

projects that will champion the figure of tourism entrepreneur, for which new financing programmes will be

needed that commit to improved design, presentation, and viability of the investment projects and supported by

the loan cooperatives linked to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as to the traditional banking

system.

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The Business of Creativity and Creative Arts for Business:

Perspectives on the Potential for Zambia’s Tourism Promotion

Venkatesh Seshamani

University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia

The Zambian government has identified tourism as one of the sectors that have the potential to promote growth and

reduce poverty. Zambia does have a considerable comparative advantage in the tourism sector. However, to date,

not enough has been done to translate that comparative advantage into competitive advantage. This paper discusses

a number of ways in which Zambia’s tourism sector can be more effectively promoted with a particular emphasis

on the development of the creative arts. The country needs to provide incentives and opportunities for Zambia’s

artists and also be able to aggressively market its tourist attractions to the outside world by developing

comprehensive, innovative, and cost-effective packages to potential tourists that will provide them with memorable,

authentic, and edifying experiences to carry home.

Keywords: creative arts, tourism, Zambia

Introduction

We live today in a globalized world characterized by open economies and intense competition. The

growth and development of countries, therefore, largely depend on the extent of competitive advantage they

are able to develop. Underlying competitive advantage is the comparative advantage that countries possess.

Many countries possess comparative advantage in many areas, but, owing to a number of factors, external

and/or internal, the comparative advantage does not get commensurately translated into competitive

advantage.

Zambia’s Sixth National Development Plan has identified tourism as one of the sectors that have the

potential to promote growth and reduce poverty. The long-term vision for the tourism sector is “to ensure that

Zambia becomes a major tourist destination of choice with unique features, which contributes to sustainable

economic growth and poverty reduction” (Republic of Zambia, 2011, p. 11). And this is rightly so, since

Zambia does possess comparative advantage in the area of tourism.

So far, however, there has been a somewhat narrow perspective of this comparative advantage. Zambia’s

tourism has been largely associated with only a few of its natural endowments: its major game parks with their

varied species of wildlife still living in primordial splendor; its environment still largely uncorrupted by human

encroachments and depredations; and its renowned Mosi-oa-Tunya/Victoria/Livingstone Falls, offering one of

the most spectacular and awe-inspiring sights in the world. But Zambia’s tourism potential is far more than

these, and it is in this respect that there has been a failure to translate fully the country’s comparative advantage

into competitive advantage.

Venkatesh Seshamani, professor, Department of Economics, University of Zambia. Email: [email protected].

DAVID PUBLISHING

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THE BUSINESS OF CREATIVITY AND CREATIVE ARTS FOR BUSINESS

156

Zambia, in other words, has so far made efforts to promote jungle tourism and also offer some adventure

tourism in terms of activities such as white water rafting on the Zambezi, paragliding, bungee jumping, walking

safaris. These are facets of ecotourism. Even in this regard, the country has not yet developed so many areas of

potential tourist interest. The list of such places in Zambia is indeed long. The world has little or no familiarity

with, for example, the Katolola rock paintings, Kapishya hot springs, Nachikufu caves, Mumbwa caves, and

several other waterfalls such as the Lumangwe Falls (the biggest waterfall that lies wholly within Zambia),

Kundalila Falls, and Chishimba Falls. In other countries, such places would have been prominently developed

and showcased as tourist resorts.

What is more, some of these places have become dilapidated owing to neglect, taking, for example, the

Nachikufu caves in Zambia’s Northern Province. Great excitement is offered by the climbing over the craggy

rocks to reach the mouths of three caves located at three levels on top. The caves date back to the Stone Age.

There is a small display of artifacts used by the cavemen within the entrance of the cave. But the glass case

enclosing these artifacts would be covered with layers of dust and one would have to scrub them out in order to

see what was inside the case. The reason is that Zambia’s Northern Province has hardly been envisaged as a

tourist destination.

Types of Tourism

Besides ecotourism and its subsets, there are also other categories of tourism that remain to be explored

and developed. Indeed, tourism is regarded as a major engine of growth in most parts of the world and each

country has been focusing on those categories in which they have discovered their own comparative

advantages. For example, medical tourism has become important in many countries, notably India and Mexico

(Liu & Chen, 2013). Dubai relies majorly on shopping tourism for its inflows of foreign exchange. In fact,

Dubai has been shown to become the most popular shopping tourism destination in the world, beating mega

cities like Paris, London, New York, and Beijing (Yahoo! Maktoob Research, 2011). And cultural tourism is

what brings in the needed revenue in many countries. For example, the State of Vatican City that has no

taxation relies almost exclusively on cultural tourism and in particular on the sale of tickets to museums and

sale of stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos, and on publication sales (Economy Watch, 2014).

Florence attracts millions of tourists every year and, during summer, the floating tourist population is even

known to exceed the local population. Just the sale of replicas of the Statue of Liberty (most probably made in

China) earns millions of dollars for the United States. In addition, there are also religious tourism and sports

tourism.

In the context of the different types of tourism, it must also be noted that tourists are not all the same. One

interested in religious tourism may have little interest in sports tourism. Similarly, tourists interested in

shopping would prefer to travel to Dubai rather than the Vatican. In view of this heterogeneity among tourists,

market segmentation becomes important for countries to study opportunities for their own spheres of

competitive advantage (Dolnicar, 2008).

If one looks at the list of the top tourist destinations of the world, only a few of them have any major

natural spectacle of the kind Zambia and other countries in Africa have. And yet, no tourist spot in Africa finds

a place within the top 25 most popular tourist destination attractions in the world, with the exception of Luxor,

Egypt as per the latest survey (Warner, 2013).


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The Role of Creative Arts in Tourism Promotion

If systematic planning and investments are made, Zambia’s image as a tourist destination can be

drastically changed. And one of the ways this can be done is through the development of creative arts. Indeed,

creative arts are becoming increasingly recognized as a major form of attraction for tourists. It is becoming an

important facet of cultural tourism. Richards (2011) stated that there is a rapidly developing relationship

between tourism and creativity. Such a relationship helps provide more authentic experiences that can be

co-created between the host country and the tourist. The tourist takes away more fulfilling and meaningful

impressions of the everyday life of the destination. This “experiential tourism” is in contrast to the serial

reproduction of mass tourism that has been in vogue so far (Richards & Wilson, 2006). Indeed, “Creative

tourism involves more interaction, in which the visitor has an educational, emotional, social, and participative

interaction with the place, its living culture, and the people who live there. They feel like a citizen” (United

Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2006). It is in this sense that the

philosopher Francis Bacon aptly wrote nearly five centuries ago that, “Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of

education; in the older, a part of experience” (Bacon, 1615).

Accordingly, countries interested in providing a genuine dose of their indigenous cultures to their visitors

are promoting creative industries and creative cities. In Europe, there are several notable examples of creative

tourism. Spain has the Creative Tourism Barcelona Program. France has established Creative Paris, offering a

range of creative experiences for visitors including visual arts, performing and culinary arts, fashion and design,

writing and philosophy, and gardening. Likewise, Austria has Creative Tourism Austria.

In recognition of the important linkage of creativity and creative arts to tourism, some countries have

assigned names to the Tourism Ministry to reflect this. For instance, the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and

Tourism has been renamed as the Ministry for Tourism and Creative Economy (Richards, 2011). Within Africa,

Ghana’s Ministry of Tourism is today known as the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts whose

objective is to ensure the development and promotion of tourism and improvement of the capital city Accra on

a sustainable basis. And this objective in turn “aims at optimizing the socio-economic growth and positive

environmental impact for the benefit of deprived communities in particular and the country at large”

(Government of Ghana, 2011, p. 1). The Ghana government also announced the setting-up of the Council for

Creative Arts to develop the creative industry. This is in addition to the Board of Tourism and Culture that

already exists.

Although tourism does have a lot of potential for generating growth and reducing poverty, countries have

to compete with one another in an already saturated market and, to do this, each country has to think of what it

can offer that is new or different. The development of creativity and creative arts is one such avenue for doing

this.

The Status of Creative Arts in Zambia

The unpleasant fact of the matter is that Zambia has for a long time not done enough to promote Zambian

arts and artists. We provide below a telling anecdote that exemplifies this situation:

“Years ago, this writer was walking inside Manda Hill, one of the malls in Zambia’s capital city Lusaka

and his attention was grabbed by some artistic products made out of wire displayed in front of the South

African chain store Shoprite. Three figurines that portrayed three traditional functions of African women in the


158

rural areas—fetching water, collecting firewood, and preparing a meal—were particularly impressive. The

artist had made each figurine out of a single piece of wire. Even after gazing at a figurine for some time, it

would not be easy to figure out which was the starting and which was the end point of the wire! Such was the

skill of the artist. By his appearance, one could make out that the artist was living in a state of penury and was

eager to sell his creations to get some money. After some bargaining over the price, he finally agreed to sell

each figurine for Zambian Kwacha 35,000 (roughly nine US dollars at the then prevalent exchange rate).

In other developed countries, they would have been worth a lot more. But the story does not end here.

Sometime later, this writer got the distressing news through the grapevine that the artist was no more. One

wonders how many artists of such remarkable talent Zambia may have lost over the years for lack of patronage

and opportunity to make a sustainable living out of their art”.

But Zambia has set up the National Arts Council whose purported mission is “to facilitate the promotion,

development, and nurturing of all forms of amateur and professional arts to a level of excellence countrywide

and to promote the arts into an integral part of the lives of the people of Zambia” (FilmZambia, n.d.).

The council comprises nine arts associations representing performing, literary, media, and fine arts. This was a

much needed step in the right direction. Hopefully, it could help prevent many living artists from meeting with

the sad fate of the artist who made those figurines. In the context of linking creative arts to tourism, perhaps the

mission statement should have been extended to making Zambian arts an integral part also of the experience of

visitors to Zambia.

But setting up an institution like the National Arts Council of Zambia is only the first step in the

promotion of creativity and creative arts. The institution must perform efficiently and show evidence of

fulfilling its stated mission. Already, the council has become bedeviled by controversies (see, for example,

Mulenga, 2012). Currently, a move is afoot to introduce a bill for the creation of the National Arts and Culture

Commission that will replace the National Arts Council.

Policy Lessons for Zambia

But whatever institution may be in place, the core question remains: Under the aegis of the institution,

what can Zambia do differently from her competitors to translate her comparative advantage into competitive

advantage?

The theory of monopolistic competition tells us that in an environment of intense competition (as is the

case with the tourism industry), an individual competitor can acquire some monopoly power through aggressive

marketing and advertising. When one competitor markets his/her product aggressively and his/her rival does

not, it leads to information asymmetry and even misinformation. Often, one has heard of tourists flying into

South Africa, thereafter flying into Livingstone on South African Airways, staying in South African hotels,

visiting the Mosi-oa-Tunya Falls, and flying back to South Africa, most probably carrying the impression that

the Falls is in South Africa. In other words, a visit to the Livingstone Falls was part of a South African tour

package instead of a Zambian tour package, with most of the revenue accruing to South Africa. Zambia’s vice

president Guy Scott reiterated recently that many people did not know that the Victoria Falls was in Zambia

due to lack of aggressive marketing (Mbulo, 2013).

Thus, in the first place, there is a need to sell Zambia abroad by offering attractive, cost-effective tour

packages that will contain elements beyond the Falls and some stylized national parks. The packages must

include opportunities for visits across the length and breadth of Zambia with Zambia as the only port of call and


159

exit for the potential tourist. Taylor and Banda-Thole (2013), for instance, showed the scope for exploiting the

potential and opportunities of the Northern Province of Zambia for sustainable tourism development and rural

development.

Zambia has failed so far to provide adequate information about its wide spectrum of tourist attractions

ranging from ecotourism to participatory cultural tourism that could translate into memorable experiential visits

for the tourists. Some time back, there was a commentary that although Zambia has some nine traditional

ceremonies (of which the kuomboka is, relatively, the best-known), there is no enough information on these

ceremonies on websites even for Zambians, let alone foreigners. This situation needs to be corrected.1

Many countries organize festivals, notably flower festivals. Seattle in the United States, for instance, has

an annual lavender festival. Visitors are taken to see the beautiful lavender farms and are also treated to three

days of continuous musical entertainment. A talented group of local artists, jewelers, photographers, and

“craftsmiths” showcase their products for purchase. In particular, lavender themed gifts such as lavender

creams, lavender soaps, lavender perfumes, etc. are on sale.

Likewise, the cherry blossom festival is one of the age-old colorful festivals in Japan. The local name is

Hanami, which means viewing flowers. Although viewing the cherry blossom is the main attraction, there is

also a presentation of traditional Japanese performing arts. There are also vendors who sell various local food

and souvenirs and regional crafts.

Rose festivals are held in some countries. In particular, the one in Kutno, Poland is well known. It is an

annual exhibition of roses and florist arrangements. Music concerts are held during the festival and folk artists’

handicrafts are also displayed that interpret modern art with flower-related topics.

Two things need to be noted about such festivals. The first thing is that the dates of the festivals are

fixed and known and so tourists can plan their visits. The lavender festival takes place every year between

July 19 and 21, the cherry blossom spring festival in April, and the Kutno rose festival at the beginning

of September. The second thing is that the festival offers an opportunity for the display of local creative arts.

The upshot of all this is that Zambia too, as part of its marketing strategy, could organize an annual festival

that will reflect indigenous culture (a paprika festival, for instance, since Zambia exports paprika?) and offer

a platform for Zambian performing artists and an opportunity for the creative artists to offer their creations

for sale.

In here, one should make a special mention of the Sunday Pakati market in Lusaka’s arcades. This is

getting growing recognition largely through word of mouth. Here, you can buy a comprehensive array of

indigenous crafts and often there are also musical, theatrical, and cultural shows. Visitors to the Pakati market

invariably go with very positive feelings of the visit. In all probability, however, most of the arts and craft items

sold are from West, East, and South Africa and only a small percentage from Zambia. Efforts should be made to

increase the share of Zambian creative art products in the market. Also, the idea of the Pakati market could be

extended to other parts of Zambia. In addition, a short advertisement clip of the Pakati market in the

international media may be appealing to many potential foreign tourists. In fact, Mali is a tourist destination

partly because of the market in Djenne, held every Monday (Lonely Planet, n.d.).

1 Recently, the Zambia Tourism Board has begun to advertise a short impressive clip on CNN showing Zambia’s tourist attractions, but they show mainly the game parks, the Livingstone Falls, and some adventure sports. No doubt, this is a very welcome, long overdue move. We hope that there will be more of such clips, especially in respect of projecting creative arts.


160

Monitoring and Evaluation

Finally, the real extent of success in harnessing art for growth and poverty reduction via tourism can be

known only through regular monitoring and evaluation. For this purpose, one could use a domesticated version

of the Creative Vitality Index (CVI) developed in the United States by the Western States Arts Federation

(WESTAF), an organization founded in 1974 for the creative development and preservation of the arts.

We shall not go into the details about how this index is calculated. Just the basic methodology is mentioned

here.

The CVI provides a framework for conceptualizing and understanding the creative economy as a network

of many creative actors and helps track the creative economy as a significant driver of economic growth and a

key factor in a country’s quality of life. It has two main component measures: occupational employment in the

arts and community participation based on per capita revenues of arts-related goods and services, with weights

of 40% and 60% respectively.

The CVI is regarded as an excellent baseline tool to grasp the size and overall impact of the creative sector.

The CVI also helps identify which are the growing creative occupations and which are the shrinking ones.

For instance, in the state of Minneapolis in 2012, the growing creative occupations were: fashion designers,

photographers, multimedia artists, and writers and authors; while the shrinking occupations were: floral

designers, dancers, architects, and sound engineering technicians (City of Minneapolis, 2013). Such information

is obviously useful for policy-makers. From the illustration, the need to domesticate the CVI to include creative

occupations more relevant to Zambia is also clear.

References Bacon, F. (1615). Of travel. In J. Gross (Ed.), The Oxford book of essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press. City of Minneapolis. (2013). Minneapolis creative vitality index report 2013: Understanding the scale and impact of Minneapolis’

creative industries. Minneapolis. Dolnicar, S. (2008). Market segmentation in tourism. In A. G. Woodside, & D. Martin (Eds.), Tourism management: Analysis,

behavior, and strategy (pp. 129-150). Cambridge: CAB International. Economy Watch. (2014). Holy See (Vatican City) economy. Retrieved from http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/vatican-city FilmZambia. (n.d.). The National Arts Council of Zambia. Retrieved from http://www.filmzambia.com/art.htm Government of Ghana. (2011). Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts. Retrieved from http://www.ghana.gov.gh/ Liu, I. C., & Chen, C. C. (2013). Cultural issues in medical tourism. American Journal of Tourism Research, 2(1), 78-83. Lonely Planet. (n.d.). Introducing Djenne. Retrieved from http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mali/niger-river-route/djenne Mbulo, E. (2013, August 29). Scott calls for aggressive marketing of Vic Falls. The Post Online. Mulenga, A. (2012, October 12). Hole in the wall. The Post Newspaper. Republic of Zambia. (2011). Sixth national development plan: Sustained economic growth and poverty reduction. Lusaka. Richards, G. (2011). Creativity and tourism: State of the art. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(4), 1225-1253. Richards, G., & Marques, L. (2012). Exploring creative tourism: Editors’ introduction. Journal of Tourism Consumption and

Practice, 4(2), 1-11. Richards, G., & Wilson, J. (2006). Developing creativity in tourist experiences: A solution to the serial reproduction of culture?

Tourism Management, 27(6), 1408-1413. Taylor, T. K., & Banda-Thole, C. (2013). Tourism development potential of the northern province of Zambia. American Journal of

Tourism Management, 2(1A), 10-25. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization [UNESCO]. (2006). Towards sustainable strategies for creative

tourism. Discussion Report for the Planning Meeting for 2008 International Conference on Creative Tourism, New Mexico. Warner, A. (2013, June 25). The 25 most popular attractions in the world. Business Insider. Yahoo! Maktoob Research. (2011). Survey of tourism destinations. Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.


A New Thinking of Loyalty for a Travel Product

Pan Ying-Jen, Wang Yi-Fong

Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan City, Taiwan

Liu Min-Hsiung

Taipei College of Maritime Technology, Taipei City, Taiwan

Loyalty has been defined in overly simple ways especially for travel products in tourism setting. The aim of this

study is to find out and identify the loyalty perceptions of a travel product. A group package tour (GPT)

is selected to represent the travel product in this study for its covering diversified types of travel products, such as

adventure package tours, recreational package tours, and other themed package tours, which can fit in with many

travel settings. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the research data and conceptual

framework. The research findings show that, unlike tangible products, service products such as a GPT could

have two different loyalty perceptions, namely, loyalty of the travel agency (brand) and loyalty of the product

category.

Keywords: group package tour (GPT), satisfaction, brand, loyalty, product category

Introduction

As a result of worldwide economic growth and expanding disposable personal income, traveling has

become a part of life for many people. This has led to the development of the world’s largest industry,

the tourism industry. In a highly competitive industry such as tourism, the provision of high satisfactory

products is a major source of sustainable competitive advantage (Chen, 2008). Improvement in tourist

perception of satisfaction can lead to favorable outcomes desired by travel agencies (Cronin, Brady, & Hult,

2000; He & Song, 2009), such as tourist’s loyalty.

Satisfaction serves as a strong predictor of post-purchase behavioral intentions (Cronin et al., 2000;

Williams & Soutar, 2009). A thorough analysis of the linkages between satisfaction and behavioral intentions is

the only way to derive the whole consumption experience, even in a tourism setting. Moreover, understanding

the nature of travel is only possible through designing research that considers the specific characteristics of the

travel product (Jen & Hu, 2003; Ricci & Missier, 2004). A group package tour (GPT) is selected to represent

travel products for two reasons. First, GPTs include many diversified types of travel products such as adventure

package tours, recreational package tours, and other themed package tours, which can fit in with many travel

settings. Second, the GPT travel mode retains its greatest popularity especially in Asian countries (Fuller, 1994;

Goldsmith, Flynn, & Bonn, 1994).

Pan Ying-Jen, assistant professor, Department of Leisure, Recreation, and Tourism Management, Southern Taiwan University

of Science and Technology. Email: [email protected]. Wang Yi-Fong, associate professor, Department of Leisure, Recreation, and Tourism Management, Southern Taiwan University

of Science and Technology. Liu Min-Hsiung, assistant professor, Department of Marine Leisure and Tourism, Taipei College of Maritime Technology.

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Theoretical Background

Satisfaction and Its Relationships With Loyalty

Loyalty is always measured by consumers’ repurchase intentions and recommending behaviors (Zeithaml,

Berry, & Parasuraman, 1996). It can also be called positive behavioral intentions (Cronin et al., 2000).

Research studies have established the consequent relationships between consumer perceptions of satisfaction

and behavioral intentions (Cronin et al., 2000; Oh, 1999; Petrick & Backman, 2002; Zeithaml et al., 1996).

Consumers decide their future behaviors by assessing previous satisfaction, and there are two main

consequences of satisfaction, which are intention to repurchase and positive recommendation (Cronin et al.,

2000). Behavioral intentions refer to consumers repurchasing the goods or services in the same shop

(repurchase intention) and delivering their user experiences to friends and relatives (recommending behavior)

(Cronin et al., 2000; Zeithaml et al., 1996). Zeithaml et al. (1996) indicated that repurchase intention refers to a

customer’s intention to remain loyal to a service provider and repurchase from them. In this research,

repurchase intention is defined as a tourist’s intention to travel with a GPT organized by the same travel agency

or any GPT in general. Previous studies on choice of tour packages have shown that one of the reasons for

choosing a travel product is friends’ recommendations (Quiroga, 1990) and that tourists tend to look for

information and salient cues to help them evaluate alternative product offerings (Tsaur & Wang, 2009).

Zeithaml et al. (1996) described recommending behavior as customers saying positive things about a service

provider and recommending them to other consumers. Accordingly, recommending behavior is defined in the

current research as a tourist’s behavior in spreading positive word of mouth and recommending to others a GPT

organized by the same travel agency or any GPT in general. In this study, loyalty is expressed into two different

settings and measured by Repurchase and Recommend separately due to the nature of the travel product.

The justification is stated in the later section.

Loyalty of the Brand or Product Category

Guest (1944) indicated that there are two different ways to consider loyalty (behavioral intentions).

The first is to consider whether there is brand loyalty for a whole product category, i.e., are people loyal to all

brands of a product in general? In the second place, is there loyalty exhibited towards some specific brands of

a product? The two types of loyalty are considered relevant to this study, as the loyalty to a GPT might also

occur in the same situations. In general, brand loyalty has been defined in overly simple ways (Jacoby, 1971).

For example, empirical results suggest that a consumer is often loyal to many brands in a product category

(this study refers to GPTs). The possibility is that individuals may be loyal to more than one brand in a product

category (Jacoby, 1971).

Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001) indicated that product category characteristics will influence brand choice

decisions. Hedonic and utilitarian values can be viewed as representing two types of knowledge gathered from

prior experience with the product category. Their results show that the consumers focus more on the hedonic

value of the product category, and this focus results in loyalty to the brand. This is because when the emotional

element of pleasure is high and positive for a product category, consumers experience more enjoyable effects

from the brand consumed. The utilitarian value of the product category is not related to brand loyalty.

If consumers focus more on the utilitarian value, then the brand is not a concern, but the product category

characteristics are. In a GPT setting, when selecting a package, tourists pay more attention to the functional

effects such as price (Zeithaml, 1988), convenience, saving time and effort (Overby & Lee, 2006); they might


163

be loyal to the product category only and have no regard to brands. Travel products are organized by the tour

provider, who integrates different products and services into one package. Hence, in the tourism setting, it is

appropriate to think of the tour provider as the brand. In sum, the behavioral intentions (loyalty) based on the

arguments stated above will have two settings, one for the same tour provider/travel agency (brand) and the

other for the generic benefits that a GPT can offer (product category).

Many studies of satisfaction (Cronin et al., 2000; Ha & Jang, 2009; Kuo, Wu, & Deng, 2009; Ryu, Han,

& Kim, 2008) have indicated a positive relationship between consumer satisfaction and behavioral intentions.

These studies show that satisfaction has a positive effect on repurchase and recommendation. Studies of

people’s choices of package tour have shown that the main reason for choosing a travel package is friends’

recommendations (Quiroga, 1990). Package travelers prefer to leave their arrangements to a travel agency,

because the convenience of one-time arrangement, well-developed entertainment, and guided tours that enable

them to see all the sights are only available in package tour (Hsieh, O’Leary, & Morrison, 1994). Heung and

Chu (2000) indicated that tourists satisfied with the GPT would tend to recommend the GPT to their friends

for its service offerings and benefits. Studies also show that tourists care less about brands (Chang, 2006;

Wang, Chou, Su, & Tsai, 2007) but are more price and content driven (Chang, 2006; Dwyer, Forsyth, & Rao,

2000; Heung & Chu, 2000; Tsaur & Wang, 2009). Hence, according to the arguments above, it is

hypothesized that (see Figure 1):

H1: Satisfaction has a positive effect on the repurchase of a GPT organized by the same travel agency.

H2: Satisfaction has a positive effect on the recommendation of a GPT organized by the same travel

agency.

H3: Satisfaction with a GPT will lead to the repurchase of any GPT.

H4: Satisfaction with a GPT will lead to the recommendation of any GPT.

Figure 1. Conceptual framework.

Research Methods

In order to test the conceptual framework, five latent constructs are created, namely, satisfaction and four

behavioral intention constructs. The definition and scale items of satisfaction were adopted from Oliver (2010)

and were modified into a GPT setting as a tourist’s perception that a GPT provides a pleasurable level of

consumption-related fulfillment. The measurement scales of Repurchase and Recommend were modified from

Zeithaml et al. (1996) and Cronin et al. (2000). Four items were used for each construct and modified into two

different loyalty settings. All the measurement scales are reflective indicators.

A GPT organized by the same travel agency

Satisfaction

Repurchase

Recommend

Repurchase

Recommend

H1

H2

H3

H4

Brand Loyalty

Product Loyalty

Any GPTs


164

A 7-point Likert scale questionnaire was used for the purpose of obtaining the depth of information from

respondents. In total, 561 GPT tourists were surveyed at the end of their tours. Comrey and Lee (1992)

suggested that a sample size of 500 is very good for that structural equation models require a fairly large

sample size in order to be analyzed effectively (Hair, 2010; Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). Hence, the sample size

of this study meets the requirements suggested by structural equation modeling (SEM) experts.

A two-phase approach suggested by Anderson and Gerbing (1988) was employed for SEM analysis.

The assessment of measurement scales (confirmatory factor analysis) was analyzed before testing the structural

model. Before analyzing the collected data, the normality test was conducted to ensure that the observed

variables in the model are normally distributed. In addition, the result of the detection of common method

variance (CMV) also shows that there is no sign for CMV problem. Both measurement and structural models

were assessed using Amos 18.0 software.

Research Findings

The findings of this study are summarized in two key issues. First, the statistic results of both

measurement and structural models are stated. Second, the results of the casual relationships of each construct

are presented. The estimating parameter of maximum likelihood (ML) is used for assessment of the

measurement and structural models. The results show that both measurement and structural models pass the

goodness-of-fit (GOF) indices, indicating that the research model is valid for path estimate of the hypotheses

(see Table 1).

Table 1

GOF Values of the Research Model Statistic Index Measurement model Structural model Cutoff value GOF result

Absolute fit indices

χ2

0.000

0.000

Significant p-value due to large sample

Expected

χ2: df 3.0353 3.640 2 to 5 Satisfied

RMSEA 0.06 0.069 < 0.07 Satisfied

Incremental fit indices

CFI 0.941 0.921 > 0.90 Satisfied

TLI 0.935 0.915 > 0.90 Satisfied

IFI 0.941 0.921 > 0.90 Satisfied

Parsimony fit indices

PNFI 0.831 0.835 > 0.50 Satisfied

PGFI 0.708 0.698 > 0.50 Satisfied

Notes. RMSEA = Root Mean Square Error of Approximation. CFI = Comparative Fit Index. TLI = Tucker Lewis Index. IFI = Incremental Fit Index. PNFI = Parsimony Normed Fit Index. PGFI = Parsimony Goodness-of-Fit Index.

The results in Table 2 show that satisfaction has significant and positive relationships with four loyalty

constructs. This further indicates that the four hypotheses carried out in this study are all supported. The results

show that satisfaction has positive effects on the four loyalty constructs: repurchase a GPT organized by the

same travel agency, recommend a GPT organized by the same travel agency, repurchase any GPT, and

recommend any GPT. Within these four constructs, satisfaction has the greatest effect on repurchase of a GPT

organized by the same travel agency. The findings are consistent with He and Song’s (2009) research that

tourist satisfaction leads to future repurchase intentions for a packaged tour.


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Table 2

Regression Weights of the Research Model

Construct/path/construct Regression weight (coefficients)

Unstandardized loadings Standardized loadings p-value

SA RP (same TA) 0.548 0.623 ***

SA RC (same TA) 0.077 0.090 0.004**

SA RP (any GPT) 0.298 0.312 ***

SA RC (any GPT) 0.163 0.208 ***

Notes. SA = Satisfaction. RP = Repurchase. RC = Recommend. TA = Travel agency. ***: p-value < 0.001. **: p-value < 0.01.

Conclusion and Implications

All the four hypotheses are supported by the empirical data. Based on Guest (1944) and Chaudhuri and

Holbrook (2001), the tourist does have two loyalty decisions: The first is loyalty to brand, and the other is

loyalty to the product category. Loyalty is divided into two scenarios: That a tourist is loyal to a travel agency

(brand) or to any GPT (product category) is justified through literature and confirmed by the empirical data.

Among the behavioral intention constructs, tourist satisfaction has the greatest effect on repurchase of a

GPT organized by the same travel agency, indicating that tourists are loyal to their travel agencies. This implies

that satisfaction is the key to retaining customers and building loyalty. For repurchase intentions, satisfaction

has a greater effect on repurchase of a GPT organized by the same travel agency than on repurchase of any

GPT. This indicates that, in repurchase intentions, GPT tourists are loyal to their travel agencies (brand).

In terms of recommendations, satisfaction has a greater effect on recommendation of any GPT than a GPT

organized by the same travel agency. This indicates that, in recommending behaviors, GPT tourists are loyal to

any GPT (product category). This can be explained by postulating that tourists are willing to repurchase from

their trusted travel agencies but would recommend any GPT to their friends as a preferred alternative to

traveling independently.

References Anderson, J., & Gerbing, D. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach.

Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411-423. Chang, J. C. (2006). Customer satisfaction with tour leaders’ performance: A study of Taiwan’s package tours. Asia Pacific

Journal of Tourism Research, 11(1), 97-116. Chaudhuri, A., & Holbrook, M. B. (2001). The chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect to brand performance: The role

of brand loyalty. Journal of Marketing, 65(2), 81-93. Chen, C. F. (2008). Investigating structural relationships between service quality, perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral

intentions for air passengers: Evidence from Taiwan. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 42(4), 709-717. Comrey, A. L., & Lee, H. B. (1992). A first course in factor analysis. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Cronin, J. J., Brady, M. K., & Hult, G. T. M. (2000). Assessing the effects of quality, value, and customer satisfaction on

consumer behavioral intentions in service environments. Journal of Retailing, 76(2), 193-218. Dwyer, L., Forsyth, P., & Rao, P. (2000). Price competitiveness of tourism packages to Australia: Beyond the “big Mac” index.

Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 5(2), 50-56. Fuller, G. (1994). Travel agency management. Cincinnati, Ohio: South Western Publishing Co.. Goldsmith, R. E., Flynn, L. R., & Bonn, M. (1994). An empirical study of heavy users of travel agencies. Journal of Travel

Research, 33(1), 38-43. Guest, L. (1944). A study of brand loyalty. Journal of Applied Psychology, 28(1), 16-27. Ha, J., & Jang, S. (2009). Perceived values, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions: The role of familiarity in Korean restaurants.

International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29(1), 2-13.


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Hair, J. F. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. He, Y., & Song, H. (2009). A mediation model of tourists’ repurchase intentions for packaged tour services. Journal of Travel

Research, 47(3), 317-331. Heung, V. C. S., & Chu, R. (2000). Important factors affecting Hong Kong consumers’ choice of a travel agency for all-inclusive

package tours. Journal of Travel Research, 39(1), 52-59. Hsieh, S., O’Leary, J. T., & Morrison, A. M. (1994). A comparison of package and non-package travelers from the United

Kingdom. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 6(3), 79-100. Jacoby, J. (1971). A model of multi-brand loyalty. Journal of Advertising Research, 11(3), 25-31. Jen, W., & Hu, K. C. (2003). Application of perceived value model to identify factors affecting passengers’ repurchase intentions

on city bus: A case of the Taipei metropolitan area. Transportation Research Part A: General, 30(3), 307-327. Kuo, Y. F., Wu, C. M., & Deng, W. J. (2009). The relationships among service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction,

and post-purchase intention in mobile value-added services. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(4), 887-896. Oh, H. (1999). Service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer value: A holistic perspective. International Journal of

Hospitality Management, 18(1), 67-82. Oliver, R. L. (2010). Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe. Overby, J. W., & Lee, E. J. (2006). The effects of utilitarian and hedonic online shopping value on consumer preference and

intentions. Journal of Business Research, 59(10-11), 1160-1166. Petrick, J. F., & Backman, S. J. (2002). An examination of the construct of perceived value for the prediction of golf travelers’

intentions to revisit. Journal of Travel Research, 41(1), 38-45. Quiroga, I. (1990). Characteristics of package tours in Europe. Annals of Tourism Research, 17(2), 185-207. Ricci, F., & Missier, F. D. (2004). Supporting travel decision making through personalized recommendation. In C. M. Karat,

J. O. Blom, & J. Karat (Eds.), Designing personalized user experiences in ecommerce (pp. 231-251). Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Ryu, K., Han, H., & Kim, T. H. (2008). The relationships among overall quick-casual restaurant image, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 27(3), 459-469.

Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (1996). Using multivariate statistics. New York, N.Y.: HarperCollins College Publishers. Tsaur, S. H., & Wang, C. H. (2009). Tip-collection strategies, service guarantees, and consumer evaluations of group package

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advertising components on web page. Journal of Business Research, 60(4), 382-387. Williams, P., & Soutar, G. N. (2009). Value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in an adventure tourism context. Annals of

Tourism Research, 36(3), 413-438. Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means-end model and synthesis of evidence.

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60(2), 31-46.


Designing Tourism Routes From Tourism Behaviors and Needs

of the Tourists in Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand

Thudsanaiyawan Doungmala, Noppamash Suvachart

Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand

The aim of this research was to study tourism behaviors and needs for tourism of Thai tourists in Chaiyaphum

province in order to bring their tourism behaviors and needs to design tourism routes which are suitable and able to

meet the needs of tourists. Questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 400 tourists who traveled to visit

Chaiyaphum province. Accidental sampling technique was applied to select the sample. Percentage, mean, and

standard deviation were used to analyze the data. The research results revealed that tourists were mostly male with

26-40 years of age and aimed to use spare time with their own families or friends. Most tourists traveled with their

families (husband/wife/son/daughter), because they attach great importance to creating a good relationship with the

members of their families in order to show their love and warmth among members within the families. Most

tourists took only one day to visit Chaiyaphum province (travel there and back in a day). Tourists’ needs for

visiting tourism places in Chaiyaphum province were as follows: (1) to visit popular and famous tourism places;

(2) to visit natural tourism places; and (3) to visit historical and cultural tourism places.

Keywords: tourism behaviors, tourism needs, tourism routes

Introduction

Tourism is an important economic sector of the country, because the revenue from foreign tourists

accounted for 10% of gross domestic product (Tachaphaiboo, 2014). Income and expenditure of the people,

however, had decreased due to world economic crisis. This event had affected the production and service

sectors of all countries in the world. Department of Tourism (2011) said that although Thailand was affected by

various crises such as political instability, economic recession, and higher price of gasoline, the amount of Thai

tourists in Thailand had steadily increased.

Consequently, Thai people should be to travel within country in order to support domestic tourism and

create domestic tourism market. Thailand should not depend on revenue from foreign tourists. Domestic

tourism can stimulate cash flow within the country and help Thai economy recover from the recession.

Domestic tourism brings revenue to local people. According to national tourism plan 2012-2517, there had

been a growing trend of the amount of Thai tourists who intended to travel within country, because Thai

government had a policy to support domestic tourism which incurs money circulation within the country and

income distribution to local community.

Thudsanaiyawan Doungmala, Ph.D. candidate, Faculty of Management Sciences, Khon Kaen University. Email:

[email protected]. Noppamash Suvachart, associate professor, Faculty of Management Sciences, Khon Kaen University.

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Figure 1. The amount of Thai tourists and revenue from Thai tourists for the years of 2002-2007.

Source: Ministry of Tourism and Sports (2011).

Tourism route selection of tourists was influenced by their friends who gave reliable advice (Buathong,

2011). Searching information of tourism was influenced by their friends, relatives, and families (National

Statistics, 2012). Tourism route selection was also influenced by the tourism companies or the public relation

media provided by public and private organizations. Tourism routes were organized by responsible

organizations without studying the real behaviors and needs of tourists.

Chaiyaphum province is located in the northeast region of Thailand. Its area is connected to central region

and northern region which are the potential natural tourism places. Chaiyaphum has the potential tourism places

which are able to attract tourists to visit Chaiyaphum province all over the year.

According to the facts and problems mentioned above, we are interested in studying tourism routes with

the aim of investigating tourism behaviors and needs of Thai tourists in order to provide information for

designing tourism routes which are consistent with the needs of tourists and can be used to support domestic

tourism, economy, money circulation, job and income creation, and improvement of quality of life of the

people in local community.

Objectives

The objectives of this paper are to study the tourism behaviors and needs for tourism of Thai tourists

visiting Chaiyaphum province and design tourism routes which are suitable for tourists.

Research Problems

The research problems of this paper are as follows:

(1) How were the tourism behaviors and needs for tourism of Thai tourists visiting Chaiyaphum province?

(2) How should be the tourism routes for Thai tourists in Chaiyaphum province?

Literature Review

To design tourism paths from the behaviors and needs for tourism of tourists in Chaiyaphum province, we

had reviewed the related literature concerning tourism behaviors and tourism routes.

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172

Tourists’ Need Hierarchy

The need of tourists who had traveled to visit Chaiyaphum could be ranked as follows: (1) the first order:

Most tourists wanted to visit popular tourism places in Chaiyaphum province; (2) the second order: Tourists

wanted to visit natural tourism places; and (3) the third order: Tourists wanted to visit historical and cultural

tourism places (see Figure 7).

Figure 7. Percentage of the respondents classified according to the tourists’ need hierarchy.

Discussion

The results from studying the behaviors and needs for tourism of Thai tourists who had visited

Chaiyaphum province revealed that tourism places in Chaiyaphum are mostly natural places which bring about

the day activities for tourists, such as forest walking to study the nature, seeing the birds, taking the photos,

pitching the tent, sightseeing. Tourists who came to visit Chaiyaphum province were mostly male and they

aged between 26 and 40. This group of tourists is usually fond of adventures and challenges. They, in addition,

were strong, healthy, and able to do the day activities. They attached great importance to their families. As for

tourists who were single, they attached great importance to their friends. Therefore, most tourists wanted to

spend their spare time with their families or friends.

Most tourists who traveled to visit Chaiyaphum province came with their families

(husband/wife/son/daughter), because these tourists attached great importance to creating a good relationship

with the members of their families and started to live together with their husbands/wives (Papalia & Olds,

1995). Tourists attached great importance to creating love and warmth among the members of their families.

They emphasized the importance of doing activities within the family during tourism, however, they spent only

one day to visit tourism places in Chaiyaphum province (came in the morning and went back in the evening).

Because Chaiyaphum province is near to Bangkok, Nakhonratchasima, and Khonkhan provinces, tourists

always passed Chaiyaphum province to stay in those provinces which have bigger sizes and are able to offer

them more qualified facilities and services.

Tourists’ needs to travel to visit tourism places in Chaiyaphum province could be ranked in order of

importance as follows: (1) Tourists wanted to travel to visit popular and famous tourism places once in a

lifetime; (2) Tourists wanted to visit natural tourism places, because there are a lot of natural places in

Chaiyaphum province; and (3) Tourists wanted to visit historical and cultural tourism places. In the ancient

time, Chaiyaphum province was occupied by Khom people, who had created the historical stories and buildings

for the present generation. Custom and tradition of Chaiyaphum, which is a province in northeastern region, in

addition, are dominant and attractive to tourists.

53.9

31.7

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19.2

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0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Popular places

Natural places

Historical/cultural placesFirst order

Second order

Third order


173

Conclusions

The results from studying the behaviors and needs of Thai tourists who came to visit Chaiyaphum

province revealed that designing tourism routes must attach great importance to tourists’ families. Because

most tourists aged between 26 and 40 and attached great importance to creating a good relationship with the

members of their families and love and warmth among the members of their families, therefore, tourism

activities which emphasized creating a good relationship among the members of their families should be

designed.

Because most tourists had spent only one day to visit tourism places in Chaiyaphum province, tourism

activities for tourists who spent only one day in Chaiyaphum province should be designed to satisfy them.

In addition, tourism routes for tourists who spent 2-3 days to stay in Chaiyaphum province should be offered

and designed in order to provide additional choices and stimulate tourists to spend additional days in

Chaiyaphum province which results in their additional expenditures including the additional income of local

people. Tourists’ needs for visiting tourism places in Chaiyaphum province were as follows: (1) to visit popular

and famous tourism places; (2) to visit natural tourism places; and (3) to visit historical and cultural tourism

places.

In the process of designing tourism routes for tourists, therefore, tourism behaviors and needs of tourists

must be studied so that tourism needs would be designed properly for different groups of tourists.

References Buathong, J. (2011). The view of trip advisor on tourists and tourism management in the age of change in technology, society, and economy.

Retrieved from http://www.etatjournal.com/web/menu-read-web-etatjournal/menu-2011/menu-2011-apr-jun/317-22554-trip-advisor Department of Tourism. (2011). The national tourism development plan 2012-2016. Retrieved from http://www.tourism.go.th Mancini, M. (1990). Conducting tours. Australia: Delmar Publisher. Ministry of Tourism and Sports. (2011). Tourism statistics 2010. Retrieved from

http://www.tourism.go.th/2010/th/home/index.php National Statistics. (2012). Surveying tourism behavior of Thai people for the year 2012. Retrieved from

http://service.nso.go.th/nso/nsopublish/themes/files/TravelExec55.pdf Papalia, E. D., & Olds, W. E. (1995). Human development. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill. Tachaphaiboo, P. (2014). Direction of travel Thailand 2014. Retrieved from http://www.banmuang.co.th/2014/01 Wongvanich, W. (2003). Tourism geography (2nd ed.). Bangkok: Thammasat University.


Urban Heritage and Tourism in the Gulf: The Case of Dubai in

the UAE

Djamel Boussaa

Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

Heritage and tourism have become dynamic areas of development in the world during the last two decades. The

idea of heritage is crucial to the critical decision-making process as to how irreplaceable resources are to be utilized

by people of the present or conserved for future generations in a fast-changing world. In view of the importance of

“heritage” to the development of a tourist destination, the emphasis on developing appropriate adaptive reuse

strategies cannot be overemphasized. In October 1999, the 12th General Assembly of the International Council on

Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in Mexico stated that in the context of sustainable development, two interrelated

issues need urgent attention: cultural tourism and historic cities. The two issues underscore the fact that historic

resources are non-renewable, belonging to all of humanity. Without adequate adaptive reuse actions to ensure a

sustainable future for these historic resources, this may lead to their complete vanishing. The Gulf rich urban

heritage is now being recognized as a valuable resource for future development. This paper focuses on the role of

heritage tourism and its implications for urban conservation in the context of old Dubai, UAE. Therefore, in order

to use heritage wisely, it will be necessary to position heritage as an essential element of sustainable development,

paying particular attention to heritage tourism. The question to be raised here is: “How can urban heritage be used

wisely for tourism without compromising its educational and social roles in enhancing the local cultural identity?”.

Keywords: tourism, heritage, adaptive reuse, sustainable development, historic cities, Dubai

Introduction

Recently, a new mode of development emerged in a way to reuse and develop historic cities and districts for

tourism. To achieve this, there is a need to make funds available by developing heritage attractions for tourism.

Many heritage sites are being compromised, because local authorities are not aware of the value for conserving

them. Developing historic areas for tourism and commerce requires the transformation of conservation from a

political, cultural, and social aspect to that of economic development.

The financial input that tourism can deliver to host communities can be the incentive for conservation

work. Besides housing and other activities, heritage tourism can be a major catalyst of sustainable development,

for historic centers like the Kasbah of Algiers in Algeria and Dubai. Overemphasis on the tourist function

creates pressures for new services and associated development, sometimes to the detriment of the local

population and can lead to the damage of significant cultural assets. Therefore, tourism development needs to

be carefully managed and controlled. Furthermore, there is a need to avoid the expansion of inauthentic

structures, which can further erode the character of the historic center that visitors have come to visit.

Djamel Boussaa, assistant professor, College of Engineering, Department of Artchitecture and Urban Planning, Qatar University. Email: [email protected]; [email protected].

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Tourism is encouraged by governments in order to obtain foreign currency. However, over-promotion of

tourism can be disastrous; it can destroy the culture and the environment that people came to enjoy. Tourists do

not leave a city untouched by their presence. The tourist, through his/her demands, subtly and sometimes

drastically changes the character of a place. Residents in most cities want tourists for economic reasons and will

change their cities and lives to serve them (Appleyard, 1979).

The merit of social intercourse between tourists and local residents as a way towards fostering better

understanding and good will among nations is a major benefit gained from tourism. Whilst this can be possible in

countries where the flux of tourists is comparatively acceptable, however, in cases of mass tourism, tourist’s

tastes and habits have proofed to be offensive to the local population in many circumstances.

Many of the other socio-cultural problems linked to tourism are related to the degree of intensity of tourism

development. While it is difficult to measure, there is a relationship between tourism density and the growth of

local resentment towards tourism. The flow of tourists into a region increases the densities at which people live

and overcrowds the facilities which tourists share with the local population. Therefore, overcrowding can reduce

the value of the holiday experience while creating additional strains for the host community.

The impact of tourists can be substantial in terms of environmental change. At destination areas, tourism

may involve a physical transformation through hotel and infrastructure development. Tourists need hotels;

usually, tourists prefer to stay in modern comfort, close to the center and with a view on the historic city from the

bedroom window. The result is predictable: In many historic cities, new hotels have sprung up adjacent to the

historic districts. A similar case can be found in old Dubai, such as Fareej (district) Al Fahidi in Bur Dubai and the

Deira side. The skylines of these historic areas are surrounded and hidden by the mushrooming of adjacent

high-rise modern hotels and multi-use tower blocks that sprang around them.

Heritage Tourism in Dubai

Dubai, the second largest city in the UAE, is the most cosmopolitan and economically open city in the Gulf;

it is less oil-dependent than the capital Abu Dhabi. Dubai is located at the crossroads of ancient Arabian trade

routes midway between Europe and the Far East. The emirate lies on an area of 3,885 km2, corresponding to 5%

of the UAE; the present population numbers a total of 2,269,000 people as of October 2014 (see Figure 1).1

The philosophy of the emirate in the future is to diversify its economic base away from the dependency on

oil and try to explore its talent as a merchant and entrepreneurial city. The amount of revenues generated by oil is

shrinking and represents only 18% of its total income. It is believed that tourism is well placed to take over from

oil as the main economic source of income in the coming years (Darke, 1998). Comparatively speaking to other

cities of the region, Dubai is well equipped with hotel infrastructure and entertaining and shopping facilities to

host a large number of tourists.

Since January 1997 when the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) took over from

the Tourism and Trade Promotion Council, there has been a renewed focus on promoting Dubai as an ideal tourist

destination. In 2011, Dubai had 575 hotels and hotel apartments with a total of 74,843 rooms at an average

occupancy of 74%. During the same year, the number of tourists who spent nights in these hotels reached

9,095,570, while the hotel revenues reached 15,965,011 thousand Dirhams.2

1 Retrieved from http://www.dsc.gov.ae. 2 Retrieved from http://www.dubaitourism.ae.


176

Figure 1. The location of the UAE and the emirate of Dubai.

Source: Retrieved from http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/middle-east/united-arab-emirates/.

Figure 2. The historic center of Dubai with the main heritage

attractions (Courtesy of Dubai Municipality, historical buildings section).

With the exception of the traditional mountainous Hatta village, Dubai is a semi-desert, with one of the most

spectacular harbours in the region. The Dubai Creek, called locally “Khor Dubai”, 10 km long, divides the city

into two parts. The southern side is called Bur Dubai, which comprises three main historic districts, Shindagha,

Old Deira, and Bur Dubai. The northern part known as Deidra includes the old Deidra, the new central business

district, and the international airport. Al Maktoum and Al Garhood bridges, along with the Shindagha subway,

link the two parts of the city. Al Abra (dhow), the traditional dhow crossing through the creek is still largely used

to commute between the two banks of the creek, Bur Dubai and Deira (see Figure 2).


177

The rapid growth in the years following the formation of the UAE in 1971 turned Dubai into a vast building

site. Roads, power supplies, telephones, streetlights, and drainage were laid within decades. While this rapid

development, the well-being of people improved, on the way it sacrificed many significant chapters of its urban

heritage. The latter was threatened of complete extinction, due to the rapid development and urbanisation that

emerged after the discovery of oil in 1966 and the beginning of its exportation in 1969. The rapid urban

development that followed oil discovery threatened, during the 1970s, the historic center of Dubai of complete

extinction. Today, the old core survives as disparate small parts in the city; only 371 historic buildings have

survived from an original number of 3,000 (Boussaa, 2003).

In Dubai, as elsewhere in the UAE and the Gulf, urban conservation has enlarged from an initial concern

with the protection of individual buildings and monuments to the conservation of groups of buildings and areas.

During the last decade, heritage conservation has been increasingly seen as a valuable policy instrument in

helping to regenerate old Dubai. This trend has become synonymous with urban revival, since conservation of the

urban heritage can help fulfill economic objectives as well as respond to the local social and cultural needs.

Al Shindagha and Al Fahidi are two interesting examples in the heart of Dubai.

In order to enhance the tourist visitation in the city, it may be appropriate to propose an interesting tour that

starts from Al Fahidi Fort, the oldest building erected in 1799 to reach the first Dubai Municipality built in 1950

in Deira (see Figure 3). This will give the visitor an opportunity to observe the city’s development through

history. After years of neglect and marginalisation, the Shindagha heritage area is being revitalized to become an

attractive traditional tourist quarter.

Figure 3. The old Dubai Municipality building built in 1950. Source: The author.

Revitalization of the Shindagha Heritage Area

The original site of the Ruling Family, Al Maktoum, was the Shindagha district, situated in the mouth of

the creek, which was developed around the Sheikh Saeed’s house, built in 1896. Around 1958, when the

Ruler’s palace was moved out from Shindagha to Zaabil, the area was abandoned and was left to decay and

was vanishing slowly. Furthermore, The Shindagha area was completely swept away after a decision had been

taken by the Dubai authorities in 1991 to launch a vast high-rise development, similar to that of the Deira side

(see Figure 4). However, the restoration of Beit Sheikh Saeed and its accompanying conservation awareness,

which was well publicized through media, conferences, and newspapers, encouraged the local authorities to

review their earlier decision and opted finally to develop the whole area for tourism (Hadjri & Boussaa, 2007).


178

The revitalization project of the historic Shindagha area goes back to March 1996. The project aimed at

retracing the history of Dubai through the establishment of a tourist heritage village along the creek. The village

is composed of two main zones: a marine heritage zone, with the Diving Village as its center point and the

Heritage Village, where the restored Ruler’s residence Beit Sheikh Said al Maktoum is located. In addition to

the two heritage villages, a long pedestrian walk has been proposed along the creek (see Figures 5 and 6).

The latter starts from the Shindagha fort and ends at the creek entrance. Many gathering places and activities

areas have been established between the two ends of the walk (Dubai Municipality, 1996-1997).

These meeting points near the Diving Village, Beit Seikh Saeed, and the Heritage Village are to be used

for folklore activities. With the wise integration of appropriate lighting to enhance the traditional image of the

area, the whole surroundings have become an important attraction place for tourists and local visitors. The

construction work lasted one year, and the two heritage villages were opened for public in March 1997,

coinciding thus with the opening ceremony of the Dubai Shopping Festival. Since then, it has become the main

hub of heritage and folklore activities, which are performed during the annual Dubai Shopping Festival.

Figure 4. Fareej Al Shindagha, before its demolition in 1991 (Kay, 1991).

Figure 5. The Heritage Village of Shindagha. Source: The author.


179

Figure 6. The Diving Village of Shindagha. Source: The author.

Al Fahidi District, From Survival to Revival

Al Fahidi (previously Al Bastakia) district in Bur Dubai is located on the eastern part of the historical town.

The district lies on an area of 300 m along the creek with a depth of 200 m to the south. This part of the city

reflects an important era of the city’s urban development. This historical district is an expression of a way of life

that is fast disappearing. Al Fahidi provides a record of the social history of the first half of the 20th century, the

period (1890-1955) when Dubai emerged to be the chief commercial center in the Gulf.

Al Fahidi is a unique survivor of old Dubai; only 25 wind-tower houses have survived out of the 200

dwellings originally built. Due to overpopulation of the area, there were usually 100 low-income workers

inhabiting one house, coupled with a poor maintenance, their decline accelerated during the 1970s and 1980s,

which rendered the quarter to look like a slum. While this district was under a continuous threat of demolition, an

appeal was made in 1975 to save at least one house in Al Fahidi (Coles & Jackson, 1975):

It is hoped that it may be possible to make a fuller record of the whole Bastakia before it is too late, and there are strong arguments for retaining at least one house as a folk museum. In the mean time, we hope that this portrait of a house will serve to arouse an interest in and an appreciation of the traditional buildings in the area. (p. 85)

Following this appeal, and since the early 1980s, the city of Dubai has been striving to save the few

remaining historical relics. One of the first priorities of Dubai Municipality was the conservation of Al Fahidi.

The restoration of the wind-tower houses, with the intention of their adaptive reuse for tourism, was a major goal

to achieve. Recently, many restored houses have been reused to accommodate a small hotel, shops, museums,

and restaurants. This can help revive the fareej (district) by keeping it alive during day and night. However,

housing remains a major catalyst in providing a sustainable life in this old district, while preserving the original

identity of the quarter (see Figure 7).

Heritage tourism in Dubai is growing rapidly. A survey conducted by the municipality in 1994 concluded

that tourists who visited Al Fahidi included people who spent a whole day exploring the old houses, to coach

loads of beach hotel visitors passing half an hour there on their way to Bur Dubai and Deira souks. In 1994, the

estimate number of visitors was around 10-15,000 visitors/year, spending an average of 15-20 minutes in Al

Fahidi. At that time, and before the rehabilitation work started, the Majlis Gallery was the only tourist attraction

available, while no hotels for tourists were available.


180

Figure 7. An aerial view of Al Fahidi in 1994 before its conservation (Gray, 1995).

Llelwyn Davies Consultants proposed creating a group of attractions that would add up to a half-day’s visit

for tourists, supported by places to spend time and money such as cafes, restaurants, shops, galleries, and

museums. Heritage and cultural activities are closely bound up with tourism, and all of them can bring life and

economic value to the area. However, such activities could risk ruining the area if a mass tourism approach was

applied, whereas if soft tourism strategy was chosen, such activities could contribute to the revival of Al Fahidi.

The Dubai Shopping Festival is one of the world’s largest family festivals. Every year, since its launch in

1996, this event has attracted millions of people around the world, a large portion of this number take the

opportunity to visit the heritage sites. During these festivals, a number of major venues are designated ranging

from the Global Village to other sports and recreational venues. The Heritage Village and Bait Sheikh Saeed in the

historic district of Shindagha, and Fareej Al Al Fahidi are considered as the main heritage venues of the festival.

This annual event has injected a new life in the once forgotten old Dubai. Today, it attracts many tourists and

local visitors to Bait Sheikh Saeed and the surrounding heritage and diving villages, as well as Al Fahidi. The

latter might have been a great incentive for Dubai authorities to launch a new program of reconstructing another

30 traditional dwellings in Shindagha to make the whole area an integrated heritage quarter (see Figure 8).

Figure 8. View of Dar Enadwa; A rehabilitated house in Al Fahidi district. Source: The author.


181

Conclusions

In the historic center of Dubai in particular and the Gulf in general, a total preservation should not be the

panacea. Where needed, some change of use may be introduced, and that should be on a small scale. Since very

few heritage buildings have survived, demolition should be avoided whenever possible, and should normally be

chosen as a solution only for unsound buildings.

It is well known that inhabitants are the catalyst of urban life in the city. They create and constitute the

socio-cultural and economic systems, which bring life to the built environment. It is, therefore, necessary to

revitalize these historic cities. This should be done by conserving whole areas such as Al Fahidi and

Al Shindagha together with the social life that ensures their livability and sustainability.

Urban conservation does not necessarily mean preserving a building but reviving its spirit and life. It means

being flexible enough to adapt the objectives of rehabilitation to the needs of modern living while respecting the

local community values. Rehabilitation of public areas is important and essential as it adds to the quality of a

neighborhood and to the way in which people perceive and identify with their locality. It is, therefore, paramount

that rehabilitation includes public areas to strengthen people’s sense of belonging.

The function of urban conservation for society as a whole should primarily restore a sense of cultural

identity. The historic center of Dubai has been fragmented through unwise massive redevelopment. However,

there is still a possibility to re-construct the unity of its dislocated urban fabric. A combination of rehabilitation,

reconstruction, and new infill projects, which respect the local traditional character, should be developed, to

reassemble the surviving fragments of the three quarters, Al Fahidi, Shindagha, and old Deira.

Old Dubai is an interesting case of how tourism can engender conservation efforts. The integration between

tourism and conservation enables the critical balance to be maintained between the needs of the resource

(conservation) and those of the visitor (tourism). The situation of historic towns in the Gulf is particularly

alarming. The historic town is both the content and container, as it were, of heritage. Heritage tourism is an

important and desired activity for both visitors and hosts.

Though this interaction is important, the individual character and identity of each city and country should

not be submerged and lost. However, heritage tourism should not be developed only for global tourists but must

be for the benefit of local people at the first instance. This should help them understand the significance of their

urban heritage, thus be aware of the need of conserving it, live within it, and pass it on for future generations.

References Appleyard, D. (1979). The conservation of European cities. London: The MIT Press. Boussaa, D. (2003). Dubai: The search for identity. In G. Moser, E. Pol, Y. Bernard, M. Bonnes, J. A. Corraliza, & M. V. Giuliani

(Eds.), People, places, and sustainability. Seattle, Toronto, Bern, Gottingen: Horace & Huber. Coles, A., & Jackson, P. (1975). A windtower house in Dubai. London: Art and Archeology Research Papers. Darke, D. (1998). Discovery guide to the United Arab Emirates. London: IMMEL Publishing. Dubai Municipality. (1996-1997). Planning studies; The Shindagha revitalization project. Dubai: Dubai Municipality. Gray, S. (1995). Al Bastakia conservation project. Paper presented at the Symposium on Conserving Urban Heritage, Dubai,

UAE. Hadjri, K., & Boussaa, D. (2007). Architectural and urban conservation in the United Arab Emirates. Open House International,

32(3), 16-26. Kay, S. (1991). Architectural heritage of the gulf. Dubai, UAE: Motivate Publishing.

JTHM 2014.4

Documents

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