Managing Tourism Firms is an authoritative selection of the most important published work on the particular characteristics and problems associated with running a firm in tourism. Major topics covered include: strategy, marketing, the use of the Internet and IT, pricing, managing staff and studies of specific sectors of the industry. The book provides an overview of current issues and a handy reference in one volume to the major published research contributions. The editor has written a new, authoritative introduction which offers a comprehensive, state-of-the-art summary of the literature. This volume will be valuable to researchers and students in tou Learn More

The effect of tourism activity in developing countries has been a hotly debated topic for a number of decades. Opinions have fluctuated between the extremes of tourism as the catalyst for socio-economic development and tourism as the basis for neo-colonial exploitation and environmental and cultural decline. The contributions to this timely volume provide a balanced overview of these various perspectives. Key papers that are theoretical, conceptual and empirical, drawn from the literature in the fields of tourism, economics and development studies are contained in this authoritative volume. Learn More

This title offers a wide-ranging selection of the most significant previously published papers on the management of tourism destinations. The volume covers four major themes: managing tourism destinations and the determinants of travel choice; planning and policy making; development and evolution; and the impacts of tourism management on the society and the environment. In his scholarly introduction, the editor briefly discusses each article and identifies its contribution to the academic literature. The book is intended for researchers and students interested in a thorough compilation and critical review of key articles in the area. It may also act as a useful reference benchmark for consultants and tourism policymakers. Learn More

This highly accessible and comprehensive Handbook presents a cutting edge discussion of the state of tourism economics and its likely directions in future research. Leading researchers in the field explore a wide range of topics including: demand and forecasting, supply, transport, taxation and infrastructure, evaluation and application for policy-making. Each chapter includes a discussion of its relevance and importance to the tourism economics literature, an overview of its main contributions and themes, a critical evaluation of existing literature and an outline of issues for further conceptual and applied research. Learn More

The Economics of Experiences, the Arts and Entertainment serves as a welcome and unique introduction to various economic aspects of the production and consumption of art and entertainment products. The book begins with analyses and discussion of neoclassical production and utility functions, with a focus on art and entertainment as instances of experience goods or services. The authors then go on to present alternative Austrian and institutional approaches which focus on the role of creative entrepreneurs in the market process. Aesthetic and psychological theories are also discussed with a focus on their impact on producers’ and consumers’ decisions, as well as historical examples of creative centres, such as Renaissance Florence and Post World War II New York. Learn More

Although economics has increasingly become a technical subject, this accessible book aims to present important economics results and relate them explicitly to the policy debate. Using a coherent analytical framework, this unique approach offers prescriptions for moving tourism, and economic development more generally, closer to a sustainable ideal. The authors begin by studying the macroeconomic effect of tourism in terms of growth performance and sources of growth. They also examine how the tourism–growth link is affected by the role of imports in the economy, and how tourism impacts upon land use. Further chapters investigate the important issue of forecasting visitor numbers and explore the need for a comprehensive accounting framework to take account of ecologically sustainable tourism. The authors also examine the microeconomic aspects of sustainable tourism and analyse the increasing popularity of environmentally friendly holidays. Learn More

Tropical islands are fragile, vulnerable environments and yet they are coming under increasing strain due to coastal developments and global environmental change. As a result of their remote location, small size and limited natural resource endowments, tourism has become an important economic activity, leading to emerging conflicts between the interests of developers, tourists and residents. Learn More

Environmental management, either voluntary or imposed, can add to the costs of nature-based tourism businesses. Such costs can make tourism destinations less competitive, but the same activities can also enhance competitiveness by increasing demand. The aim of this book is to provide an assessment of the relative importance of these two opposing effects in the context of a case study of nature-based tourism in Tropical North Queensland, Australia. Learn More

This is a fascinating book that will be of great use to a wide readership including economists, environmentalists, geographers, tourism scholars and professionals, as well as academics in development studies. Learn More

Tourism is a major global industry and continues to expand at a rapid rate. This two-volume collection of key published articles provides a comprehensive and much needed overview of the economics of tourism. Many of these articles are not readily available as they have been published in a range of non-economics journals. This reflects partly the presence of specialised journals devoted to tourism and partly the interdisciplinary nature of the subject. The editor has prepared an authoritative introduction, which not only presents an overview of the contents of each volume, introducing the subject to a wider non-specialist audience, but also provides insights and critical comments. Learn More

In The Economics of Third World National Parks, Anup Shah argues that parks and reserves are worth preserving, rigorously analyses the problem and advocates solutions drawing on a wide range of sources. Issues discussed include the effects of economic activity on a national park, the tourist problem, valuing a national park and the use of cost–benefit decision-making. Dr Shah uses economic analysis to explore institutional arrangements which would compensate for externalities resulting from exploitation and over-use by tourists and local communities. The price mechanism, he argues, is not a satisfactory tool with which to protect areas of rich bio-diversity. Learn More