Extreme Tourism: Lessons from the World's Cold Water Islands


Book Description

This book is a pioneering investigation of the tourism practices in the world's other, cold water, islands. Located in extreme latitudes and subject to extreme weather conditions, these islands have been developing their tourism appeal in manners that appear sustainable. They present themselves in images that speak to the pristine, unique and superlative aspects of their natural environment, history and culture. Limited seasonality, difficulty of access, restricted infrastructure, harsh climates and water too cold to swim in, are integral features of the tourism industry, often welcomed as appropriate filters to the slide to the mass market. The collection contains 13 island case studies. A set of seven hail from Northern latitudes: Baffin (Nunavut, Canada), Banks (Northwest Territories, Canada), Greenland/ Kaalaalit Nunaat, Iceland, Luleå (Sweden), Nunivak (Alaska), Solovetsky (Russia) and Svalbard (Norway). A second set of four cover the Southerly islands of Chatham (New Zealand), Falklands, Macquarie (Australia) and Stewart (New Zealand). Two other chapters discuss islands from the particular vantage points of cruise ship tourism, one for the Arctic region and one for the Antarctic. Additionally, five conceptual chapters provide insights into key tourism management issues, as they apply to cold water island experiences:(a) human resources; (b) environment; (c) promotion; (d) seasonality; and (e) access.




Island Tourism


Book Description

This book exemplifies the ecological, social and economic perspectives of sustainable island tourism development. The book consists of 15 chapters presented in three parts. Cases in this book include cold water islands in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans, as well as islands in the more popular warmer climes of the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and the Pacific and Indian Oceans.




Ecotourism in Scandinavia


Book Description

Ideal for researchers and students of ecotourism, this text comprehensively describes, analyses and evaluates aspects of Scandanavian ecotourism.




The Routledge International Handbook of Island Studies


Book Description

From tourist paradises to immigrant detention camps, from offshore finance centres to strategic military bases, islands offer distinct identities and spaces in an increasingly homogenous and placeless world. The study of islands is important, for its own sake and on its own terms. But so is the notion that the island is a laboratory, a place for developing and testing ideas, and from which lessons can be learned and applied elsewhere. The Routledge International Handbook of Island Studies is a global, research-based and pluri-disciplinary overview of the study of islands. Its chapters deal with the contribution of islands to literature, social science and natural science, as well as other applied areas of inquiry. The collated expertise of interdisciplinary and international scholars offers unique insights: individual chapters dwell on geomorphology, zoology and evolutionary biology; the history, sociology, economics and politics of island communities; tourism, wellbeing and migration; as well as island branding, resilience and ‘commoning’. The text also offers pioneering forays into the study of islands that are cities, along rivers or artificial constructions. This insightful Handbook will appeal to geographers, environmentalists, sociologists, political scientists and, one hopes, some of the 600 million or so people who live on islands or are interested in the rich dynamics of islands and island life.




Islandscapes and Tourism


Book Description

The links between islands and tourism, as sights of pleasure is embodied in the touristification of sun, sand and sea. Islandscapes are central to the tourist imaginaries that shape islands as touristified places - curated, designed and commodified for both mass tourism and more niche inclined versions. Yet while islands are parlayed for touristic pleasure seekers, islands are also home to longstanding communities that have variously battled with the tyranny of distance from metropolitan centres, as well as the everyday challenges of climate change effects, and benefitted from their isolation from modern-day pressures. This anthology of articles previously published in the journal Shima explores emergent themes that describe how island peoples adapt and respond in localised cultural islandscapes as a consequence of tourism expansion. It is aimed at researchers in island studies, tourism, sustainability, human geography, cultural studies, sociology and anthropology. The anthology will also be of interest to those with an abiding interest in the trajectories of islands and their peoples, particularly where tourism has come to shape islandscapes.




An Introduction to Island Studies


Book Description

Island Studies can be deceptively challenging and rewarding for an undergraduate student. Islands can be many things: nations, tourist destinations, quarantine stations, billionaire baubles, metaphors. The study of islands offers a way to take this 'bewildering variety' and to use it as a lens and a tool to better understand our own world of islands. An Introduction to Island Studies is an approachable look at this interdisciplinary field - from the islands as biodiversity hotspots, their settlement, human migration and occupation through to the place of islands in the popular imagination. Featuring geopolitical, social and economic frameworks, James Randall gives a bottom-up guide to this most modern area of study. From the geological analysis of island formation to the metaphorical use of islands in culture and literature, the growing field of island studies is truly interdisciplinary. This new introduction gives readers from many disciplines the local, global, and regional perspectives that unlock the promise of island studies as a way to see the world. From the struggles and concerns of the Anthropocene—climate change, vulnerability and resilience, sustainable development, through to policy making and local environments—island studies has the potential to change the debate.




Island Futures


Book Description

Islands face one of the most pressing issues of our time: how to balance ecological integrity with economic development and collective quality of life, including the need for social and conservation space. Islands are sites of rich and varied human and ecological diversity, but they are also often characterized by narrow resource bases and dependency on links to the outside world, and by their limited ability to determine the actual character of those links. This volume reviews the challenges of island development and conservation in the Asia–Pacific region. With emphasis on nature reserves and UNESCO World Heritage sites, chapters describe the benefits, barriers, and potential pitfalls in preserving such sites, managing biota, and attracting and controlling tourism. The book also provides a provocative challenge to move beyond the typical concerns of “sustainability” to the more holistic concept of “futurability”, or “future potential” for convivial human–environmental interactions.




Islands


Book Description

From Charles Darwin’s enlightening voyage to the Galapagos Islands to moat-encased prisons incarcerating the world’s deadliest prisoners, islands have been sites of immense scientific, political, and creative importance. An inspiration for artists and writers, they can be lively centers of holiday revelry or remote, mysterious spots; places of escape or of exile and imprisonment. In this cultural and scientific history of these alluring, isolated territories, Stephen A. Royle describes the great variety of islands, their economies, and the animals, plants, and people who thrive on them. Royle shows that despite the view of some islands as earthly paradises, they are often beset by severe limitations in both resources and opportunities. Detailing the population loss many islands have faced in recent years, he considers how islanders have developed their homes into tourist destinations in order to combat economic instability. He also explores their exotic, otherworldly beauty and the ways they have provided both refuge and inspiration for artists, such as Paul Gauguin in Tahiti and George Orwell on the Scottish island of Jura. Filled with illustrations, Islands is a compelling and comprehensive survey of the geographical and cultural aspects of island life.




Archipelago Tourism


Book Description

Exploring the conceptual insights provided by the archipelagic 'twist' in the context of tourism principles, policies and practices, this volume draws on an international series of case studies to analyse best practice in branding, marketing and logistics in archipelago tourist destinations. The book asks and seeks to answer such questions as: How to 'sell' a multi-island destination, without risking a message that may be too complex and diffuse for audiences to grab on to? Does one encourage visitors to do 'island hopping'; and, if so, how and with what logistic facilities? How does one ascribe specific island destinations within an overall archipelago brand? Would smaller islands rebel against a composite branding strategy that actually benefits other islands? How does one read or craft transport policies as a function of the 'reterritorialisation' of a multi-island space? This book pioneers the exploration of the archipelago as tourism study focus (and not just locus); a heuristic device for rendering islands as sites of different tourism practices, industries and policies, but also of challenges and possibilities.




Arctic Marine Sustainability


Book Description

This book presents the latest scientific views on resource use conflicts in the Arctic seas. The main areas of focus are the biological resources of Arctic seas vs. exploitation of oil and gas resources, and the conflicts in between. In addition, climate change is presented as a stressor, which both limits and facilitates the economic availability of resources in the Arctic. The book is divided into five parts. Part 1 examines Arctic ecosystems, resilience of the marine environment and possible conflicts between industrial sector and biological world. The focus of Part 2 is on transport infrastructure along the northern routes. Issues such as Arctic maritime operations, black carbon and unmanned aerial vehicles are considered. Part 3 focuses on resource use conflicts in Arctic seas and on the most recent threats in terms of Arctic oil and gas exploration, offshore logistics operations as well as transportation of oil and oil products. Discussions in Part 4 of the book are concentrated around social aspects and involvement of local communities. Tourism development, preservation of indigenous culture, engagement of communities on relevant Arctic issues, search and rescue in the cold marine environment are examples of questions raised. The book reviews Arctic-specific petroleum regulations, the state of preparedness to oil spill accidents in the region as well as the latest developments in oil spill response technologies and their limitations. Search and rescue operations are reviewed and how working in this harsh Arctic environment affects the ability of rescue technicians to perform the required technical skills. Part 5 considers the sustainability challenges arising from the marine resource exploitation. The focus is on the vulnerability of Arctic ecosystems to disturbance – both natural and anthropogenic.