Matching Items (2)
Description
Contrary to common thought at the end of the 20th century, the forces of globalization over the last several decades have contributed to more rigid rather than more permeable international borders as countries have enacted strict immigration and travel policies. This growing rigidity of international borders has paradoxically occurred as international tourism steadily grew up until the COVID-19 pandemic and conservationists adopted a landscape-scale approach to conserving and restoring ecosystems, often across international borders. Considering this paradox, this dissertation research examined the interactions between tourism development, ecological restoration, and bordering processes by utilizing bordering and stakeholder theories; core-periphery, cross-border tourism, and border frameworks; political ecology; and polycentric governance and cross-border collaboration literature. Together, these conceptualizations were used to assess stakeholder attitudes towards tourism development and ecological restoration, compare resource governance characteristics of private protected areas, and analyze shared appreciation for natural and cultural heritage at the U.S.-Mexico border. To collect data, the researcher utilized in-depth interviews, photo-elicitation interviews, focus groups, secondary data analysis, and observations to engage key tourism and conservation stakeholders from the region, such as tourism businesses, tourists, state and federal agencies, conservation nonprofits, ranchers, and residents The findings of this research revealed a political ecology of a border landscape that included social and environmental injustices and unequal stakeholder partnerships in tourism and ecological restoration initiatives. Unequal partnerships were also found in cross-border resource governance systems, largely due to the U.S. government’s border wall construction actions, and the necessity for government leadership in establishing vertical and horizontal linkages in polycentric governance structures was evident. The results also demonstrated how a shared appreciation for natural and cultural heritage contributes to debordering despite the rebordering actions of border security and strict travel policies. This study contributes to tourism literature by highlighting the need for tourism and ecological restoration initiatives to consider social and environmental justice issues, develop stronger cross-border linkages with governments and resource users, and foster cross-border collaboration and integration. This consideration of social and environmental justice issues involves sharing benefits of tourism and restoration, restoring and preserving resources that stakeholders value, and facilitating access to resources.
ContributorsClark, Connor (Author) / Nyaupane, Gyan P (Thesis advisor) / Timothy, Dallen (Committee member) / Budruk, Megha (Committee member) / Coronado, Irasema (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
An emerging group of services and activities provided by some State Tourism Offices (STO) called Destination Development (DDev) programs coincides with a growing practitioner shift from promotion to tourism product development. These programs are largely unexplored models for how STO and local destinations might effectively collaborate to create and manage sustainable tourism destinations. Local communities are the innate touchpoint of tourism experiences and the scale at which most negative impacts of tourism naturally occur. Yet many communities lack resources, expertise, and capacity to endogenously plan, develop, and manage sustainable tourism destinations, which creates a need for external actor involvement—involvement that creates equity and power concerns. State organizations are well-positioned to provide accountable support, but little is known about what STOs can do to best catalyze, facilitate, and support sustainable community destinations. Are DDev Programs the key? To better understand the concept and design of DDev programs, as well as the precise role they play in supporting community destination success, an exploratory case study of four US State Tourism Offices that operate DDev Programs was conducted via purposive, in-depth interviews. Themes within and between the cases were identified, and it was discovered that DDev programming largely emerged from the field of rural development; is positioned as a key complement to destination marketing; and has engendered a highly collaborative community of practice that desires greater structure and professional support.
ContributorsClasen, Daniel Wesley (Author) / Vogt, Christine A (Thesis advisor) / Andereck, Kathleen L (Committee member) / Vaugeois, Nicole L (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021