Postgraduate research supervision

This article examines ethical entrepreneurship in tourism by developing a Weberian Ideal-Type Construct for an ethical tourism entrepreneur, and thereby deeper understanding of ethical tourism entrepreneurship. This research contributes to the extremely scarce literature at the academic juncture of ethics, tourism and entrepreneurship, which is significant as tourism is characterised by entrepreneurial idiosyncrasies with ethical challenges. The study is methodologically rooted in Personal Construct Theory. The qualitative findings from 15 semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs, who have been commended for their ethical business conduct, show that ethical entrepreneurship in tourism is based on intuitionism, care and relationships, future-orientation, humility and benevolence as key virtues. These findings challenge the more traditional views of entrepreneurial attributes, such as egoism, risk-taking and opportunism.

This article examines the definitions and implementations of the concept ?social tourism?
that are in use in Europe today. Examples show that the concept has been implemented
in many different ways to suit national contexts and that the justifications and goals of
social tourism can differ greatly. The question arises how one can define the boundaries
of this versatile and complex concept. This article proposes a model to clarify the
interrelationships between the different interpretations: it highlights where common
ground exists, but also where contradictions are apparent. The model consists of four
main categories: the participation model, the inclusion model, the adaptation model
and the stimulation model. The model draws on the historical development of social
tourism and the ethical foundations for provision, and it is supported by a range of
examples of European practice. Through this sub-categorisation of the concept, it is
argued that a ?scientification? of the concept of social tourism can take place, so that
the term does not lose its academic and political value. This article concludes by
proposing a definition for social tourism that can effectively set the concept apart
from other forms of tourism with attached social benefits.

The article introduces an integrated market-segmentation and tourism yield estimation framework for inbound tourism. Conventional approaches to yield estimation based on country of origin segmentation and total expenditure comparisons do not provide sufficient detail, especially for mature destinations dominated by large single-country source markets. By employing different segmentation approaches along with Tourism Satellite Accounts and various yield estimates, this article estimates direct economic contribution for subsegments of the UK market on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Overall expenditure across segments varies greatly, as do the spending ratios in different categories. In the case of Cyprus, the most potential for improving economic contribution currently lies in increasing spending on ?food and beverages? and ?culture and recreation.? Mass tourism therefore appears to offer the best return per monetary unit spent. Conducting similar studies in other destinations could identify priority spending sectors and enable different segments to be targeted appropriately.

This article presents three different ways in which the involvement of charities in tourism in the UK can be considered and what implications this may have for the industry. Those charities involved outside the industry seek to engage in tourism purely because of the fund-raising potential that it offers. These charities can achieve high profits from these activities yet are not directly concerned with the tourism industry. The second level of involvement with tourism concerns charities that can be seen to operate within the industry and offer travel to sites of concern for their members. Finally, charities that operate above the industry seek to influence the industry through tactics similar to those of pressure groups. The way that this final group raise funds to support their activities differs from the first two groups, however they are tied more closely to the tourism industry in that it represents their reason to exist. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. Ail rights reserved.

This book aims to address this divide by integrating theory with practice through the inclusion of specific tourism research case studies alongside research ...

As an integral part of individual lives and one of the strongest inputs to global economies, tourism is affected by such social tensions and can play an important role in reducing them; therefore it offers an interesting challenge for serious discussions regarding tourism and regional sustainability. Tourism is traditionally associated with pleasure, leisure and escape from the ordinary world and is often contrasted with other, more serious economic activities such as manufacturing and extraction. As a result governments and planners often ignore tourism; furthermore, outside of the field of tourism academic research, the relationship between tourism and sustainability received too little attention considering that tourism can play an increasingly integral role in regional sustainable development processes. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

As the first book to cover this key tourism subject, Tourism Distribution Channelsbrings together a range of contemporary case-study material, providing the ...

This book considers how monitoring using indicators can assist tourism to make such a sustainability transition.

This paper presents the results of a two round Delphi survey conducted into expert opinion on the development of indicators to measure the movement of the tourism product at a company/resort level towards a position of greater or lesser sustainability. This research forms part of a wider project to develop indicators that consumers can use in the selection of their holidays and promote a more sustainable form of tourism. The results of this expert survey show considerable disagreement over ?sustainability? and where the borders of the concept exist. In addition, the research identified contrasting views over the use of qualitative versus quantitative indicators and the role that consumer pressure can play. The use of the Delphi technique to address complex and uncertain issues is also explored.

This article examines the business choices made by independent farming families, when confronting the need to diversify away from traditional agricultural activities by starting farm-based tourism businesses. Based on interviews with farm family members who have set up tourism attractions on their farms, and drawing upon the concept of experiential authenticity, the article explores their self-conceptions of their family identities. In so doing, it addresses the choices and dilemmas facing farm families who attempt diversification through the tourism attraction route, and considers how this affects their attitudes towards more traditional farming activities. Using qualitative case study data, an empirically grounded framework is proposed that expresses the choices and challenges facing tourism entrepreneurial family farm members in the UK, through the conceptual lens of experiential authenticity.

Designed as essential reading for all leisure and tourism experts, this educational book analyzes and explains demographics, global supply and demand, ...

This article presents the results of a survey of tourism consumers from the Destinations Travel Show in the UK in 2000. Four hundred and eleven tourism consumers were interviewed over four days at the show on the type of information that they used in the selection of their holiday destination. This article posits that the power of the consumer can be a major force for progress towards greater sustainability by the tourism industry, acting as a rationale for change, which is often missing from more traditional planning, management or regulatory techniques. The research shows consumers are already making decisions based on environmental, social and economic quality for day-to-day products and are keen to transfer these habits to the purchase of tourism products. Recommendations are made, highlighting the need for the tourism industry to capitalise on this demand for a wider range of product information and so promote moves towards greater levels of sustainability in the industry.

This editorial reviews sustainable tourism research as reflected in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism over the past twenty-five years, followed by specific consideration of more recent trends. It looks back in order to consider how sustainable tourism research, and its coverage in the Journal, has changed and developed, and is continuing to do so. It also uses the review to suggest ways in which the Journal of Sustainable Tourism, and research in this field, might usefully continue to move forward in the future to further increase its relevance, innovation and impact.

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The impact of tourism activities on local water resources remains a largely understudied issue in environmental and sustainable tourism management. The aim of the paper is to present a simple methodology that allows an estimate of direct and indirect local water use associated with different holiday packages and to then discuss relevant management implications. This is explored through the creation of five illustrative examples of holidays to semi-arid eastern Mediterranean destinations: Cyprus (2), Turkey, Greece and Syria. Using available data on water use associated with different forms of travel, accommodation and tourist activities, indicative water footprints are calculated for each of the illustrative examples. Food consumption by tourists appears to have by far the most significant impact on the overall water footprint and this aspect of water use is explored in detail in the paper. The paper also suggests a way of employing the water footprint methodology along with import/export balance sheets of main food commodities to distinguish between the global and local pressure of tourism demand on water resources. Water resource use is likely to become an increasingly important issue in tourism management and must be considered alongside more established environmental concerns such as energy use, using methodologies that can capture direct as well as supply chain impacts. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of tourism activities on local water resources remains a largely understudied issue in environmental and sustainable tourism management. The aim of the paper is to present a simple methodology that allows an estimate of direct and indirect local water use associated with different holiday packages and to then discuss relevant management implications. This is explored through the creation of five illustrative examples of holidays to semi-arid eastern Mediterranean destinations: Cyprus (2), Turkey, Greece and Syria. Using available data on water use associated with different forms of travel, accommodation and tourist activities, indicative water footprints are calculated for each of the illustrative examples. Food consumption by tourists appears to have by far the most significant impact on the overall water footprint and this aspect of water use is explored in detail in the paper. The paper also suggests a way of employing the water footprint methodology along with import/export balance sheets of main food commodities to distinguish between the global and local pressure of tourism demand on water resources. Water resource use is likely to become an increasingly important issue in tourism management and must be considered alongside more established environmental concerns such as energy use, using methodologies that can capture direct as well as supply chain impacts. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Tourism research has come a long way since the first developments in the identification and delineation of a tourism subject area in the mid 1960s.

Service quality in the tourism industry receives increasing attention in the literature, yet confusion still exists as to which measure offers the greatest validity. The two main research instruments are Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) and SERVQUAL. However, both measures have been questioned and research has introduced measures that multiply SERVQUAL by Importance, as well as a measure of just Performance (SERVPERF). This article assesses these four main methods of measuring customer service quality. The data were obtained in cooperation with a major U.K. tour operator. Of the respondents, 220 completed a questionnaire before departure on what elements were important to them and what their expectations were for these elements. Toward the end of their holiday, respondents were issued a second questionnaire measuring performance on the same elements. The research found that although there was variety in the rankings of the 13 different elements, there was no statistical difference between the four methodologies. The final section of this article considers the implications of this finding for tourism managers and future research in the area of service quality.

This paper represents part of a programme of research into the development of indicators that can be used to monitor movement of the tourism industry with reference to more sustainable positions. In order to determine the potential for implementing such indicators this paper asked senior representatives of the UK tourism industry what factors influenced the degree of responsibility shown by their organisation. The research also asked what factors respondents felt would trigger any change in the actions of tour operators in the future. The research reveals that while many in the industry see industry structure as the constraining force, the potential for market advantage or the fear of negative PR also determines company actions. The research utilised elite interviewing for 35 senior representatives of the UK tourism industry.

Heli-tourism represents one of the great dilemmas and conflicts between recreational enjoyment of the wilderness and the conservation of the fragile alpine and mountain areas where the activity takes place. The question of responsibility towards the environment is one, which tourism operators generally seem reluctant to accept but one operator that appears to have taken a proactive approach to environmental issues in mountain regions is heli-operator Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH). This paper expands on the limited amount of research that exists on the complex relationship between tourism and the environment by applying a responsible marketing model to CMH. This model is grounded on previous literature in marketing, and strategic and environmental management. Interviews with key stakeholders, observational research, and content analysis of communication materials, were used to identify how near CMH is to finding a balance between responsible action and the communication of these activities.

Although social tourism has been seen in a number of countries as having potential to counter social exclusion, formulating a definition for the term is difficult. "Social tourism" is used to describe a variety of initiatives for a variety of different social groups. These range from holidays for children from low-income backgrounds, through improving accessibility in hotels, to offering ecological holidays. This article discusses the definitions of "social tourism," distinguishing host-related and visitor-related forms, and aims to clarify its potential value in combating social exclusion. It does so by examining the ethical values underlying the way social tourism is defined and suggesting a theoretical framework for the effects of social tourism. Some ethical views of society place an a priori moral duty on the stronger strata to support the weaker. Others do not judge the support of the weaker strata as an a priori dominant ethical principle, and judge the welfare of the state by the opportunity of all its strata. Ethical positions that see stronger strata as having a moral duty to support the weaker are more likely to be supportive toward both host-related and visitor-related social tourism. Those that do not will probably support host-related social tourism, but will support visitor-related social tourism, if publicly funded, only if it can demonstrate benefits for the whole of society. In Western liberal democracies where this is a prevailing view, visitor-related social tourism might justify public expenditure as a potential tool to combat social exclusion. It can be seen as a merit good if it improves excluded peoples' handicapping characteristics, through, for example, beneficial effects in health, self-esteem, and improvement of family relationships. However, there is little research to test its effectiveness in achieving these outcomes. Further research is required to evaluate whether social tourism can have a significant role in combating social exclusion, and thus justify support from public expenditure. Copyright © 2006 Cognizant Comm. Corp.

This text draws together current thinking and practice in the tourism industry
and allows readers to examine critical issues and problems.

The dynamic organisational processes in businesses
dilute the boundaries between the individual,
organisational, and societal drivers of corporate philanthropy.
This creates a complex framework in which charitable
project selection occurs. Using the example of
European tour operators, this study investigates the
mechanisms through which companies invest in charitable
projects in overseas destinations. Inextricably linked to
this is the increasing contestation by local communities as
to how they are able to engage effectively with tourism in
order to realise the benefits tourism development can bring.
This research furthers such debates by exploring the processes
through which tour operators facilitate community
development through charitable giving. Findings show,
with no formal frameworks in existence, project selection
depends upon emergent strategies that connect the professional
with the personal, with trust being positioned as a
central driver of these informal processes. Discretionary
responsibilities are reworked through business leaders?
commitment to responsible business practises and the
ethical subjectivity guiding these processes.

The concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and employee engagement are growing in importance, both in academia and in practise. Research suggests that there is a strong correlation between the two with CSR linked to organisational advantages, including recruitment, retention, productivity, and morale, which relate specifically to employees. Furthermore, with employee engagement a well-established antecedent to obtaining objectives, employees are an integral stakeholder group in CSR adoption and dissemination. However, despite specific benefits of CSR relating to employees and their importance as stakeholders, it is noteworthy that a lack of attention has been paid to the individual level of analysis with CSR primarily being studied at the organisational level. Within research and practise of CSR, the organisation is often treated as a ?black box?, failing to account for individual differences and the resulting variations in antecedents to CSR engagement or disengagement. This is a theoretical challenge shared by stakeholder theory, which often suggests internal homogeneity within stakeholder groups despite diversity of objectives and stakes in the organisation.
The primary objective of the study is to determine why employees engage and disengage from CSR interventions within the context of multinational hospitality and tourism organisations. In order to fully examine the subjective experience of employees engaging in organisational CSR, a qualitative methodology is employed. Data was drawn from three multinational tourism and hospitality case study organisations and involved extensive interview data collected from CSR leaders, engaged and disengaged employees, and industry professionals. This exploratory research subsequently contributes to the understanding of employee engagement in CSR by identifying opportunities and barriers for individual employee engagement in corporate responsibility policy and initiatives.
This research also contributes to emerging evidence within the literature that suggests disengagement is not the counterpart of engagement. Having studied individual differences in CSR engagement, findings suggests that the engagement and disengagement are not opposites and unique antecedents to both engagement and disengagement are identified as arising at the personal, activity, and organisational level. A multilevel analysis subsequently contributes to the advancement of employee CSR engagement understanding.
Critically, it is proposed that employees are situated along a spectrum of engagement from actively engaged to actively disengaged, with a key contribution of this research being a model that addresses variation in individual engagement and disengagement. Recognising that employees accept, interpret and operationalise corporate responsibility differently, this study draws on social identity theory to account for individual differences amongst employees. While there are some common drivers of engagement across the entire spectrum of employees, differences also exist depending on the degree to which employees support CSR within their organisations. Key antecedents to CSR engagement that vary depending on employees? existing level of broader engagement include: observed benefits of participation, CSR intervention design, organisational culture, employee CSR perceptions, and CSR leadership. Employee CSR engagement is also identified as being driven by the type of CSR intervention, communication, individual values, and person-organisation fit.

Holidaying is an important leisure pursuit and, for a growing minority, air travel is the default mode for holiday mobility. However, the current trend of increasing demand for air travel runs contrary to climate-related sustainability goals. Efforts to motivate reductions in consumption of holiday air travel must contend with the embeddedness of flying as a social practice and should be informed by an understanding of how people prioritize air travel for holidays relative to other forms of consumption. Using data drawn from a survey of 2066 British adults, this exploratory study uses a novel method to assess the willingness of individuals to sacrifice holiday air travel relative to their willingness to make changes to their daily consumption patterns. We find a greater readiness to undertake additional expense (of time, effort, or money) than to retrench incumbent consumption patterns in order to fly for holidays. Reluctance to sacrifice for the sake of flying was greatest with regards to those items that are most associated with the basic infrastructure of modern life (e.g., mobile phones). Examining product-specific pro-environmental sacrifice in relative terms, our findings suggest that voluntary reductions in flying is more plausible than other modes of pro-environmental sacrifice.

Ethical entrepreneurship and by extension wider best practice are noble goals for the future of tourism. However, questions arise which concepts, such as values motivations, actions and challenges underpin these goals. This thesis seeks to answers these questions and in so doing develop an applied ethics analysis for best practice entrepreneurs in tourism. The research is situated in sustainable tourism, which is ethically very complex and has thus far been dominated by the economic, social and environmental triple bottom line thinking. This research takes a different approach by applying a value-behavioural lens to best practice entrepreneurship. In so doing, the focus shifts from impacts and consequences towards those values and actions that determine best practice entrepreneurship.

The originality of the research is grounded in a two-pronged research strategy, combining archival research and methods from Personal Construct Theory through the process of iteration. Both strategies are currently underused in tourism research. This constitutes an important methodological contribution. Furthermore, a unique set of archival data in the form of Tourism for Tomorrow Awards applications and judges? reports enhances the originality of the findings. Archival data was complemented by semi-structured interviews with so-called ethical tourism entrepreneurs. A mix of source and method triangulation has added significant rigour to this research.

The key findings are that best practice in tourism is ethically very complex, which suggests a form of ethical pragmatism. Second, a dissonance exists between motivations for best practice, which are value-pluralistic, and ethical judgement making, which is more principle-based. Third, a further dissonance was identified between admittance/awareness and action for issues of misrepresentation, whereas no dissonance was found for relationship or distribution dilemmas. This thesis has combined three strands of research: business ethics, entrepreneurship and sustainable tourism. This original approach lays ground for change towards a more ethically-bound entrepreneurial practice in tourism.

The current trend of increasing demand for air travel runs contrary to climate-related sustainability goals. The absence of behavioural and near-term technological solutions to aviation?s environmental impacts underscores the importance of policy levers as a means of curbing carbon emissions. Where past work has used qualitative methods to sketch public opinion of environmental aviation policies, this work uses data drawn from a survey of 2066 British adults to make a quantitative assessment of the acceptability of a broad range of aviation climate policy options. The findings indicate that there is significant support across demographic groups for a large number of policies, particularly those that place financial or regulatory burdens on industry rather than on individuals directly. Support for aviation policies strengthens with pro-environmental attitudes and is weaker among people who are aeromobile. Though self-interested considerations appeared to dominate policy option preferences, concern for fairness may also shape policy acceptability. Overall, this paper provides to policymakers a quantitative evidence base of what types of policies for addressing aviation climate emissions are most publically palatable.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been linked with numerous organizational advantages, including recruitment,
retention, productivity, and morale, which relate specifcally to employees. However, despite specifc benefts of CSR
relating to employees and their importance as a stakeholder group, it is noteworthy that a lack of attention has been paid to
the individual level of analysis with CSR primarily being studied at the organizational level. Both research and practice of
CSR have largely treated the individual organization as a ?black box,? failing to account for individual diferences amongst
employees and the resulting variations in antecedents to CSR engagement or disengagement. This is further exacerbated by
the tendency in stakeholder theory to homogenize priorities within a single stakeholder group. In response, utilizing case
study data drawn from three multinational tourism and hospitality organizations, combined with extensive interview data
collected from CSR leaders, industry professionals, engaged, and disengaged employees, this exploratory research produces
a fner-grained understanding of employees as a stakeholder group, identifying a number of opportunities and barriers for
individual employee engagement in CSR interventions. This research proposes that employees are situated along a spectrum
of engagement from actively engaged to actively disengaged. While there are some common drivers of engagement across
the entire spectrum of employees, diferences also exist depending on the degree to which employees, rather than senior
management, support corporate responsibility within their organizations. Key antecedents to CSR engagement that vary
depending on employees? existing level of broader engagement include organizational culture, CSR intervention design,
employee CSR perceptions, and the observed benefts of participation.

Florida, one of the world's most visited tourist destinations, holds one of the most vulnerable positions as a result of climate change. Through a quantitative survey, this study gathered the responses of 432 tourists who had previously visited Florida, with a hypothetical scenario of changed climatic conditions. The examination of the tourist perspective showed the presence of ample sunshine and factors related to beach comfort as the reasons for choosing the destination. In a scenario were beaches disappear and tropical diseases become more widespread, the majority of respondents stated they would choose a different destination. However, respondents would reconsider their intentions if adaptation measures such as reduced prices, coastal habitat conservation and measures to protect beaches from erosion and coastal areas from inundation were in place. The findings suggest that seasonal and geographic shifts in tourism demand could be mitigated by the implementation of adaptation measures at the destination level.

This study shifts the focus from building individual capacities to understanding the relational acts
through which empowerment and education acquire their value and meaning. Conceptually, the paper
employs social cognitive theory to explore the interplay between social learning, relational agency,
and culture. This interplay builds the foundation for the development of an empowerment model of
capacity building that proposes an interlinked system of community capacity and empowerment dimensions.
The model is explored in the context of the Education for All project in the High Atlas Mountains of
Morocco. The research combines participant observation, qualitative interviews and visual methods to
provide rich insights to situated knowledges of learning and empowerment. Findings reveal that the
meaning of education equates to the capacity to aspire to a different life. This problematizes the way gender
and gender relations are understood in the rural Berber villages. The girls? education unsettles the
repeating cycle of female educational deprivation, and leads them to become role models within their
communities. This instills the image of educated women in community consciousness, leading to an
incipient change in perceptions of what girls and women can be and do

The link between information privacy concerns and privacy behaviours has been a focus of extensive investigation in various disciplines. However, little attention has been devoted to this issue in the tourism literature. Spurred by technological development and shaped by tourism-related environments, emerging privacy issues call for comprehensive yet context-specific studies to ensure tourists are making beneficial privacy choices. This paper first presents a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art research on privacy concerns and behaviours. Then, it suggests a list of overarching research priorities, merging social and technical aspects of privacy protection approaches as they apply to tourism. The priorities include research to measure tourists? privacy concerns, explore specific biases in tourists? privacy decisions, experiment with privacy nudges, and explore how to integrate privacy nudges in system design. Thus, this paper contributes to guiding the direction of future research on privacy protection in tourism.

The link between information privacy concerns and privacy behaviours has been a focus of extensive investigation in various disciplines. However, little attention has been devoted to this issue in the tourism literature. Spurred by technological development and shaped by tourism-related environments, emerging privacy issues call for comprehensive yet context-specific studies to ensure tourists are making beneficial privacy choices. This paper first presents a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art research on privacy concerns and behaviours. Then, it suggests a list of overarching research priorities, merging social and technical aspects of privacy protection approaches as they apply to tourism. The priorities include research to measure tourists? privacy concerns, explore specific biases in tourists? privacy decisions, experiment with privacy nudges, and explore how to integrate privacy nudges in system design. Thus, this paper contributes to guiding the direction of future research on privacy protection in tourism.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have a great potential to aid not only in promoting tourism products and services, but also in influencing responsible travel behaviour to support sustainability. The effectiveness of using AI for positive behaviour change interventions depends on consumers? attitudes toward AI. This study found three underlying views of AI impacts: Beneficial AI, Destructive AI, and Risky AI. Based on these, three consumer segments were identified: The Laggards, The Aficionados, and The Realists. The first two segments hold opposing views: the former averaging higher in negative impacts, while the latter in positive impacts of AI. The Realists are aware of both benefits and risks of AI. These segments differ in their intention to follow recommendations from AI. It is suggested that mainstream consumers, those belonging to The Realists, are likely to respond positively to AI systems recommending responsible behaviour, signifying the positive role of AI in sustainable tourism.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have a great potential to aid not only in promoting tourism products and services, but also in influencing responsible travel behaviour to support sustainability. The effectiveness of using AI for positive behaviour change interventions depends on consumers? attitudes toward AI. This study found three underlying views of AI impacts: Beneficial AI, Destructive AI, and Risky AI. Based on these, three consumer segments were identified: The Laggards, The Aficionados, and The Realists. The first two segments hold opposing views: the former averaging higher in negative impacts, while the latter in positive impacts of AI. The Realists are aware of both benefits and risks of AI. These segments differ in their intention to follow recommendations from AI. It is suggested that mainstream consumers, those belonging to The Realists, are likely to respond positively to AI systems recommending responsible behaviour, signifying the positive role of AI in sustainable tourism.

This research critiques the relationship between tour operators and destination communities with a key focus on capacity building and gender (dis)empowerment in the context of education. Capacity building processes are studied employing social learning theory to enable an interconnected investigation of different capacity building levels and the ways in which these influence and are influenced by gender. The research critiques tour operators? selection of destination projects, analysing the intended and unintended effects of an education project for girls situated in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. A dialogue between theory, context and partial perspectives is established through the adoption of an Islamic feminist framework, challenging dominant understandings and fostering the creation of differences from within.
Using the case of the Education for All project, findings reveal that caring at a distance is a crucial element of responsible action in tourism. Tour operators? investment in destination projects emerges primarily through an ethic of care between them and destination communities, with multiple layers of shared, performed and displaced responsibility underpinning this business practise. However, with no formal frameworks in existence, tour operators? selection of projects depends upon emergent strategies that connect the professional with the personal, with trust being positioned as a central driver of these informal processes.
With regard to destination communities, lived experience and informal education are identified as core components of capacity building processes. Friendship is equated to the meaning of education, with empowerment being re-negotiated as learning to be responsible for the self. This understanding challenges local interpretations of equality based on gendered notions of respect. Women?s increasing sense of responsibility, confidence and competence has the potential to problematize relations of (dis)respect and the role and position of women within society. Two recommendations to aid in this process were developed: anti-gossip campaigns and mentoring schemes.