scholarly journals The Imperative Role of Community Groups in Rural Tourism Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 10(4) (10(4)) ◽  
pp. 1357-1369
Author(s):  
Alpheaus Litheko ◽  
Marius Potgieter

Rural tourism, if strategically developed and managed, can make a substantial positive contribution towards the prosperity of the rural community. The management of the community group as primary stakeholders within a rural tourism development context is essential to enhance the rural collective economy of a region, augmenting the rural appearance, strengthening the rural civilisation construction, reducing the urban-rural gap, and building a cohesive and harmonious community. The primary objective is to examine the community group’s level of involvement in rural tourism development programmes; as well as to establish their level of participation in rural tourism development activities. A survey was undertaken to obtain the quantitative data needed from the community group. The findings show that the involvement of the community group in the decision-making process will assist in the effective implementation of projects without delays and contribute towards the sustainable development of rural tourism. The management of sustainable rural tourism development therefore necessitates that the needs of the community group are considered in the decision-making process and their participation therein. Participation facilitates rational cooperation, strengthens partnerships, builds trust and credibility, empowers the community group, and therefore makes management more effective.

2021 ◽  
pp. 238008442110144
Author(s):  
N.R. Paul ◽  
S.R. Baker ◽  
B.J. Gibson

Introduction: Patients’ decisions to undergo major surgery such as orthognathic treatment are not just about how the decision is made but what influences the decision. Objectives: The primary objective of the study was to identify the key processes involved in patients’ experience of decision making for orthognathic treatment. Methods: This study reports some of the findings of a larger grounded theory study. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews of patients who were seen for orthognathic treatment at a teaching hospital in the United Kingdom. Twenty-two participants were recruited (age range 18–66 y), of whom 12 (male = 2, female = 10) were 6 to 8 wk postsurgery, 6 (male = 2, female = 4) were in the decision-making stage, and 4 (male = 0, female = 4) were 1 to 2 y postsurgery. Additional data were also collected from online blogs and forums on jaw surgery. The data analysis stages of grounded theory methodology were undertaken, including open and selective coding. Results: The study identified the central role of dental care professionals (DCPs) in several underlying processes associated with decision making, including legitimating, mediating, scheduling, projecting, and supporting patients’ decisions. Six categories were related to key aspects of decision making. These were awareness about their underlying dentofacial problems and treatment options available, the information available about the treatment, the temporality of when surgery would be undertaken, the motivations and expectation of patients, social support, and fear of the surgery, hospitalization, and potentially disliking their new face. Conclusion: The decision-making process for orthognathic treatment is complex, multifactorial, and heavily influenced by the role of DCPs in patient care. Understanding the magnitude of this role will enable DCPs to more clearly participate in improving patients’ decision-making process. The findings of this study can inform future quantitative studies. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The results of this study can be used both for informing clinical practice around enabling decision making for orthognathic treatment and also for designing future research. The findings can better inform clinicians about the importance of their role in the patients’ decision-making process for orthognathic treatment and the means to improve the patient experience. It is suggested that further research could be conducted to measure some of the key constructs identified within our grounded theory and assess how these change during the treatment process.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-279
Author(s):  
Božo Mihailović ◽  
Ilija Moric

The purpose – The purpose of this paper is to research the role of marketing concept in the process of the sustainable rural tourism development. Design – The special focus is given to analysis of the factors that influence the implementation of marketing philosophy in tourism and its specifics in area of rural tourism. Methodology – Using available secondary and primary data from government bodies and relevant international organisations, several factors are identified that affect the implementation of marketing philosophy in area of rural tourism. Followed by qualitative analysis, these factors are analyses in details in order to provide the ideas for future development.The development of information technology, competition and growth in its global character, the new buyer and the need for sustainable development are just some of the factors that determine a new way of keeping the rural tourism business. Approach – Implementation of marketing philosophy in rural tourism is examined on the level of tourist destination, due to importance of cooperation and coordination on this macro level for the sustainable development of the rural tourism. Findings – Key findings indicate that marketing in rural tourism should be seen as a means to achieve development of strategic goals of rural tourist destinations, such as: long-term prosperity, guest satisfaction, profit maximization, extension of the tourist season, neutralizing the negative social impacts, stabilization of employment, support and further diversification of existing economic activity, temporal and spatial redistribution of tourist demand etc. Therefore, marketing cannot be understood simply as propaganda or simply as printing leaflets, but as a platform for defining business objectives and strategies, and creation of tourist products which deliver unique experience to consumers and generate profit for rural tourism destination. The originality of this research – The originality comes from the analysis of the specifics of marketing implementation in rural tourism.


Author(s):  
Ralph Davis

This chapter examines British shipping management in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with particular focus on the role of the shipmaster. It identifies several of the problems in ship management and the consequences that came from joint-stock ownership. It also explores how ships advertised business and employment, and the decision making-process behind the chartering of ships. It determines the duties of shipmasters and how they varied based on the level of involvement of the ship’s managing owner. Using contemporary correspondence to further illustrate the life of the shipmaster, it attempts to define the scope of his authority. It concludes that despite the level of autonomy a shipmaster might attain, ultimately the crucial decisions that ensured a ship’s success lay with the shipowners: purchase of the ship, how to deploy it, and indeed the choice of shipmaster.


Author(s):  
Milica Igić ◽  
Mihailo Mitković ◽  
Petar Mitković ◽  
Milena Dinić-Branković ◽  
Jelena Đekić ◽  
...  

Rural areas in Serbia occupy about 3/4 of total country territory and they are home for almost half of total population. These areas are characterized by very heterogeneous environment with not expressed anthropogenic negative influence. Because of a few types of the settlements and very rich rural and natural landscapes, there are great opportunities for development of diverse economies, multifunctional use, and a variety of different activities. This chapter discusses rural tourism development in the Region of the Southern and Eastern Serbia and its impact on the urban-rural synergy. The main goal is to investigate the impact of the tourism development on the connections on the relation urban to rural on the example of this region, and to point out importance of this synergy for future balanced rural and regional development. Rural tourism represents drive for urban-rural synergy and it is one of the key factors of rural development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 559-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Kamassi ◽  
Noor Hazilah Abd Manaf ◽  
Azura Omar

Purpose This paper aims to address and identify the major stakeholders in the medical tourism industry, based on their participation in medical tourism activities and their support for medical tourism development. Design/methodology/approach This paper systematically reviews the content of medical tourism studies from literature to identify key stakeholders and address the roles they play in the medical tourism industry. Findings This study shows that the key stakeholders in the medical tourism industry are eight, namely, medical tourists, health-care providers, government agencies, facilitators, accreditation and credentialing bodies, health-care marketers, insurance providers and infrastructure and facilities. These stakeholders strongly influence medical tourists’ decision-making process in seeking medical treatment abroad. Besides, a successful medical tourism development depends greatly on the excellent partnership between all stakeholders. Practical implications This paper sheds light on the crucial role of these stakeholders that can be an important consideration in medical tourists’ decision-making process and industry growth. The study can facilitate policymakers in designing and developing policies to improve medical tourism practices. Originality/value This paper expands the knowledge about medical tourism literature by identifying and explaining the significant role of each stakeholder in the industry. The results of this paper are quite revealing to all practitioners in terms of the potential strategies and medical tourism growth. The study establishes a foundation for future medical tourism research in the rapidly growing industry.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-58
Author(s):  
Maolin Zhao ◽  
Suyu Liu

Characteristic towns are the continuation and development of the construction of "small towns", and have become an important node of the development of "urban-rural integration". Characteristic tourism town is one of the important models of rural tourism development. It plays an important role in promoting the solution of "Three rural issues", increasing farmers' opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment, improving farmers' income, building a beautiful countryside and finally realizing rural revitalization. The restrictive factors and main problems of the development of characteristic tourism towns in Northern Anhui are: single business model and shallow cultural excavation level. The development foundation is relatively weak, and the industrial products are not closely related. The essence of cultural characteristics is not fully reflected, which needs to be deeply excavated. Through the analysis, the following development ideas and countermeasures of characteristic tourism towns in Northern Anhui are formed: first, give full play to the resources with the most comparative advantages and take the road of characteristic development. Second, make leisure tourism closely related to the characteristic industries and products of small towns. Third, deeply excavate and fully absorb traditional culture, and create a new idea of developing characteristic tourism towns in Northern Anhui with the combination of culture and tourism. Fourth, actively explore the new mode of "Internet plus tourism".


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 265-279
Author(s):  
Marcos Antonio Leite Frandoloso ◽  
Eduardo Grala da Cunha ◽  
Albert Cuchí i Burgos

Sustainability has been increasingly incorporated as an essential life perspective into educational institutions as well as local communities. Universities play an important role into the society by debating theoretical contributions and implementing concrete actions. The present research was developed to evaluate a university’s energy efficiency by using the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain as a reference for University of Passo Fundo, Brazil. The reference values and index ratings obtained for energy performance, in the Universities’ building stock, were evaluated based on positive and negative features. The study identifies and assesses the evolution of incident factors towards energy consumption and its impacts on the hidropower generation, the main energy resource in Brazilian. Hence, the university can promote a reflection about its practices to develop feasible tools that contribute to sustainable measures. As a result, guidelines and strategies were proposed, not only on targeted evaluated buildings but also on the entire building stock. The research indicates the importance to follow well-defined guidelines in the decision-making process by institutions of higher education, in order to consider integrated sustainable practices. The methodology and findings contribute to improve and promote Education for Sustainability, which should encourage other similar universities to put sustainable projects into practice and encourage the whole society to face the inevitable change of paradigms for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).


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