Abstracts

19th Annual 

Graduate Association of Recreation & Leisure Studies Leisure Research Symposium

Every Picture Tells a Story:  Snapshots, Textures and Angles of Recreation, Leisure and Tourism Research

Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies

University of Waterloo

May 5 - 6, 2011

ABSTRACTS

Albughuli, Maryam.  Exploring Motivations and Values for Domestic Travel from an Islamic and Arab Standpoint.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo.

Saudi Arabia is the world's leading oil producer and exporter. The economy in the country is almost totally dependent on oil. Tourism is one of the sectors which received more attention in the last few years after the establishment of the High Commission for Tourism and Antiques in 2000. The Commission's main purpose is to develop, promote and enhance the tourism industry, particularly the domestic tourism industry, to be one of the important sectors in economy. The main purpose of this research is to look at motivations and values for Saudi citizens to travel domestically and to measure their satisfaction on the services they are provided with when they travel within the country. The study examines motivations by understanding the 'push' and 'pull' factors and these concepts have been accepted in many studies. The idea behind these concepts is that people travel because they are pushed by their own internal forces and pulled by external forces of the destination attributes.  The study was conducted in the city of Medina and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and 140 questionnaires were obtained. The findings indicated that there are eight push motivations for Saudi tourists including (Relaxation, Spirituality, Family, Cultural, Activity, Knowledge, Loyalty and Economic) and five pull factors including (Religious, Safety, Entertainment, Luxury and Local culture). The study showed that the push factor of Relaxation and the pull factor of Religion are the most important factors as perceived by Saudis.  

Ayer, Nadina.  Tennis Spectator Loyalty When Life Gets in the Way.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo.

The purpose of this study was to understand constraints to tennis spectating and constraints negotiation therein. Research questions related to the changing nature of spectating experience, its meaning, and spectators’ actions when faced with constraints. Past research on spectating sporting events, consumer loyalty, and leisure constraints was mainly quantitative in nature. To help add understanding to the literature qualitatively, data of this study was collected and analyzed using grounded theory. Study also attempted to address the recommendation to examine negotiation-efficacy role among various populations and other leisure contexts (Loucks-Atkinson & Mannell, 2007). Interviews were conducted with thirteen tennis spectators (six males and seven females) residing in Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Hamilton, Oshawa, and Toronto. Spectators varied in age, playing ability, and occupation. Spectating experiences suggested ten constraints, six negotiation strategies, and five steps to minimize the impact of potential future constraints on one’s behaviour. Results revealed a circular relationship between constraints, negotiation, and participation. Constraints were related with negative emotions, reduced enjoyment, physical discomfort, which threatened future tennis spectating behaviour. Main study limitation is that results are not population representative and are participant/context specific. Implications for practice may include: establishing a sense of service value, increasing interactive gaming and activities during inclement weather, betterment of promotional efforts of amateur events and media exposure via local channels of professional tennis events. Future research recommendations include: studying a similar topic in a different context, assessing the impact of sport attachment versus player attachment on spectating behaviour of individual sports quantitatively, and conducting an experiment where a constraint is manipulated.

Basu, Sonia & McRoberts, Dan.  Decolonizing Australian Aboriginal Tourism.  Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo.

The relationship between Aboriginal Australians, the government and other key players in the tourism industry is constrained and challenged by persistent neo-colonial understandings and practices. This paper reviews the literature on issues involving parks, protected areas, tourism businesses and accreditation schemes. Examples include lack of ownership and rights, western values of land use, excessive bureaucracy, negative tourist perceptions, and preclusion of Aboriginal peoples from the dominant economic, social, cultural, environmental and political discourses. New approaches are emerging in an effort to overcome these deeply entrenched problems and this paper provides examples of how stakeholders can assist in decolonizing the Australian tourism system as constructed by government and industry. Governance models must deliver genuine decision-making power to community representatives and policy makers must involve greater Indigenous participation (Banerjee & Tedmanson, 2010).  The private sector must develop socially responsible initiatives such as providing education and training. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal NGOs can also provide education, training and business management skills to Aboriginals and Aboriginal enterprises. Lastly, the Aboriginal community can enact peaceful means of resistance to bring awareness to stakeholders.  By working cohesively with other major actors in the tourism industry, Aboriginal peoples can strategically plan, adapt and modify existing economic models or even create their own models to further the process in achieving autonomy and most importantly, to better suit the needs of their own communities.

Campbell, Graham.  'Victimless' Leisure" Virtual, Creative, and Activist Perspectives.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies,  University of Waterloo.

Prevailing 20th century sentiment in leisure research has held the concept of leisure as value-laden, socially functional, and usually inherently positive – and indeed, it may be largely so. However, in 1999, Rojek’s Abnormal Leisure presented three types of transgressive leisure: invasive, mephitic, and wild. Often associated with violence or vice, these forms fit our definitions of leisure, but seemed incongruous with preexisting positively tinted notions of it. I review leisure literature concerning so-called dark, abnormal, and deviant leisure forms in light of Rojek’s typology, and suggest a fourth category of deviant leisure for study: “Victimless” leisure. This includes virtual (i.e. illegal file sharing), creative (i.e. illegally re-mixing copyrighted works), and activist (i.e. ‘guerilla gardening’) forms. Not actually victimless per se, I use the term with a sense of irony as this concept is based on shared properties of physical or psychological distance from the entity affected by the behaviour; as well as an inherent element of resistance in the leisure form. The relaxation of social controls as a function of the culture of leisure (Rojek, 1999) provides the background for this discussion. This concept and the preliminary categories mentioned are put forth as updated additions to Rojek’s typology of deviant leisure forms; and a tentative step to begin to explore the complexities of the so-called ‘new leisure’ in an increasingly techno-centric and postmodern world.

Campbell, Stephanie.  Volunteer Tourism:  Exploring the motivations to participate in volunteer tourism, a qualitative study.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies.  University of Waterloo.

This paper aims to investigate what motivates travellers to participate in volunteer tourism experiences. A background to volunteer tourism as a niche market is provided along with a discussion of both positive and negative impacts cited in the literature as well as motivational theories relating to travel behaviour. Findings are based on a qualitative study, in which I interviewed people who had participated in a volunteer travel experience during the past two years. The results are presented in a way which highlights key drivers of volunteer tourists and differentiating factors between vacation-minded tourists and volunteer-minded tourists, relating to motivations for participation in volunteer tourism. The key drivers for volunteer travel participation include 1) the desire to effect change and 2) the desire to be changed. Conversely, the differentiating factors include 1) meeting someone else’s needs vs. meeting one’s own needs, 2) the traveller working with/for the host community vs. the host community working for the traveller and 3) unclear expectations vs. clear expectations.

Griffin, Tom.  A Critical Analysis of Gap Year Narratives.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies.  University of Waterloo.

Introduction: ‘Gap years’ have become an accepted and normal part of young people’s lives in Britain (Jones 2004, Simpson 2004).  This study is interested in how returned ‘gappers’ reflect discourse related to the post-colonial metanarrative of this type of travel; structured volunteer experiences in a developing world community.  Existing literature on gap year tourism has typically focused on the benefits for the volunteer.  This study seeks to build on the more recent wave of critical analysis providing practitioners with an opportunity for reflection and academics with a methodology that has yet to be applied to this topic.  

Methodology: An analysis of narratives approach is adopted using interviews from six returned gappers.  I will take a critical constructionist lens viewing narratives as ‘a vehicle through which our world, lives, and selves are articulated’ (Sparkes and Smith 2008, p.298).  I am also focused on how respondents ‘make sense of personal experience in relation to culturally and historically specific discourses, and how they draw on, resist, and/or transform those discourses as they narrate their selves, experiences and realties’ (Chase 2005, p.659). 

Analysis and Interpretation: Somers (1994) four ‘dimensions of narrativity’ (pp.617-619) will be referenced in analysis and interpretation, specifically the relationship between the personal ‘ontological narratives’, the institutional ‘public narratives’ and historical ‘metanarratives’.  The constructed meanings regarding interaction and perceptions within the narratives will form the basis for interpretation.  Acceptance, adaptation and rejection of post-colonial metanarratives will be discussed.

Halbe, Akanksha & Tang, Mantao. Socio-Economic Issues of porters in Mt. Kilmanjaro.  Department of Geography, University of Waterloo.

Increasing concerns with mountain tourism in developing countries has been discussed in the literature pertaining to sustainable tourism. Insufficient infrastructure, technology, resources and lack of management skills have negatively impacted the mountain tourism industry in several ways. The problems identified as a result of these constraints among the porters in Mt. Kilimanjaro situated in the Republic of Tanzania are mainly socio-economic in nature.  Mt. Kilimanjaro has been recognized as a research case owing to the porter deaths reported in the past decade along with unfair working conditions, poor health and safety , lack of empowerment and deficient framework of the mountain tourism fraternity.

The qualitative case study has used the method of stakeholder mapping, together with the power/interest matrix to identify stakeholders and their influence on the decisions in relation to porters welfare.  The primary reason for taking such an approach has been the conflicting interests and uneven power relations of the stakeholders which influence the outcomes of the posters despair.

The key stakeholders that have been identified in the study include government and local authority, NGOs, tour operators and travel agents, local porters and tourists. The case study presented the evaluation of these stakeholder demands and influence which play a significant role in constructing fair policies for porters in Mt. Kilimanjaro. The recommendations presented in this study have been from micro (porters welfare related) and macro (general administrative policy implications) perspectives. This research poses an agenda for further inquiry using primary data collection methods to develop these findings.

Han, Sidney Su and Ye, Nan.  The Effect of Regulatory Focus and Culture on the Adaptation of Ecotourism.  Department of Marketing & Consumer Studies.  University of Guelph.

Introduction: Understanding how people adopt ecotourism is crucial for the promotion of ecotourism to the public. The current study examines one psychographic variable (self regulatory focus) as a determinant to people’s adoption of ecotourism, as well as investigates the moderating role of culture in this relationship.  

Theoretical Background and Hypothesis Development: According to the theory of self regulatory focus (Higgins 1987), people can achieve their goals through two approaches: promotion- or prevention- focus. Promotion-focused people perceive their goals as hopes and desires (positive outcomes). In contrast, prevention-focused people perceive their goals as duties and responsibilities (negative outcomes). Ecotourism aims to minimize the negative impacts of tourism on the natural environment and local communities. Ecotourism is compatible with the prevention focus because of its emphasis on sustainable responsibility. Therefore, we hypothize that prevention-focused tourists are more favorable to ecotourism and more likely to adopt it, but only for eastern (interdependent) cultures, whereas promotion-focused people in western (independent) cultures are more likely to adopt ecotourism because ecotourism itself is a form of leisure and entertainment, which is compatible with the promotion focus.

Methodology and Pilot Study: Two experimentations are conducted in this study. Study 1 employs a 2 (self-regulatory focus: promotion- versus prevention- focus) x 2 (culture: eastern versus western) between-subject full-factorial design. 100 undergraduate students in an Ontarian university are selected to participate in this study. Half of participants are from western culture (local English Canadians) and the other half are from eastern culture (international students from Eastern Asia). Self regulatory focus is directly measured by an 18-item scale (Lockwood, Jordon and Kunda 2002). “Preference to ecotourism” and “intention to take up ecotourism” are used for dependent measurement. Study 2 replicates study 1, except that self regulatory focus is manipulated by a priming approach in which participants are asked to recall a promotion-focused or prevention-focused event. The scenarios for both studies have been pre-tested by using student samples in an Ontarian university. A pilot study for study 1 with 22 participants and for study 2 with 25 participants has been completed, and the research findings consistently support the hypotheses.

Contributions: The two studies contribute to research in terms of both self regulatory focus and ecotourism theory. This research identifies a psychographic factor influencing the adoption of ecotourism; it also explores the moderating effect of culture on this relationship.

Hewer, Micah J. Weather Preferences and Weather Related Decision-Making for Summer Camping in Ontario Parks.  Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo.

This study contributes to the on-going assessment of weather sensitivity for different tourism segments across varying climate zones world-wide.  This study hopes to foster more informed planning and adaptation to climatic opportunities and threats related to park tourism in Ontario.  Jones and Scott (2006) projected increased visitation and lengthened operating seasons for provincial parks in Ontario as a result of climatic warming.  However, increased warming and the subsequent thermal comfort of campers may pose a threat to park visitation if temperatures rise to unacceptable ranges.  Using a survey-based approach, the purpose of this study was therefore to identify and compare stated weather preferences and weather related decision-making between two different provincial parks in Ontario.  The two parks selected as case studies, based on differing park characteristics and perceived climatic requirements, were Pinery and Grundy Lake. 

It was found that temperature preferences between the two parks were strikingly similar.  However, weather related decision-making varied significantly, showing campers at Pinery to be considerably more sensitive to undesirable weather conditions than those at Grundy Lake.  Contrary to the original hypothesis, increased warming was not perceived by campers as a major threat to park visitation in Ontario.  It was heavy rain, strong winds and unacceptably cool temperatures that were found to be the most influential weather aspects in relation to camper decision-making.  In conclusion, based on user preferences, parks which are more beach oriented, closer to tourism generating areas and associated with shorter lengths of stay are expected to be the most weather sensitive. 

Ji, Shaogun.  Projected and Perceived Destination Images: A Case Study of Qingdao, China.  Department of Geography and Environmental Management,  University of Waterloo.

Introduction: How visitors perceive a tourist destination significantly influences their travel choices. Consequently, destination marketers devote great effort to informing their potential consumers’ images about their destinations using deliberately designed projected images. They are eager to learn whether they have successfully transmitted their projected images to potential consumers to construct their images of the destination.

Purpose: This research focuses on a Chinese tourist destination, Qingdao, exploring the relationships between the images projected by Qingdao government agencies and images perceived by current visitors.

Methodology: The images projected by Qingdao were investigated using both qualitative and quantitative content analyses to retrieve the image themes and calculate their frequencies. The images perceived by visitors were examined using descriptive statistics. Subsequently, the identified projected image themes and their corresponding cognitive image attributes and overall image themes were entered into a matrix and compared side by side. Spearman’s rho correlation was also conducted to examine the projected and perceived image relationship.

Findings: Results showed that the image projected by Qingdao was consistent with the images of visitors in their use of certain image themes. However, the correlations between these two types of images suggested that the emphasis of the projected images did not significantly relate to visitors’ cognitive images in terms of the attributes’ values of quality or relative importance. These findings imply that Qingdao’s projected image has been partially successfully transmitted to the visitors.

Lee, Hoffer.  'Experience' in the Context of Tourism and Experiential Marketing.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies,  University of Waterloo.

Introduction:With Pine and Gilmore’s (1999) claim of the arrival of the experience economy era, the studies of experience in a variety of contexts and settings arouse people’s interests. Tourism sector is no exception. Research on the experiential aspects of tourism offering is becoming an area of growing interest amongst tourism scholars.

Purpose of Research:This study aims to provide a thorough and deep understanding of the nature of ‘experience’, particularly in the context of tourism, and to determine whether an experience can be truly marketed by a destination management organization or tourism service operator through experiential marketing as well as to find out how experiential marketing can be fulfilled in tourism.

Research Design:The study draws from a systematic literature review and critical analysis of the existing experiential studies in the fields of leisure, marketing and tourism. After formulating research questions, the researcher selects and appraises high quality research evidences with the aim to identify the major constructs and research streams of aforementioned studies.

Findings, Conclusions and Implications:The findings of this study reveal that with respect to its key elements, experience often consists of sensory, emotional, cognitive, pragmatic, lifestyle, social constructs (Schmitt, 1999), as well as other crucial elements such as memory (Pine & Gilmore, 1998), spirituality (O’Sullivan & Spangler, 1998), and flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). Additionally, given evidence of that visitors’ personality and emotion are instrumental of experiential marketing purpose, it is no doubt that a destination management organization or tourism service operator can truly market ‘an experience’. Finally, in the context of tourism, experiential marketing can be realized through a variety of strategies including novel interpretation (Beeho & Prentice, 1997), experience-driven innovations (Gentile, Spiller & Noci, 2007), customer relationship management, communication channel management (King, 2002) and aesthetic experience enhancement (Schmitt & Simonson, 1997). Regarding the implications of this study, destination management officers and tourism service operators may incorporate aforementioned experiential constructs and strategies into their marketing campaigns to better accommodate and satisfy tourists’ experiential needs. 

Lopez, Kim.  'Walking the Path" to A Changing Melody: Forum Experiences of Persons with Dementia. Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies,  University of Waterloo.

The first forum of its kind in Canada, A Changing Melody changed the way partners in care, professionals, and individuals with dementia come together to share experiences and celebrate strides in dementia care. Ideologies behind phenomenology centralize around the individual and their interaction with the phenomena. This hermeneutic phenomenological study aims to describe the experiences of attendees with dementia, of the first A Changing Melody forum in 2004. Through the person’s acknowledgement of their body, space, place in time, and relation with others, attendees are able to describe their experience of A Changing Melody One-on-one evaluative interviews asked six participants to describe their feelings towards and impressions of A Changing Melody. An initial lifeworld existentials analysis (van Manen, 1997) was conducted to uncover how individuals corporally, spatially, temporally and relationally recollected their experience. Using a selective approach, five essences emerged from lifeworld existentials analysis to weave an essential description from interview transcripts. I describe the essences of A Changing Melody as learning, “walking the path” together, personal advocacy, affirmation of self-change hope and positivity.  The essential description expresses meaningful gains from an opportunity to attend a forum by individuals with dementia. This investigation supports that events like A Changing Melody are invaluable for enriching the lives of persons with dementia by offering outlets for learning, sharing, and developing relationships with others who share similar experiences. Understanding gains and opportunities for “A Changing Melody” from the perspective of persons with dementia could further develop the forum experience for future years.

Lyons, Kimberly.  Cycles, Ceremonies and Creeping Phlox: An Autoethnographic Account of the Creation of Our Garden.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo.

This autoethnographic text outlines a devastating ending (the death of my cat) and a beautiful, new beginning (a marriage). Both of these events are inextricably linked to a garden that was an intricate part, and even the result of, it all. The formation of my personal, social and ecological identity associated with being a gardener is explored from a gendered perspective. How does my gender shape my relationship with nature? Or my relationships with human and nonhuman Others in regards to the garden? How do I use the garden compared to my male partner? How do I contribute to the reproduction and resistance of stereotypical gender roles in my own backyard? In short, how do I, as a woman, experience our garden? I aim to invite the audience into my experience so that they too might consider their own relationships with natural spaces and the role of gender therein.

Maple, Laura.  Leisure in a time of transition:  A qualitative investigation into the leisure involvement of first-year university students.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies. University of Waterloo.

Rationale: Every September, tens of thousands of students enter the world of higher education for the first time. Other than an increased workload, students often have little or no knowledge of what is expected at university (Leese, 2010). This can make the transition to university difficult, resulting in issues such as reduced academic self-esteem, disruption of past social ties, and severe and on-going stress (Benjamin, 1990, as cited in Gilbert, 1997). These issues can affect students’ learning (Ramsay, Raven, & Hall, 2005).

It is suggested that social involvement, such as involvement in leisure activities, can assist in the transition process, because of the potential positive outcomes it can provide (Tinto, 1999; Astin, 1999; Gilbert, 1997; Filiatrault, 2001). When leisure involvement of university students has been examined specifically, positive outcomes include reduction of stress, improved time management and social skills, increased socialization opportunities, and better self-esteem (Patry, Blanchard & Mask, 2007; Tieu & Pancer, 2009; Tieu et al., 2010; Iwasaki, 2001). However, some students defer involvement in non-academic activities until they have their academic lives under control (Terenzini et al., 1994); even though leisure may help students get their academic footing (Patry et al., 2007).

Study Details: This study will be comprised of one-on-one interviews with first year students exploring (1) the factors affecting their involvement in leisure and (2) their decision making processes about four types of leisure while they make the transition into university: using leisure as a planned break, an avoidance tactic, a structured activity, or an unstructured activity. These leisure types were chosen based on findings from past studies on university students and their potential positive or negative outcomes (Pantry et al., 2007; Tieu & Pancer, 2009; Tieu et al., 2010; Iwasaki, 2001). Although this is a work-in-progress, at the time of the Symposium, data collection should be complete and preliminary results may be available.

Miller, Maggie.  A more sustainable form of volunteer tourism? Exploring reciprocal exchange in the WWOOF movement.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo.

Current volunteer tourism literature focuses on the positive impacts volunteers have on a host community within a destination. However, upon further examination a critical eye has been cast by some researchers, suggesting that volunteer tourism has negative ramifications such as, perpetuating existing power and social hierarchies between the rich and privileged, and the poor and less privileged (Sin, 2010). The Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) movement mirrors components of volunteer tourism as it is defined in the literature, however, is notably distinctive, as there appears to be a component of reciprocal or mutual exchange between hosts and guests. The volunteers who WWOOF do not pay hosts and hosts do not pay the volunteers; rather it is a work-accommodation/food exchange (WWOOF, 2011). Thus, the purpose of my examination is to explore this under-studied phenomenon and better understand the experience on these farms and the socio-cultural impacts of WWOOF on the surrounding local communities. Furthermore, by conducting an instrumental case study on a WWOOF farm in Argentina, my investigation is not only intended to understand the experience, but more specifically seeks to explore the potential presence of reciprocal “exchange” in the host-guest dyad. Through participation, observation and unstructured interviews with WWOOF farmers and volunteers and the surrounding local community members, I hope to advance my understanding of this social phenomenon, the host-guest relationships and the sustainability of this potential sub-sector of volunteer tourism.

Ng, Yvonne.  The Role of Leisure for Chinese Immigrants Living in the Greater Toronto Area.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo.

Currently, a gap in literature involves the lack of leisure research on specific ethnic groups.  Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand the experience of leisure and of involvement in the First Chinese Seniors Association of Vaughan for Chinese adults aged 50 to 65 years who have been living in Canada for at least five years.  As this is a phenomenological study, the main focus is on the meanings and experiences of the participants.  Purposeful sampling methods were used to find participants who fit the study criteria of being a Chinese immigrant from Mainland China and/or Hong Kong, living in Canada for at least five years,  between the ages of 50 to 65, member of the First Chinese Seniors Association of Vaughan, and participating in at least one activity at the Centre at the time of interview.  Altogether, 13 face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted within three weeks.  Through findings from the data, five main essences were developed: achieving and maintaining health, changing cultures, experiencing freedom and choice, cultural expression and learning, and experiencing and building community at the First Chinese Seniors Association of Vaughan.  These findings exemplify the great value Chinese immigrants uphold in believing and linking leisure's benefit to holistic health.  Also, leisure was shown as a site for cultural expression and development of an ethnic community.  Overall, implications of this study will be of most value to recreation practitioners and researchers by allowing for greater cultural sensitivity in developing and enhancing programs for this specific group.

Rouzrokh, Mahsa.  I am My Painting: a Phenomenological Approach to Understanding Iranian Immigrant Artists' Lived Experience of Art and Immigration.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies,  University of Waterloo.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the phenomenon of painting the immigration experience among Iranian immigrant artists living in Toronto and Waterloo. The conceptualization, interviews, and data analysis of this research were guided by previous phenomenological literature, research methods and by the researcher’s personal experience. Four female Iranian artists, who have immigrated to Canada between two years and twenty years ago, were asked to recall and reflect on their experiences of immigration, and on the possible influences their lived-experiences had on their painting themes, styles and techniques. Results revealed three themes: “Separating the old self and bringing along the valuables”, “In between worlds, lost, clueless and vulnerable”, and “Being an artist in transition”. The essential structure that ties the emergent themes together is the journey of “Self-discovery”.  A new home brings with itself opportunities to deconstruct the self and redefine the identity. This study contributes to the phenomenological understanding of the expression of the experience of immigration through art. Moreover, this study provides a glimpse into how art can potentially be used to understand the phenomenon of immigration. The profound understanding of the lived experience of immigration can result in superior interaction among immigrants and host society and a sustainable integration of both communities. 

Sealey-Baker, Mamie.  Coral Bleaching and Dive Operators in the Caribbean: Observations, Understanding and Response.  Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo.  

Dive tourism is a growing and important industry which is reliant on a high quality natural environment.  As dive tourism’s significance grows due to its economic and ecological impacts on many tropical destinations, it is important to understand how this special-interest tourism may be affected by environmental change (Gossling et al., 2008).  Mass coral bleaching episodes, a phenomenon with potentially severe implications for the health of coral reef ecosystems, have been increasing in intensity and frequency over the last three decades.  This has begun to affect the enjoyment of visitors and the prosperity of individuals and dive tourism businesses that depend on reefs (Marshall & Schuttenberg, 2006).  Therefore, the purpose of this project is to explore the perceptions, opinions and adaptation strategies of dive operators in the Caribbean regarding coral bleaching and its effects on their business and dive tourism.

This study is guided by a sequential, mixed methods design and will consist of two phases: phase 1, a semi-structured interview, followed by phase 2, a web-based survey.  The interviews for the initial phase were done with Tobago dive operators in January 2011 to gain perspectives and insights from local dive operators before the web-based survey was sent out.  A larger regional web-based survey has been chosen for a second phase of the study to test operator opinions across the Caribbean.   Although this is a multi-phase project, only the results from the initial qualitative phase will be discussed.

Sterne, Rita Hansen.  Gambler-Casino Interactions - An Exploratory Study.  Department of Marketing & Consumer Studies,  University of Guelph.

Literature in various fields (leisure, health care, service management, environmental psychology, hospitality and tourism and design/architecture) has discussed multiple approaches and methodologies that can be used to study person-environment interactions.  Critics of gambling research have commented on the lack of context in much research done to date; studies remain largely positivist, quantitative and medical/pathogenic in their approach and fail to adequately address the experience of the gambler in gambling settings (McGowan, 2004; Reith, 2007).  Together, these findings suggest that there is a need to further examine gambler-casino interactions using qualitative methods that permit researchers to explore the person-environment interaction with a contextual approach that incorporates the complexity of the situation.  The current research will explore person-environment interactions by examining how slot machine players perceive and experience the places in which they play slot machines using methods such as discussions and free hand area maps (Zeisel, 2006).  The research will further extend past work that assessed slot machine environments using quantitative lab-based studies (Finlay, Marmurek, Kanetkar, & Londerville, 2010).  This research will incorporate the context necessary to drive future research examining gambler-casino interactions from new perspectives.  These perspectives include a salutogenic approach (Antonovsky, 1996) that emphasizes the qualities of healthy places, or a leisure studies perspective that situates gambling behaviour as an entertaining leisure activity.

Svenson, Stephen & Kelly, Blair.  Tales of Two Cities: New Orleans After Katrina.  Film Screening of Part 1: Disaster Tours. 45 minutes.  Department of Sociology, University of Waterloo.

Tales of Two Cities: New Orleans after Katrina is a collaboration among students from the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, and McMaster University who filmed and interviewed people in New Orleans over the 2008, 2009, and 2010 University reading weeks. The documentary unfolds in 3 episodes. Part 1: Disaster Tours, filmed 2008, introduces the City of New Orleans and the Lower 9th Ward through the motif of tourism. Official and on the ground views are contrasted so as to demonstrate the barriers to recovery and the anger and frustration these barriers elicit. Discourses around tourism and the tourist (the tourist as healer vs. defiler, tourism as rejuvenator vs. destroyer) that surface in interviews with residents and visitors (tourists, activists, wanderers, pilgrims) to the lower Ninth Ward, reflect ethical tensions over the place of pleasure and its place in the rebuilding of the City. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the responses of 'dark tourists' speak not just to a fascination with death but the hopes and dreams of healing, rejuvenation, and reconciliation that underscore this fascination.

Vas,Krisztian.  Trail-based Tourism: A marketing tool or an evolved tourism subcategory?  Department of Geography,  University of Waterloo.

Background and Rationale: Trail based tourism has been on the rise within the last few decades, whereby tourism trails have become a part of many tourism subsectors. In fact, winery tourism has made the idea of tourism trails an intricate part of their tourism product and marketing. Thus, most well-recognized wine regions have adopted some type of trail-based tourism idea. Consequently, other subsectors of tourism, such as bird-watching, arts & cultural, river-based and hiking tourism have also begun to evolve and implement various trail-based tourism products.

Purpose and Methodology: This research tried to critically evaluate the development, implementation and management of various trail-based tourism ventures and to draw potential correlation or differences in their planning process. This was done through ten (10) semi-structured interviews of different trail-based tourism ventures. The interviewees were asked six (6) different open ended questions regarding their trail design, development funding, stakeholder involvement, planning and implementation steps, management and oversight structure as well as what evaluation and monitoring tools might be in place to ensure success.

Results and Implications: The results illustrate that the planning and development steps of trail-based tourism ventures is lengthy and must involve most key stakeholders and area representatives if it is to be successful. Moreover, many correlations are evident within the planning process between most trails, regardless of which tourism subsector the trail belonged (winery vs. bird-watching etc.). Thus, the research illustrates that perhaps trail-based tourism should not only be thought of as belonging to a specific tourism subsector, rather trail-based tourism can be a tourism subsector of its own.