IGU Study Group on the Geography of Sustainable Tourism Activity Report
29 December 1999
Prepared by the Chairperson
for members of the Study Group
Professor
C. Michael Hall
Centre for Tourism
University of Otago
PO Box 56
Dunedin
New
Zealand
IGU Sustainable Tourism Study Group: www.geog.nau.edu/igust/
The following represents the report of the IGU Study Group on the Geography of Sustainable Tourism. It outlines the group's goals and objectives, the activities and means which have been undertaken to meet those goals and objectives, details on membership, relationship with other organisations and proposed future directions. The Chairperson would like to thank all corresponding and full members of the Study Group for their support but would particularly like to acknowledge the contribution of the previous chair, Professor Frederick Helleiner, the vice-chairperson Professor Jean-Michel Dewailly, and the list and website manager Professor Alan Lew.Report Highlights:
Substantial Research Output Aligned to Study Group Goals and Objectives
Growth in Membership: 246 members in 1997, 308 in 1999
Eight Meetings 1995-1999, two in 2000
Active Communication Programme and Promotion of IGU and Discipline Through Newsletter, Internet and Journal
Proposal for New Commission on the Geography of Tourism, Leisure and Global Change
OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
The Objectives and Goals of the Study Group were as follows:i.i including approaches to the regulation of tourists and their activities, which requires a study of carrying capacity and ecological integrity in parks and other tourist attractions
i.ii including the means by which sustainable tourism development is evaluated and monitored
II To carry out comparative international studies of the environmental impact of tourism
ii.i at national, multi-national, or regional scales, such as the sustainability of tourism in mountain regions, coastal regions, oceans, or densely populated agglomerations
ii.ii with thematic foci, including analyzing the development of heritage tourism (together with its impacts), and studying the relationship between trails and tourism
III To carry out comparative international studies of various aspects of the economic, social, and political geography of sustainable tourism
iii.i such as the relationships between tourism and gender
iii.ii by surveying the coverage of sustainable tourism in national secondary school geography curricula throughout the world
iii.iii such as the implications of changing political and socio-economic systems on the sustainability of tourism (e.g., in developing countries, in east-central Europe, in Myanmar)
iii.iv by analyzing the role of tourism in regional development
At the time of its establishment the full membership of the Study Group consisted of
Chairperson Frederick M Helleiner, Canada
Vice-Chair
C Michael Hall, New Zealand
Full Members
Franklin Adejuwon, Nigeria
Thor Flognfeldt, Jr., Norway
Erdmann Gormsen, Germany
C Michael Hall, New Zealand
Felix Julg, Austria
Alan Lew, USA and Singapore
Stanislaw Liszewski, Poland
Zlatko Pepeonik, Croatia
Tej Vir Singh, India
Yuri Vedenin, Russia
Following the retirement of Professor Helleiner in June 1998 and the unfortunate death of Professor Gormsen the full membership of the Study Group presently (29/12/99) consists of
Chairperson C Michael Hall, New Zealand
Vice-Chair Jean-Michel Dewailly, France
Full Members
Franklin Adejuwon, Nigeria
Jean-Michel Dewailly, France
Thor Flognfeldt, Jr., Norway
Felix Julg, Austria
Alan Lew, USA
Stanislaw Liszewski, Poland
Zlatko Pepeonik, Croatia
Tej Vir Singh, India
Yuri Vedenin, Russia
Alan Williams, England
The Study Group has experienced substantial growth since its establishment and now numbers over 300 members. In addition to maintaining growth in the traditional membership base of Europe and North America the Study group is pleased that substantial growth in membership has occurred in the Asia/Oceania region. It is hoped that further membership growth will occur in this area as a result of the Cheju pre-Congress Meeting and the main IGU Congress in Seoul. Similarly, the co-sponsorship of the Ecotourism Conference in the Dominican Republic with the Commission for the Anthropology of Tourism of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) is hoped to provide greater opportunities for the development of Latin American membership.
Table 1: Number of Corresponding Members1997 1999
Argentina 2 3Austria 8 7
Australia 10 22 Bangladesh 1 1 Belgium 5 6
Brazil 1 1
Bulgaria 2 2
Canada 36 37
China - 3
Costa Rica - 1
Croatia 1 1
Cuba - 1
Czech Republic 3 3 Denmark - 1 Finland 2 4 France 23 25 Germany 27 25
Greece 1 1
Hong Kong SAR - 1 Hungary 4 4
Iceland 1 2
India 1 4
Ireland 5 3
Israel 2 3
Italy 6 8
Japan 2 2
Korea (South) 2 3
Mexico 2 2
Morocco 1 1
Nepal - 6
Netherlands 5 6
New Zealand 3 9
Nigeria 1 1
Norway 4 4
Poland 6 6
Portugal 2 4
Russia 2 2
Samoa 1 1
Singapore 1 5 Slovenia 2 2
South Africa 5 7
Spain 4 8
Switzerland 4 5
Sweden 6 7
Taiwan ROC - 1
Thailand - 2
Turkey 2 2
United States 37 41
United Kingdom 11 11
Zimbabwe 1 1
Total: 246 308
The Study Group has organised, sponsored or co-sponsored
eight meetings in the period 1995-1999 a further two meetings are planned for
2000. Details of meetings are outlined below along with associated publishing
activities.
MEETINGS AND ASSOCIATED PUBLISHING ACTIVITIES
1995
In August 1995 Michael Hall organised a regional conference of the IGU Study Group on the Geography of Sustainable Tourism Development at the University of Canberra, Belconnen, Australia. Over 80 delegates attended including a number of undergraduate and graduate students. A number of papers from the conference were published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism as well as several papers also contributing to an edited book. Hall, C.M., Jenkins, J. & Kearsley, G. (eds.) 1997, Tourism Planning and Policy in Australia and New Zealand: Cases, Issues and Practice, Irwin Publishers, Sydney. 284pp ISBN 0 256 25451 6 (Pbk)
1996
In 1996 five sessions were organized by Professor Myriam Jansen-Verbeke for the Study Group at the 28th International Geographical Congress at the Hague, as well as a business meeting attended by about 30 members and a State-of-the-Art lecture by Professor Richard Butler attended by 60. Themes of the sessions were:
A number of papers from the sessions were published in Tourism Geographies.
1997
A meeting of the Study Group took place in October, 1997 in Davis, California, USA, co-sponsored by the IGU Commission on Gender and Geography, the International Sociological Association RC50 on International Tourism, and the University of California, Davis Gender and Global Issues Program. The theme of the meeting was Gender/Tourism/Gun? It was organised by Professor Margaret B Swain and attracted 70 participants.
In December 1997 a conference took place in Cromwell, New Zealand on the theme of Trails, Tourism and Regional Development: Trails in the Third Millenium. Organised by Professor Michael Hall, Professor Geoffrey Kearsley and Dr James Higham of the University of Otago, over 60 participants attended from Australia, Austria, Canada, India, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States presenting over 40 papers. A set of proceedings from the conference was produced: Trails in the Third Millenium, Conference Proceedings, eds. J. Higham & G. Kearsley, Centre for Tourism, University of Otago, Dunedin.
1998
In 1998 the main focus of the Study Group was the IGU Regional Conference in Portugal. The Study Group held its pre-conference meeting at the Estoril Hotel School in Esoril just north of Lisbon. Over 70 delegates attended from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Papers were grouped around five themed sessions.
Prof. Jorge Umbelino, Faculdade de Cincias Sociais e Humanas, Dep. de Geografia e Planeamento Regional, Lisboa, Portugal kindly offered to develop a set of proceedings from the meeting of the Study Group. Papers from the meeting have also been submitted for publication to Tourism Geographies.
1999
The Study Group was involved in three conferences in 1999.
At the Association of American Geographers conference in Hawaii held in March 1999 the following sessions were held with the support of the IGU Study Group. Professor Alan Lew of Northern Arizona University undertook to liaise between the various sponsoring groups and organise sessions.
Papers from these sessions are being published in Tourism Geographies as well edited books. Michael Hall also spoke on behalf of the Study Group at the Recreation, Tourism, and Sport AAG Specialty Group general meeting about the need to continue building positive relations between the two groups.
In late August 1999 the Study Group held a Regional Study Group Conference on Tourism Planning and Policy at Oamaru, New Zealand. This conference reinforced various themes raised at the 1995 conference in Canberra. The conference was held in conjunction with special sessions for graduate students. 70 delegates attended of which half were undertaking graduate studies. 50 papers and workshop sessions were provided with delegates attending from Australia, India, Korea, New Zealand, Spain and the United States. Conference Proceedings have been published while papers have also been requested for submission to Tourism Geographies, Current Issues in Tourism and Journal of Sustainable Tourism.
A third conference Sustaining Rural Environments: Issues in Globalization, Migration and Tourism, will be held 19 to 23 October 1999, in Flagstaff, Arizona. This conference was co-sponsored by the IGU Study Group on the Geography of Sustainable Tourism; the IGU Commission on the Sustainability of Rural Systems; the Tourism Commission of the International Union of Anthropologial and Ethnological Sciences; and Rural Geography Graduate Program, Northern Arizona University. There were 55 presentations at the conference. Session titles included:
Over 80 people attended, including a number of graduate and senior undergraduate students, with delegates from Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, India, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, United States, and Wales.
A number of papers from the conference have been invited to submit for Tourism Geographies and Current Issues in Tourism.
ACTIVITIES FOR 2000
ECOTOURISM CONFERENCE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, JULY 2000Between the 15-23 July 2000, the Commission for the Anthropology of Tourism of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES), along with the International Geographical Union Study Group on the Geography of Sustainable Tourism is organizing and co-sponsoring a number of panels and individual presentations in the 'Feria Ecoturstica y de Producción' or Ecotourism and Production Fair, at the Hacienda Muriel, in Hato Nuevo, Manoguayabo, near Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The Fair is organized by the Fundacion ciencia y arte, under the direction of Dr. Jose Serulle Ramia. This is the fourth annual Fair, each one held in a different location in the country so as to maximize the potential for involving local communities in the activities and economic benefits of the Fair, to ensure that local communities are involved in a process of environmental education, awareness of environmental degradation, and environmental management, and to sensitize Dominicans and international visitors of local ecotourism projects and potential. In the last few years environmental degradation has become a major preoccupation in the Dominican Republic, at the same time that the country has become more dependent upon mass tourism. There are now many NGOs working in areas of environmental protection and ecotourism, and scholars actively involved in research in these areas. The conference will be an excellent opportunity for people working in these areas elsewhere to compare knowledge and experiences. Among the themes being treated in the conference section of the Ecotourism Fair are the following: sustainable tourism in the Caribbean and elsewhere; development of Ecotourism in the Dominican Republic and Internationally; importance of rivers and wetlands in biodiversity and ecotourism activities; river and wet land clean-up; environmental protection; coastal-marine environments; 'green hotel' policy and practice; tourist resorts and ecotourism; national parks; issues of private reserves; water sports; legislation of contamination of rivers, wetlands and coastal-marine environments; international experiences in river, wetland and coastal management; cultural heritage; territorial-spatial management; urban environments and tourism; urban and rural environmental clean-up; and evaluations of ecotourism projects. Other panels or individual contributions on other themes will be considered. Registration fees are nominal, and hotel and other information will be forthcoming.Apart from the conference section of the Fair, which takes place between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm each day, there are numerous excursions, educational and leisure activities, stands and kiosks. Every evening, from 4:00 pm to 12:00 pm, there is a continuous series of artistic and cultural activities, with music, dance and folklore groups from around the Dominican Republic. Selected Refereed papers will be included in a book to be published by the time of the conference.
SEOUL, IGU - The Study Group is conducting a Pre-Congress meeting on the island of Cheju. Prof. Sang-Choel Kwon, Department of Social Studies Education, Cheju National University is the local organiser for the meeting and he has developed an excellent program. The Study Group will be hosting its business meeting at Cheju. A Preliminary Draft Schedule for the 2000 SG3 Pre-Conference Theme: The Future of Sustainable Tourism: Perspectives and Prospects has been developed and circulated on IGUNet.
Outline is as follows:
Day 1 August 10
Day 2 August 11
Day 3 August 12
Day 4 August 13
The field trip will focus on the most popular touring course of Cheju representing and possibly suggesting how Cheju tourism has been and could be developed. These are volcanic landscapes, folk villages with traditional Korean food, and developed tourism attractions.
August 14
OTHER ACTIVITIES
In addition to the various meetings and publishing activities of the Study Group outlined above the Study Group has also developed a new research project on tourism and migration which commenced in late 1998 and has developed several other mechanisms to communicate its activities.
TOURISM AND MIGRATION: NEW RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION
An International Research Project of the International Geographical Union Study Group on the Geography of Sustainable Tourism
Convenors: Allan Williams and Michael HallBackground
A number of changes have occurred in recent years
in the forms of production and consumption, which have resulted in changes in
migration and consumption and in the relationship between these. The main changes
can be expressed in terms of global-local relationships in production, shifts
to various forms of more flexible production (requiring changes in both capital
accumulation and the labour process), and the development of more flexible and
internationalised forms of consumption, resulting in both the intensification
of, and the emergence of new forms of, tourism and migration flows. While
to some extent a response to changes in the nature of capital accumulation processes
these new forms of mobility are also the outcome of changes in the cultural
construction of leisure time and spaces. Moreover, the demographic and social
changes brought about by these population flows contribute to reshaping the
conditions for both production and consumption.
The growth of tourism has, of course, long been interdependent with that of particular forms of migration. Quite apart from the fact that tourism itself constitutes a form of migration, of varying duration, it has generated two distinctive flows of migration.
First, there is labour migration to provide the services demanded by tourists, particularly in areas of mass tourism where rapid and substantial growth in tourist numbers may have outstripped the capacities of local labour markets. The resultant labour migration generally assumes one of three forms:
* Unskilled labour to provide consumer and collective services at relatively low costs, which are essential for the competitiveness of resorts operating in highly competitive cost-led markets.
* Skilled managerial workers providing specialist skills that may not be available in the local labour market; intra-company labour transfers often structure their mobility.
* Migration to establish small-scale businesses, often serving niche markets (typically expatriate ones), and or being motivated by life style considerations.
These migration flows are integral to the restructuring of labour markets in the recipient areas as they try to maintain competitiveness in the increasingly competitive international market for tourism services. It is not simply a matter of absolute labour supply, or of the role of migration in mediating labour costs, but also of particular types of skilled labour, in response to technology- and demand-led changes in production.
Secondly, consumption-led migration systems may develop symbiotic relationships with tourism flows, as part of the re-definition of the practices of consumption. This may assume several forms, depending on the duration of the migration, motivations and property relationships. The two migration streams are linked by the concepts of search spaces, informing decision-making. Some of the main components of consumption-led migration are:
* Investment in second homes, which implies a degree of commitment to the destination area (both for vacations and, possibly, for more permanent migration in the longer term). This also implies particularly property relationships with the civil authorities and the private sector in the destination area, which differentiate this from long-stay tourism.
* The growth of seasonal migration, for which there is a continuum stretching from long-stay tourism to genuine dual residence between the destination area and the area of origin.
* Permanent migration which typically occurs at the retirement or early retirement stage of the life course.
* Non-tourism led migration where the migrants are attracted by the quality of life in the destination area but are economically engaged in metropolitan economies to which they are linked by tele-working arrangements or some form of long distance commuting. They may have links to tourism through both the informing of search spaces and reliance on some of the services (such as air transport) developed for the latter.
While some of these migration streams and their relationships to tourism have long historical roots, that can be traced back to at least the Grand Tour, others are of more recent genesis. They have all, however, been subject to significant changes in recent decades which have transformed their scale, geographical scan and their inter-relationships with tourism. The salient changes are inherently related to the emergence of new forms of production and consumption:
* growth in and globalisation of tourism markets;
* the internationalisation of tourism capital;
* changes in leisure time and post-working lives, which are related
Because of the above changes, there has been an increase in the scale of tourism-related migration, and an internationalisation of the patterns of mobility. This has yielded a series of social, cultural, economic and political issues for the individual migrants, for the host communities and for local, national and supra-national states, which hitherto have been little researched. Amongst these are:
While geographers are concerned with the underlying processes of economic restructuring and cultural change which inform the redefinition of tourism-migration relationships, they are also interested in the extent and ways in which their impacts are contingent on economic, social, political and environmental conditions in particular localities. In turn, these local conditions inform the unfolding processes of globalisation.
The Project
The project therefore seeks to examine the above relationships between tourism and migration in a comparative international and intranational perspective. The convenors of the project have invited expressions of interest in participating in the project with the contribution of empirical and theoretical papers. Participants in the project have the opportunity to meet at three conferences:
a) at the AAG meeting in Hawaii, 23-27 March 1999 where panel sessions sponsored by the IGU Study Group were conducted on reviews of production and consumption led migration in an international context. This session was very well attended with over 100 people in the audience;
b) at the joint meeting of the IGU Commission on Sustainable Rural Systems and the IGU Study Group on the Geography of Sustainable Tourism at Flagstaff, Arizona, 20-23 October 1999 which had a number of open sessions dedicated to the research project; and
c) at the IGU meeting in Seoul, Korea, in 26 August - 1 September, 2000 and Pre-Congress Meeting on Cheju which will also feature a number of open sessions on the project.
Special editions of Current Issues in Tourism and Tourism Geographies have already been developed from this project. Kluwer will also produce an edited book on Tourism and Migration from the project in 2001.
RELATIONSHIP OF ACTIVITIES TO STUDY GROUP OBJECTIVES
Table 2 outlines the comparative international studies that have been undertaken through the various meeting activities outlined above in relation to the goals and objectives of the Study Group. The table indicates the extent to which the group have embraced particular themes through its various meetings as well as ensuring that specific research outputs such as proceedings and other publications have been tied to the Study Group objectives and goal
Meetings
I Methods for implementing sustainable tourism
Can. Hague Davis Crom. Estor. AAG Oam. Flag. Dom. Korea
1995 1996 1997 1997 1998 1999 1999 1999 2000 2000i.i regulation x x x x x x * *
i.ii evaluation x x x x x x * *II Environmental impact
ii.i national/multinational/regional scales
III Economic, social, and political geography of sustainable tourism
x x x x x x x * * ii.ii thematic foci
x x x x x x x x * *iii.i tourism and gender x x x x x * *
iii.ii geography curricula xiii.iii changing political and socio-economic systems x x x x x x x x * * iii.iv regional developmentx x x x x x x x * *
x - Activity undertaken, * - Activity proposed
STUDY GROUP COMMUNICATIONS: THE NEWSLETTER, INTERNET AND TOURISM GEOGRAPHIES
The Study Group produces a Newsletter TOURISTinfo. Ten issues of TOURISTinfo were published in both English and French with the English version also being e-mailed to members and others who are listed on IGUList. A Spanish summary of the Newsletter has also been made available to members.
As at 29/12/99 there were 249 on the IGUST-L discussion list - several of whom are not formal corresponding members of the Study Group.
The Study Group also has an active and interactive website : www.geog.nau.edu/igust
Professor Alan Lew of Northern Arizona University is to be strongly commended for his management of the website and the discussion list.
TOURISM GEOGRAPHIES
Tourism Geographies is a new academic journal published by Routledge. The Editor of Tourism Geographies is Professor Alan Lew who is a full member of the Study Group. Three other full members of the Study Group also sit on the editorial board as well as a number of corresponding members. The Study Group has been supportive of the publishing initiative from the outset and members are being actively encouraged to support the journal through their research and publishing activities.
Tourism Geographies recently published it 4th issue for 1999 (Vol.1:4) and the extent of papers received and published indicate the strength of tourism as a geographical sub-discipline.
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER ORGANISATIONS
The Study Group has established contact with other agencies of the IGU and has actively pursued initiatives with the the IGU Commission on the Sustainability of Rural Systems, the Commission on Geographical Education, the Commission on Gender and Geography, and Agenda 21 for Ocean Geography.
In addition the Study Group has co-sponsored meetings with the Population and Recreation, Tourism, and Sport Specialty Groups of the Association of American Geographers and the Commission for the Anthropology of Tourism of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. Discussions are currently being held with the Tourism Commission of the International Sociology Association and the Tourism Commission of the World Leisure and Recreation Association regarding the development of closer relationships including possible joint projects.
The Study Group has also been in communication with the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the UNESCO Bureau for the Co-ordination of Environmental Programs, which has indicated its support and its wish for further co-operation. It is also hoped that with the reformulation of the Study Groups Goals and Objectives following the end of its current life at the end of 2000 that closer relationships could be established with the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change.
FINANCE
In addition to the support of the IGU the Study Group has also received financial support from Routledge Publishers, Tourism Geographies and Current Issues in Tourism. In kind support has come from Northern Arizona University, University of Exeter and the University of Otago. As of the 29/12/99 the Study Group has NZ$755.
OVERVIEW
The establishment of the IGU Study Group on Sustainable tourism may be regarded as a success. The Study Group has been at the forefront of the subdiscipline of tourism geography as well as the closely related field of tourism studies. Its activities have been conducted in line with its goals and objectives and has resulted in a number of meetings, often in association with other relevant Commissions and organisations, as well as numerous publications in various outlets. However, despite its success the Study Group seeks to restructure its goals and objectives in light of the results of the international comparative studies it has undertaken since 1995 and the associated research findings.
FUTURE OF THE STUDY GROUP: A PROPOSED COMMISSION ON THE GEOGRAPHY OF TOURISM, LEISURE AND GLOBAL CHANGE
In November 1999 the Study Group Chairperson issued a discussion paper to members regarding the future of the Study Group. This document highlighted the IGU discussions as to the future structure of the IGU and the need for any restructuring of the Study Group to be undertaken with these in mind.
At the Study Group's conference held in Flagstaff, Arizona, in October 1999 as well as the earlier conference in Oamaru, New Zealand, held in August, 1999 the chairperson had the opportunity to formally and informally discuss directly with full and corresponding members as to the future direction of the Group. The outcomes of these discussions served as the basis for the discussion document to members as well as the following set of conclusions regarding the future status of the Group. Further details of the proposed Commission and its constititution and membership will follow this activity report.
As a result of the feedback on the discussion paper and the discussions of the Chairperson a number of general principles as to the future were apparent
That the Study Group should seek full Commission status given the strength of the sub-discipline in terms of geographers active in the field, the number and quality of publications, and greater recognition of the significance of tourism in the wider discipline through attention to processes of globalisation, localisation and mobility;
That the proposed Commission should seek to be inclusive of the geography of leisure in order to be able to effectively integrate the continuum of leisure, recreation, tourism activities and behaviours over a range of spatial and temporal scales. The present restriction of the Study Group to Tourism is seen as serving to limit the study of the significant impacts of closely tourism-related activities such as daytripping and recreation. Furthermore, the World Tourism Organisation is presently seeking to define 'daytripping' as a component of tourist behaviour. In addition, the study of the environmental and economic impacts of tourism is seen to be almost indistinguishable from what has previously been labelled as 'leisure' behaviour while leisure and lifestyle migration is also regarded as a component of the tourism continuum;
That the Group continue to seek to actively encourage postgraduate involvement in its activities as well as increase membership and involvement from previously underrepresented regions including Asia, Oceania, Africa and Latin America;
That full members of the proposed Commission be active in the geography of tourism and leisure, as evidence by, for example, their involvement in the Study Group and its meetings, their publishing record and their hosting of meetings, and that full members need to be representative in terms of geographical origin and gender.
That the Group continue to organise joint meetings and seminars with other commissions, study groups and academic associations in order to further our respective aims and encourage research collaboration.
In terms of the focus of a Commission it was also apparent that, building on the work of the Study Group since its establishment, Tourism and Leisure needs to be seen within the context of global change of which our present focus of sustainability is a major theme. However, it was also widely agreed that the manner in which tourism and leisure contributes to and is affected by global change also needs to incorporate concerns and interests in
It is therefore proposed that these related themes be brought together within the ambit of a proposed Commission on the Geography of Tourism, Leisure and Global Change (working title).
The aims of the proposed Commission will be to:
1.To implement the purposes of the International Geographical Union as defined in its statutes to promote the geography of tourism and leisure around the world.
2. To develop an international research culture to investigate and develop the Geography of Tourism, Leisure and Global Change.
3. To promote close working relations with international, national and regional organisations which share similar interests in the Geography of Tourism, Leisure and Global Change and to work with communities which are affected by such change
4. To enhance the place of the geography of tourism and leisure in education and research; tourism and leisure policy-makers; the tourism and leisure industries; and the wider community.
The overall objective of the proposed Commission is the development and application of an internationally comparable research program on the relationships between tourism, leisure and global change.
The proposed Commission's specific objectives are to:
These objectives are to be pursued over the life of the proposed Commission through a set of research 'tasks' that have been defined through discussion with members and modified as appropriate during the Cheju and subsequent meetings. Individual members of the proposed Commission will adopt leadership roles for the various tasks.
Task 1 Interpreting the meaning of 'sustainability' within the context of tourism, leisure and global change;
Task 2 The operation and regulation of tourism and leisure in a 'borderless world'
Task 3 The relationship of tourism and leisure to issues of time-space convergence;
Task 4 Tourism and leisure in the interaction between natural, rural and urban systems;
Task 5 The inter-relationship of tourism and leisure with place, identity and citizenship within the context of global change;
Task 6 The dynamics and capacities of communities and institutions in order to effectively contribute and respond to global change; and
Task 7 Contributing to relevant international research programmes associated with the aims and objectives of the Commission
The integrating theme of all the 'tasks' is 'Tourism and Leisure in the Context of Global Change'
The above list of aims, objectives and tasks is regarded as an appropriate continuation and redevelopment of the present Study Group in light of its findings and the research problems it faces in the future.