Faculty of Business and Law

Tourism development in the northern, coastal Gascoyne has taken place on a somewhat ad hoc basis. Coral Bay, one of the region's most popular tourist destinations, has grown incrementally from a family camping spot to a small town with a town planning scheme that postdates much of the town's development. However, Coral Bay has little basic infrastructure such as sewerage, a factor that causes concern to visitors and land managers alike.

Ecotourism potentially provides a sustainable approach to development in Malaysia. However, to realise this potential the adverse effects of visitor activity and associated infrastructure on the natural environment and the tourism experience must be identified to guide management actions and thus to sustain the resources on which ecotourism ultimately depends.

Ecotourism is exploding around the world yet little is known about its possible and/or projected impacts and implications. A number of gen-eral books have been written recently on the subject of ecotourism (eg Fennell, 1999; Weaver, 2002; Page and Dowling, 2002). All have included some contributions to our collective understanding of the policies and strategies associated with ecotourism development.

This thesis examines the evolving relationship between the environment and tourism and argues for a new environmentally based regional tourism planning approach. In environmental planning the major aim is to foster environmental protection and conservation, whereas the goals of tourism planning are to engender tourism promotion and area development.

Abstract: Geotourism is a new discipline and relatively little has been written about either its supply or demand sides. This research note presents the findings of a sample of potential Australian geotourists, all members of the Geological Society of Australia. The purpose of the study was to explore a potential market of geoscientists to test their interest in participating in commercial geotourism products as a means of developing niche geotourism opportunities in Australia.

This book owes its inception to the international journal Tourism Recreation Research, which had proposed a special issue on the theme of host communities in 1996. For various reasons, this special issue never came to fruition, so the idea to create a book on the subject was introduced, which we were pleased to spearhead with some important guidance from Dr Tej Vir Singh.

The designations employed and the presentation of the material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO, the Qatar Supreme Council for the Environment and Natural Reserves (SCENR) or the University of Trier concerning legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Abstract Motivation theories and studies play a vital role in understanding why tourists travel and the kind of activities they engage in whilst away from home. By reviewing the literature, it is apparent that previous tourism studies pay scant attention to the issue of why people travel to geosites and this important issue is still an undeveloped area of study. Therefore, investigating the motivations of tourists undertaking a geotourism (geology and tourism) experience reflects an urgent need to bridge the gap in the geotourism literature.

After World War II the importance of the Mediterranean islands for the touristic movement, radiating mainly from Western Europe, enormously increased. This growing demand opened new opportunities for the modernization of these islands' economic base and has been seen as a promising opportunity for reducing the prosperity gap between themselves and developed countries.

The expectations on tourism as a stimulator for economic opportunities can be high for communities with limited economic activities, particularly in areas with attractive natural values such as spectacular scenery, wildlife, flora and tranquillity.

Abstract Geotourism is essentially 'geological tourism'. The geological element focuses on geology and landscape and includes both 'form', such as landforms, rock outcrops, rock types, sediments, soils and crystals, and 'process', such as volcanism, erosion, glaciation etc. The tourism element of geotourism includes tourists visiting, learning from, appreciating and engaging in geosites. Geotourism is an integral part of UNESCO's geoparks and is essential to their development.

• Ecotourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the global tourism industry• Governments and conservation organizations like it because it generates environmental & economic benefits• The World Tourism Organization states that ecotourists now represent 20%(1 in 5) international tourists, generating over US $20 billion per year

ABSTRACT The Kimberley coast in Australia's far northwest, meanders from Broome, Western Australia, for over 3000 kilometres to the Northern Territory border. The largely undeveloped area has gained increasing popularity and publicity in recent years for its spectacular scenery, Aboriginal rock art and native wildlife which forms the platform for a strong and uniquely Australian tourism experience.

It is argued that recent research in the information systems field has tended to either emphasise the structural/collective dimension or the agency/individual dimension, not both. Structuration theory is a more recent attempt to address both agency and structure, however there are a number of issues with the use of structuration theory in information systems research, not the least of which is its lack of recognition of the temporal and longitudinal nature of information systems development. A relatively new philosophy, critical realism, provides the potential for a new approach to social investigations in its provision of an ontology for the analytical separation of structure and agency. The philosophy is introduced and its implications for sociological investigation are discussed.

It is argued that case studies can be classified as either describing or explaining a particular research phenomenon and as such researchers first need to finalize which approach they are going to adopt. The concept of explanation suggests a realist approach and description suggests an interpretive approach. If explanation is the target, the selection of a theoretical approach for a longitudinal study is made more difficult as organizational contexts can alter radically from that in place at the initiation of a study—totally different approaches may be necessary to best explain the underlying "reality" of the situation. This article suggests that Bhaskar's (1979, 1986) philosophy of critical realism can provide some guidance as to the theoretical approach to adopt. A framework is developed based on a critical realist argument for the consideration of both structure and agency in research, the suggestion being that different organizational situations require differing emphasis on structure or agency.