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RESOURCES: PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS

Author : Tim Coles, Anne-Kathrin Zschiegner & Claire Dinan
School/Work Place : University of Exeter Business School, UK
Contact : T.E.Coles@exeter.ac.uk
Year : 2010

This paper explores the relationship between network membership and innovation towards more sustainable tourism development. In particular it examines the extent to which tourism businesses have introduced measures to mitigate the effects of climate change within their operations.

In recent studies of the changing dynamics of the tourism sector, the concepts of innovation and knowledge transfer have featured prominently (Shaw and Williams 2009; Hall and Williams 2008). In a growing body of knowledge, it is argued that innovation among businesses and organisations is vital in order to be able respond to contemporary challenges, in particular in the area of sustainable tourism (Hjalagar 1996, 1997). New challenges require original interventions. For instance, although innovation is a fuzzy concept with multiple and contested meanings (Coles et al 2009), recent studies have highlighted its importance in both mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change (Hall 2006; Saarinen and Tervo 2006). In other words, the more innovative businesses become the greater their ability to respond successfully. Innovations may be relatively modest in scope, such as converting to A-rated appliances or adding insulation. Alternatively, they may be radical and associated with new technologies or inventions, such as using Photovoltaic cells, so-called ‘Smart Metering’ or the latest wood chip boilers. Businesses innovate at different rates but the key challenge, as so-called ‘Wedge Theory’ (Stern 2007) acknowledges, is to encourage as many businesses as possible to innovate towards mitigation and as soon as practicable. Otherwise under ‘business as usual’ scenarios total emissions are likely to continue to rise in a sector that already accounts for around 5% of global C02 emissions (UNWTO 2007).

Innovation seldom takes place in perfect isolation. Businesses and organisations are better placed to respond to contemporary challenges where they exchange knowledge in the form of information, experiences, skills, expertise, best practices and technological insights. Networks offer a medium for such exchanges. Conventional wisdom suggests that the more extensive and/or efficient the network, the greater the likelihood for circulation to the benefit of all members. As sustainable development is in the common good, networks would appear an ideal means to encourage the spread of more responsible and innovative practices. Not surprisingly, a variety of networking arrangements, architectures and interactions have been identified as a means by which to enhance the delivery of sustainable tourism (Bramwell and Lane 2000; Coles 2008).

As a result, a number of associations, organisations and professional bodies at a range of geographical scales from the local to the supra-national have been established in order to promote the principles and practices of sustainable development in tourism. By implication, if the mission of such networks is to facilitate knowledge exchange to encourage change, it is reasonable to assume that members should exhibit enhanced levels of awareness of and practices in sustainable business issues (if the network functions efficiently and/or is adding value). There have, though, been few attempts to examine empirically the extent to which members practice the principles of sustainable business compared to non-members. In short, the specific research question which is addressed by this short paper is ‘does network membership really result in higher levels of sustainable business practice in tourism, in particular in the area of climate change mitigation?’


List of Articles
No. Subject Viewssort Date
354 Think Tank VIII A Conceptual Ex Ante Framework for the Strategic Study... file 9944 Oct 13, 2013

The area of sport event tourism has been growing over the last years, which led to an increasing amount of research that has analysed both the economic and social impacts of sport events. Whereas a substantial amount of ex post assessment fr...

Author: Nico Schulenkorf 

Year: 2008 

OPA: 2008 Runner Up 

353 Think Tank VI Corporate Social Responsibility or Government Interven... file 9264 Oct 13, 2013

Implicit in notions of sustainable development is an holistic triple bottom line approach that seeks to preserve essential ecological processes, protect human heritage and biodiversity and foster inter and intra-generational equity whilst r...

Author: David Wood & Jack Carlsen 

Year: 2006 

352 OPA award Cultural values in sustainable tourism: Conflicts betw... file 9145 Oct 13, 2013

This paper evaluates cultural conflicts between indigenous groups, recreation users and management agencies over the appropriate amenity use of protected areas in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. It assesses both social values conflicts ...

Author: Heather Zeppel 

Year: 2009 

OPA: 2009 Outstanding Paper Award Winner 

351 Think Tank VIII Employment of the Disabled Workforce in the Hospitalit... file 9145 Oct 13, 2013

Employment is one of the important requirements for the integration of disabled people to daily life. The tourism industry is one of Turkey’s important industries with a great potential for growth. However this growth must be a planned and ...

Author: Sabah Balta & Murat Bengisu 

Year: 2008 

350 Think Tank VII Barriers to Innovation in Hospitality Provision: Towar... file 9118 Oct 13, 2013

Recent challenges within the hospitality industry highlight a critical need for research and innovation to inform management practice. Surprisingly, however, a comprehensive review of literature has found that innovation research within the...

Author: Conrad Lashley & Barry O'Mahony 

Year: 2007 

349 Think Tank XIII Sustainable Tourism in Kerala - Chances for Local Comm... file 9117 Nov 06, 2013

The Indian state Kerala is positioned by Kerala Tourism as a sustainable tourism destination for domestic and foreign markets (cf. Jean-Francois 2011). Indeed sustainable tourism projects take place and are conducted either by NGOs like Kaba...

Author: Tatjana Thimm 

Year: 2013 

348 Think Tank XIV Values in Tourism Higher Education: the Case of Europe... file 8942 Jun 26, 2014

The primary rationale for embedding values-based learning in tourism higher education is to engage students’ learning-to-learn and learning-to-be, rather than simply learning about a topic, such as tourism management or sustainability (Libur...

Author: Tanja Mihalič, Janne J. Liburd & Jaume Guia 

Year: 2014 

347 Think Tank XV Deconstruction of Man-nature Dialogue Nexus: A Critica... file 8812 Jul 27, 2015

The relationship between man and nature dates back to the millennia. The intimacy of man-nature interaction increased with decreasing healthy nature, as man’s insatiable desire to know and control nature as a commodity becomes more dynamical...

Author: Michael Kweku Commeh 

Year: 2015 

346 Think Tank VIII Environmental Education and Ecotourism: A Case Study o... file 8694 Oct 13, 2013

In this paper we take the standpoint that environmental education and ecotourism are highly related and depend on each other, and that ecotourism cannot be achieved without proper environmental education. Furthermore, in order to achieve qu...

Author: Mojca Arsenijevic & Marko Bohanec 

Year: 2008 

345 OPA award Using Tourism to Build Social Capital in Communities: ... file 8664 Nov 06, 2013

Despite considerable discussion about how tourism could or should contribute to sustainable destination development, there is little evidence that the practice of tourism planning or development has altered in any significant way in the last...

Author: Gianna Moscardo, Andrea Schurmann, Elena Konovalov & Nancy G. McGehee 

Year: 2013 

344 Think Tank IV Integration of Theory and Practice in Hospitality Sust... file 8594 Oct 13, 2013

This brief paper describes a new educational model developed at Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne (EHL) to link theory and practice, or more specifically, coordinate learning opportunities between the classroom (Sustainable Tourism) and current pr...

Author: James Holleran 

Year: 2004 

343 Think Tank IX Revitalizing Community Values through Railway Regenera... file 8415 Oct 13, 2013

This paper presents a tourism research and education approach for the optimization of social capital invested in community action in support of railway tourism in the Asia Pacific region. The main hypothesis of the research is that railway r...

Author: Ian Chaplin 

Year: 2009 

342 Think Tank XII Furthering the Understanding of the Slow Travel Phenom... file 8299 Nov 06, 2013

Slow travel is a relatively new concept. Originally this was a grass root movement, which now is becoming an interest area for scholars. The first organised networks and forums started to emerge approximately a decade ago. A slow travel webs...

Author: Tina Roenhovde Tiller 

Year: 2012 

341 Think Tank V Ideas for A(u)ction: Tourism Risk Management file 8173 Dec 14, 2013

As a contribution to BEST Education Network ThinkTank V, Managing Riskand Crisis for Sustainable Tourism, the following paper has been prepared in two parts. The first part of the paper focuses on the idea that an appropriate model can be de...

Author: Scott K. Cunliffe 

Year: 2005 

OPA: Keynote Speech 

340 Think Tank X Sustainable Tourism Networks file 8105 Oct 13, 2013

This study examines the existing pattern of stakeholder relationships representing major partners of sustainable tourism development. By utilizing a network analysis lens the study also helps us understand the impact of inter relationships ...

Author: Seldjan Timur 

Year: 2010 

339 Think Tank IX Sustainable Tourism Development Plan for the Old City ... file 8085 Oct 13, 2013

This research aims to propose a sustainable tourism development plan for the City of Nan. Since the year 2000, Nan civil society leaders, national and international stakeholders have tried to develop Nan into a world heritage destination. I...

Author: Donruetai Kovathanakul 

Year: 2009 

338 Think Tank IX Courchevel, an outstanding alpine ski resort at a turn... file 8055 Oct 13, 2013

“Courchevel is first and foremost one among the founding elements of the huge touristic complex of les Trois Vallées in France. Linked to the neighbouring Allues and Belleville valleys by a 3,000 acres network area of regularly packed and ma...

Author: Daniel Tixier 

Year: 2009 

337 Think Tank IX Community based sustainable tourism: Quality of life a... file 8040 Oct 13, 2013

This paper explores the concept of quality of life (QOL) as perceived by residents in tourism destinations and examines differences in perceptions of QOL among culturally different destinations. The perceived QOL of local community is an imp...

Author: Yvette Reisinger & Kwang-Soo Park 

Year: 2009 

336 OPA award Environmental Training and Measures at Scandic Hotels,... file 8012 Dec 01, 2013

Hotels are traditionally geared towards providing a high-level of comfort and entertainment, as well as a broad spectrum of services, often without giving much concern to associated environmental or socio-economic impacts. Hotel companies ty...

Author: Paulina Bohdanowicz, Branko Simanic & Ivo Martinac 

Year: 2004 

OPA: 2004 Outstanding Paper Award Winner 

335 Think Tank VII Environmentally Sustainable Practices of Victorian Tou... file 7965 Oct 13, 2013

Environmental sustainability has been a growing concern in our society for the past twenty years, and is a primary issue of many leaders of the tourism industry. In spite of the many efforts to encourage and/or enforce environmentally sound ...

Author: Sue Beeton, Sue Bergin-Seers & Christine Lee 

Year: 2007 

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