A Critical Analysis of how events contribute to destination community development.
Ayush Salhotra
PWHCREDIT.docxRunning Head: Critical Analysis Assignment
Critical Analysis Assignment
Critical Analysis Assignment
Subject Coordinator: Gianna Moscardo, Laurie Murphy
CREDIT PAPER SAMPLE
1. Introduction
This literature review reflects on community well-being, sustainable tourism, events, and their impact on community capitals. Current literature connects the concept of community well-being to the concepts of the community capitals and the quality of life (QOL) and states that community well-being is depending on these variables (Andereck & Nyaupane, 2011; Emery & Flora, 2006; Murphy, Moscardo, McGehee, & Konovalov). The community capitals consist of seven different types of capital, which are: built, human, social, cultural, natural, political and financial capital (Emery & Flora, 2006). According to Emery and Flora (2006) the types of capital show an interdependency and can be influenced by external factors. Defining the concept of quality of life (QOL) is difficult since it is based on factors of subjective personal perception (Andereck & Nyaupane, 2011). However, the main aspects can be defined as emotional and psychological well-being, interpersonal and social relationships, material well-being, personal development, physical well-being, self-determination, social inclusion and rights. Tourism can influence both quality of life as well as the community capitals (Andereck & Nyaupane, 2011; Murphy et al.). Thus, all of these aspects should be taken into account in sustainable tourism planning. (Moscardo, Konovalov, Murphy, & McGehee, 2013).
Literature Search Process
This literature review will display an overview on the topics of sustainable tourism and the influence of events on sustainable tourism and on built, human, social, cultural and natural capital. As a last step the most important aspects will be summarized and suggestions will be given for policy actions in order to ensure community well-being is improved through tourism planning.
The literature included in this review was retrieved from sources given for this assignment on “learn JCU” and by the use of database searches. The search engines in this process included Google Scholar and the JCU online data base. Search terms included “community well-being”, “sustainable tourism”, “and community capital events”, “influence of events on culture”, “cultural festivals”, “sustainable tourism events”, and “pro-environmental events”. Furthermore, a snowball technique was used where the reference lists of articles were scanned to find additional data sources. The search was limited to one person and also by a given timeframe, making it not possible to analyze all given articles and data sources.
2. Events and Destination Community well-being
Events and Built Capital
Literature describes built capital is the infrastructure and other facilities that are available for the community. Examples are the road network, public transport, and waste and water systems (Emery & Flora, 2006; Moscardo et al., 2013). Especially large scale events such as the FIFA World Cup, the Commonwealth Games or the Olympics require a high investment in built capital (Solberg & Preuss, 2007). Solberg and Preuss (2007) describes that there are primary, secondary and tertiary structures for the event, which need to be invested in. Primary structures include stadiums and arenas to host the event in. Secondary structures are structures such as training facilities and housing for athletes as well as parks. Tertiary structures are mostly of infrastructural nature and include airports, train stations and roads, as well as tourism facilities such as hotels and other attractions. These built structures can have long-term impacts on the destination after the event is over. Training and sports facilities can be used for public leisure activities and stadiums might be continually used by local sports clubs. The infrastructural upgrades and improvements in tourism facilities can strengthen inbound tourism to the destination. However, the event planners have to consider the long-term demand of those facilities in order to keep the investment in an appropriate manner (Solberg & Preuss, 2007).
Human Capital and Events
Human Capital are the skills and abilities of the people in a community, which they use to enhance their resources and knowledge. It also includes the physical health of members of a community (Emery & Flora, 2006; Moscardo et al., 2013). In order to display how events can positively impact human capital I will focus on research done on undergraduates volunteering at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. The learning experience at these events can be divided into learning through training and on the job learning as well as through social contact (Diacin & Vansickle, 2014). Within the formal training the student volunteers learned about content, such as meeting and greeting, cultural differences, knowledge about Australia/Norway, and job specific skills suited for their position (Diacin & Vansickle, 2014). At the end of the event 64.5 per cent of the volunteers felt like they had improved their social skills, including co-operating with other people. They also perceived that they had made contacts for future jobs. Furthermore, 79 per cent of Norwegian student volunteers and 88 per cent of Australian student volunteers felt like they had earned job skills. Within those job skills service job skills and function specific skills were mostly learned (Diacin & Vansickle, 2014). This example clearly portraits how skills can be earned at events and then transferred to the home communities of the volunteers.
Social Capital
Social Capital are the connections among people and the ties that built community cohesion (Emery & Flora, 2006). The event used to depict positive contribution by an event to social capital was set in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2006. The event was organized by the NGO Asian German Sports Exchange Program with the aim to strengthen community ties between different ethnic groups within the country, which have been in conflict for several decades (Schulenkorf, Thomson, & Schlenker, 2011). The event consisted of a running event with different distances for different fitness levels and a multicultural music festival at the end of the run. The findings of the research showed five positive impacts which can build social capital. The first positive factor was socializing. The event promoted interaction among participants and spectators and created a shared experience among them. Secondly, the event built trust. This trust included trust in the organization of the event as well as among participants of the event. Thirdly, the event build reciprocity and solidarity. This was shown by the fact that different ethnic as well of people with different societal positions supported each other. Furthermore, contacts and networks among different ethnic groups were established and friendships built. Also, the event promoted learning and development as sports and management skills were developed, and intercultural understanding was strengthened (Schulenkorf et al., 2011).
Cultural Capital
Cultural Capital is described as traditions and values shared in a community. They are expressed in language, traditions and arts among others (Emery & Flora, 2006; Moscardo et al., 2013). Higgins-Desbiolles (2016) researched the Annual Sports and Cultural Festival in Brisbane. The festival has been held since 1993 and aims to bring together indigenous and non-indigenous touch football teams. Furthermore, it offers a display of indigenous culture through performance and display of art. By conducting 18 semi structured in depth interviews with key stakeholders, Higgins-Desbiolles (2016) gained an understanding of the cultural capital the festival brings to the indigenous community. The findings can be classified into social and cultural capital benefits. Participants stated that meeting friends and family is a benefit of the festival. Additionally, the display of the richness of their culture caused a feeling of community pride among a large share of the participants (Higgins-Desbiolles, 2016). However, the display of cultural acts not only created community pride but also educated indigenous as well as non-indigenous attendees. This is also caused by the coming together of many young indigenous people with older members of their community which leads to the passing on of cultural information (Higgins-Desbiolles, 2016).
Natural Capital
In current literature cultural capital is described as assets that are unique to a specific location, including landscape, environment, natural beauty and natural resources (Emery & Flora, 2006; Moscardo et al., 2013). Mair and Laing (2013) researched so called “Ecofests” or sustainably-focused events. These events encourage pro-environmental behavior in order to protect natural capital. They display environmental friendly products, and services, and hold educational seminars, and workshops providing information on how sustainable choices can be made (Mair & Laing, 2013). Attendees of these events reflect on positive learning outcomes of the event such as “learned about the importance of sustainability”, “here are many companies that are supportive of sustainable behavior”, and “it is not as difficult to change as they might have originally thought” (Mair & Laing, 2013). These statements show re-evaluation of the attendees’ attitudes and can therefore lead to a positive contributions to natural capital.
3. Events and Sustainable Tourism
The concept of sustainability and sustainable tourism is widely discussed in existing literature. The UN (1986) defines sustainable development as “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”, and the UNWTO (2005) defines sustainable tourism as “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities”. Mega- and hallmark events such as the Olympics are frequently questioned in their sustainability; for example because of the maintenance of the facilities as well as social sustainability (Hiller, 2006; Smith, 2009). Therefore, this paragraph will focus on medium- and small scale events. Research conducted in Gainsville, Florida focuses on the sustainability of small scale sports events held in the city. These small scale sport events attract athletes as well as family and friends traveling with them to the city (Gibson, Kaplanidou, & Kang, 2012). The expenditure of these visitors is mostly focused on food and accommodation and has created 14,980 hotel nights in Gainsville. As existing facilities are used for these events, economic benefits are high for the community. Furthermore, the community’s spirit and pride was improved, having a positive social impact on the community. Gibson et al. (2012) also suggests that the carbon footprint for the small scale events are lower than the footprint of large scale events. Another example of events positively influencing sustainable tourism can be found in the Kapraz region in Cyprus. Different festivals of which some are community oriented while others are tourist oriented aim to positively influence the region (Gunsoy & Hannam, 2013). The festivals which are mostly organized by the local community include traditional food and dances, as well as presentations abut biodiversity and the local flora and fauna. The festivals have created income for locals and emphasized cultural values as well as education in the community.
4. Synthesis and Recommendation
The previous paragraphs depict multiple benefits of events on community capital and therefore also on community well-being. However, contributions in some areas of the community capitals are stronger than in others. Human capital is strongly influenced by events and is one aspect in which events can improve community well-being. Not only do events create skills and abilities among people organizing the event but also among volunteers and others working at the event (Diacin & Vansickle, 2014; Schulenkorf et al., 2011). These skills earned are of professional and of interpersonal manner and can benefit members of the local community as well as volunteers from other parts of the county (Diacin & Vansickle, 2014). Furthermore, social capital has received a lot of attention in recent literature about events (Moscardo, 2007; Moscardo et al., 2013; Schulenkorf et al., 2011). Schulenkorf et al. (2011) states that even deep cultural differences and past conflicts among participants of festivals can be overcome, leading to new intercultural friendships.
Destination planners are going to a shift of values, as they are understanding that fulfilling basic economic KPI’s does not lead to successful destination planning (Morgan, 2012; Morgan, Pritchard, & Pride, 2011). Destinations need to develop in a more sustainable way, setting new measurements for destination success. Destination management needs to aim to strengthen the host communities and create a high quality of life (Andereck & Nyaupane, 2011; Morgan et al., 2011). In order to do so destination planners need to empower the citizens of a community to build a bottom up approach (Marzuki & Hay, 2013; Morgan, 2012). Furthermore, stronger relationships between governments, businesses and civil society have to be established. Additionally, local, regional and national governments have to align their tourism planning in order to peruse common goals (Crouch & Ritchie, 1999). To maintain their competiveness destinations need to become more creative by making use of the human capital in their community. This is especially important in a time where consumers are more and more shaping the image of a destination through the use of social media (Morgan, 2012). These new ways of planning tourism have the ability to lead to long term sustainability and mindfulness in tourism in a world with a limited resources.
5. References
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Crouch, G. I., & Ritchie, J. R. B. (1999). Tourism, Competitiveness, and Societal Prosperity. Journal of Business Research, 44(3), 137-152. doi: 10.1016/S0148-2963(97)00196-3
Diacin, M. J., & Vansickle, J. L. (2014). Service learning with special Olympics: student volunteers' reflections of their experiences at the world summer games (Vol. 28, pp. 14). Urbana: Sagamore Publishing.
Emery, M., & Flora, C. (2006). Spiraling-Up: Mapping Community Transformation with Community Capitals Framework. Community Development, 37(1), 19-35. doi: 10.1080/15575330609490152
Gibson, H. J., Kaplanidou, K., & Kang, S. J. (2012). Small-scale event sport tourism: A case study in sustainable tourism. Sport Management Review, 15(2), 160-170. doi: 10.1016/j.smr.2011.08.013
Gunsoy, E., & Hannam, K. (2013). Festivals, community development and sustainable tourism in the Karpaz region of Northern Cyprus. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 5(1), 81-94. doi: 10.1080/19407963.2013.774201
Higgins-Desbiolles, F. (2016). Sustaining spirit: a review and analysis of an urban Indigenous Australian cultural festival. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24(8-9), 1280-1297. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2016.1149184
Hiller, H. H. (2006). Post-event Outcomes and the Post-modern Turn: The Olympics and Urban Transformations. European Sport Management Quarterly, 6(4), 317-332. doi: 10.1080/16184740601154458
Mair, J., & Laing, J. H. (2013). Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: the role of sustainability-focused events. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 21(8), 1113.
Morgan, N. (2012). Time for ‘mindful’ destination management and marketing. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 1(1-2), 8-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jdmm.2012.07.003
Morgan, N., Pritchard, A., & Pride, R. (2011). Destination Brands: Managing Place Reputation (Vol. 3rd,Revis). Florence;New York;: Routledge.
Moscardo, G. (2007). Analyzing the role of festivals and events in regional development.
Moscardo, G., Konovalov, E., Murphy, L., & McGehee, N. (2013). Mobilities, community well-being and sustainable tourism.
Murphy, L., Moscardo, G., McGehee, N., & Konovalov, E. (2012). Blurred boundaries: the implications of new tourism mobilities for destination community well-being.
Schulenkorf, N., Thomson, A., & Schlenker, K. (2011). Intercommunity Sport Events: Vehicles and Catalysts for Social Capital in Divided Societies. Event Management, 15(2), 105-119. doi: 10.3727/152599511X13082349958316
Smith, A. (2009). Theorising the Relationship between Major Sport Events and Social Sustainability. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 14(2-3), 109-120. doi: 10.1080/14775080902965033
Solberg, H. A., & Preuss, H. (2007). Major Sport Events and Long-Term Tourism Impacts. Journal of Sport Management, 21(2), 4.
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