Journal Articles by Nicholas Wise
Sport-tourism events create a broad spectrum of impacts on and for host communities. However, sus... more Sport-tourism events create a broad spectrum of impacts on and for host communities. However, sustainable sport-tourism events, which emphasize positive impacts, and minimize negative impacts, do not arise by chance-they need careful planning and implementation. This paper aims to review and systematize a wide spectrum of social impacts that outdoor sport-tourism events create from the perspective of key stakeholders and addresses strategic planning elements necessary for achieving event sustainability. To reach its objectives, the authors examined the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database, searching for relevant scientific papers focusing primarily on the impacts and legacy of sport events, strategic planning elements, and attributes necessary for achieving sustainability through a systematic quantitative review and content analysis. The results indicate that the relevant literature mostly focuses on economic impacts, followed by social and environmental impacts. Most studies focus on Europe and Asia, with the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cups being the most popular type of event studied. To systemize event and destination strategic elements and attributes for achieving sustainability, this study considers eight categories: social, cultural, organizational, logistic, communication, economic, tourism, and environmental. This paper identifies the main research gaps, proposes a new holistic sport-tourism events research agenda and provides recommendations so that organizers can avoid planning, organizing, financing mistakes and better leverage future sporting events.
Sport in Society, 2019
In 2012, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced they established a partnership with the city of Londo... more In 2012, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced they established a partnership with the city of London to play one home game each year. This article frames the Jaguars ‘home away from home’ to the London Jaguars amidst American sports expansion. Critical and conceptual reflections will be linked to sport, geography, neoliberalism and deterritorialization. This article contributes to the literature on sports geography as it ascribes and applies the notion of semi-deterritorialization. To analyse discussions and representations concerning the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, this work seeks out and evaluates meanings presented through online media to interpret the place and presence of the Jaguars in London. In line with the contribution of this article, interpreting meanings of territorialization in this case lead to new permutations of semi-deterritorialization based on the Jaguars temporary presence.
Local Economy, 2020
Fridriksson, J., N. Wise and P. Scott. Accepted. Iceland’s bourgeoning cruise industry: An econom... more Fridriksson, J., N. Wise and P. Scott. Accepted. Iceland’s bourgeoning cruise industry: An economic opportunity or a local threat? Local Economy.
Abstract: The cruise industry is the fastest growing component of mass tourism and is a key contributor to overtourism. The cruise industry is having a very significant impact on the country of Iceland, as cruises take people to some of the country’s most remote areas. In Iceland, the increase has been even more dramatic, with cruise ship arrivals increasing by over 91% (between 2015 and 2019) in Iceland’s small northern town of Akureyri and its surrounding ports. This paper is critical of the expansion of cruise tourism in Iceland despite the potential economic impacts of cruise ship tourism. Scholars argue the need to consider economic gains alongside environmental costs and social consequences that disrupt communities. This in perspective paper considers current economic, environmental and social impacts of cruise ship arrivals in Iceland before outlining some recommendations that align with environmentally friendly practices for policy makers to consider going forward. The triple bottom line framework is widely considered in tourism planning, and this paper seeks to connect the economic, social and environmental dimensions of tourism in a sustainable way to look at the present situation in Iceland and address policy considerations going forward.
Keywords: cruise tourism, Iceland, local tourism policy, overtourism, triple bottom line
Sport in Society, 2020
Within some disciplines, for example sociology, management, history, media and cultural studies, ... more Within some disciplines, for example sociology, management, history, media and cultural studies, strong trends on sports research have been established. In some disciplinary spaces, however, interest in sport has content and context has less marked. Notwithstanding sports inherently geographical characteristics (in particular, concerns with time, space, communities, mobilities and identities) and–with researchers interested in similar phenomena from geopolitics, socialization and habitation, migration and structural and ideological forces, there are a limited number of books addressing sports geography.
Critical sports geographers are concerned with societal impacts and how sports contribute space and place meaning. How we understand sport and recreational approaches in different places aligns with the continued transformation of space and attitudes towards sport. Thus, the objective of this issue is to bring together a collection of papers that discusses critically informed geographical issues in a single collection to display the range of approaches and work conducted in the area of sports geography. Not unlike scholars working in similar and overlapping disciplines (e.g. Sociology, Anthropology or Cultural studies), Geographers seek to better understand the significance of a sports team in relation to the culture and political identity of a place, investigate issues relating to inclusion and exclusion or to address why people migrate to particular countries. While specific research foci may vary, at a fundamental level Geographers interested in sport seek to explore spatial awareness, contested histories, migration and mobility, and complexities of place and debating notions of scale and existing designations of power as it relates to sports governance. Geographically orientated critique of sport has also emerged in a range of other contextual examinations. Interest has been demonstrated in work related to post/de/colonial power relations, connections and process, sport development and sport diplomacy. In continuation, we are challenged to ask questions that relate to geography when watching the Summer or Winter Olympics or understanding politically contested histories, such as when England and Argentina meet in the FIFA World Cup, or when Real Madrid play against FC Barcelona. Alternatively, professional sports teams spread their influence through their brands to develop global fan bases and gain media contracts in new markets; we see this with football clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea from England or professional baseball teams such as the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers from the USA. The elite leagues in the world are thus able to attract the best talent from around the world which gets us looking at issues surrounding athlete and talent migration. These are just a few questions and points of interest to geographers, as and athletes continue to be mobile fans begin to learn about the places they are from, we as academics are encouraged to assess understandings of mobility and place associations and imaginations. Moreover, in and through our work that plays on the shared geography-sport borders we might, ideally, also bring to the fore critical issues, resolutions, opportunities and possibilities that might challenge inequities and inequalities and recraft spaces anew.
Increased competition and the expansion of the global economy and pressures to adapt to transitions and new developments are challenging geographers to rethink the impacts of sport, both locally and globally – which is changing and challenging the way we think about spatial transformation and place meaning. We are seeing this with popular sports from the USA being staged and performed in England, with the NFL and NBA already in London, and MLB to commence in June 2019 showcasing the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Sports spaces have thus become ‘known’ to communities and individuals in varied and nuanced ways. One predominant way in which space and place narratives of sport are crafted and mobilized is via media and media processes. Sports are, for example, increasingly broadcasted as spectacles through the media and our knowledge of places is communicated to us through newspapers, television, film, photographs and more recently social media. Nations, regions and cities are places imagined (and reimagined) through various cultural elements, political situations or economic bases. Therefore, sports have become an extension of place narratives that often fulfill how people come to know or associate with places because they are so widely publicized through links to particular sports or iconic individuals. In this sense, sport becomes synonymous with places and identities that connect people (many of these ideas are explored within this special edition). Here, again, the notion of geographical imaginations are important to highlight and understand how we read into, associate, challenge and contest the meanings of places and individuals (or teams in some respect) help create or reinforce geographical imaginations.
This international collection includes contributions from academics based in Brazil, China, England, Hong Kong, Norway, Scotland, South Africa and the United States. Drawing on an array of global examples and contexts, the 11 articles included in this collection address sports geography based on various perspectives.
Benson, A., and N. Wise, eds. 2017. International Sports Volunteering. London: Routledge.
Harris, J., and N. Wise. 2011. “Geographies of Scale in International Rugby Union – The Case of Argentina.” Geographical Research 49 (4): 375–383.
Hughson, J., and G. Kohe. 2010. “Get into the ‘Groove’: Travelling Otago’s Super-Region.” Sport in Society 13 (10): 1552–1566.
Kohe, G. 2011. At the Heart of Sport: The New Zealand Olympic Committee and the History of the Olympic Movement in New Zealand. Wellington: New Zealand Olympic Committee.
Kohe, G. Z. 2015. “(Dis)Located Olympic Patriots: Sporting Connections, Administrative Communications and Imperial Ether in Interwar New Zealand.” Sport in Society 18 (7): 800–815.
Kohe, G. Z. 2015a. “For the Good of the Game(?): The Legacy of the Football Trust, the Football Pools & the Dangerous of Political Promise.” The International Journal of the History of Sport 32 (11/12): 1378–1394.
Kohe, G. Z. 2017. “London 2012 (Re)calling: Youth Memories Olympic ‘Legacy’ Ether in the Hinterland.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 52 (1): 24–44.
Kohe, G. Z. 2016. ‘The Football Trust as a Mechanism of Industry Change’. In Routledge Handbook of Football Studies, edited by J. Hughson, K. Moore, R. Spaaij, and J. Maguire, 50–62. Oxon: Routledge.
Kohe, G. Z., and W. Bowen-Jones. 2016. “Rhetoric and Realities of London 2012 Olympic Education and Participation ‘Legacies’: Voices from the Core and Periphery.” Sport, Education and Society 21 (8): 1213–1229.
Kohe, G. Z., and D. M. Peters, eds. 2016. High Performance Disability Sport Coaching. Oxon: Routledge.
Purdy, L. G., G. Z. Kohe, and R. Paulauskas. 2017. “Coaches as Sports Workers: Professional Agency within the Employment Context of Elite European Basketball.” Sport, Education & Society.
Wise, N. 2011. “Transcending Imaginations through Football Participation and Narratives of the Other: Haitian National Identity in the Dominican Republic.” Journal of Sport & Tourism 16 (3): 259–275.
Wise, N. 2014. “Layers of the Landscape: Representation and Perceptions of an Ordinary (Shared) Sport Landscape in a Haitian and Dominican Community.” Geographical Research 52 (2): 212–22.
Wise, N. 2015a. “Football on the Weekend: Rural Events and the Haitian Imagined Community in the Dominican Republic.” In Exploring Community Festivals and Events, edited by A. Jepson and A. Clarke, 106–117. London: Routledge.
Wise, N. 2015b. “Geographical Approaches and the Sociology of Sport.” In Routledge Handbook of the Sociology of Sport, edited by R. Giulianotti, 142–152. London: Routledge.
Wise, N. 2015. “Maintaining Dominican Identity in the Dominican Republic: Forging a Baseball Landscape in Villa Ascension.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 50 (2): 161–178.
Wise, N. 2016. “Staging and Performing Identity at the Croke Park Classic: A Note on Sport, Geography and Neoliberalism.” European Journal of Geography 7 (4): 35–40.
Wise, N. 2017a. “In the Shadow of Mega-Events: The Value of Ethnography in Sports Geography.” In Critical Geographies of Sport: Space, Power, and Sport in Global Perspective, edited by N. Koch, 220–234. London: Routledge.
Wise, N. 2017. “Rugby World Cup: New Directions or More of the Same?” Sport in Society 20 (3): 341–354.
Wise, N., and G. Hall. 2017. “Transforming Brazil: Sporting Mega-Events, Tourism, Geography and the Need for Sustainable Regeneration in Host Cities.” In Sport, Events, Tourism and Regeneration, edited by N. Wise and J. Harris, 24–39. London: Routledge.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2010. “Reading Carlos Tevez: Football, Geography, and Contested Identities in Manchester.” International Journal of Sport Communication 3 (3): 322–335.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2014. “Finding Football in the Dominican Republic: Haitian Migrants, Space, Place and Notions of Exclusion.” In Football and Migration: Perspectives, Places and Players, edited by R. Elliott and J. Harris, 180–193. London: Routledge.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2016. “Community, Identity and Contested Notions of Place: A Study of Haitian Recreational Soccer Players in the Dominican Republic.” Soccer & Society 17 (4): 610–627.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2017a. “Covering ‘Captain America’ and (Re)Imagining the USA during the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup.” In Commercial Nationalism in Tourism, edited by L. White, 251–263. Bristol: Channel View Publications.
Wise, N., and J. Harris, eds. 2017b. Sport, Events, Tourism and Regeneration. London: Routledge.
Journal of Place Management and Development, 2020
Wise, N. 2020. Eventful Futures and Triple Bottom Line Impacts: BRICS, Image Regeneration and Com... more Wise, N. 2020. Eventful Futures and Triple Bottom Line Impacts: BRICS, Image Regeneration and Competitiveness. Journal of Place Management and Development 13(1): 89–100.
Purpose
There are many ways of viewing, interpreting and even conceptualizing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) growth. This paper considers image regeneration and how this helps enhance place competitiveness. A focus on events and the spectacle they create also challenges to think about sustainable futures. This paper aims to supplement this focus on image regeneration and competitiveness, it is important to discuss and outline triple bottom line impacts as a framework to consider going forward.
Design/methodology/approach
Looking at the BRICS, the growing events, tourism and leisure industries transcend private and public business practices and can help align with more contemporary sustainable development practices and regeneration agendas. Such agendas can, in turn, help enhance destination competitiveness and image. While the authors need (and should) continue to assess and address economic impacts and development, it is just as important to consider environmental impacts and social impacts on a destination and its residents when considering competitiveness.
Findings
This conceptual paper frames insight from the literature to reflect on and consider research directions linked to triple bottom line impacts. The paper puts emphasis on the need to consider the social and environmental impacts of events.
Originality/value
This paper links conceptual discussions of image regeneration and competitiveness with triple bottom line impacts to look at directions for BRICS nations. It is useful for policymakers and planners who look at the “big picture” of event hosting and argues the need for more sustainable policy and planning agendas.
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 2020
Gamidullaeva, L., Vasin, S. and Wise, N. (accepted). Increasing Small- and Medium-Enterprise Cont... more Gamidullaeva, L., Vasin, S. and Wise, N. (accepted). Increasing Small- and Medium-Enterprise Contribution to Local and Regional Economic Growth by Assessing the Institutional Environment. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development TBD.
Purpose
A neo-institutional methodology defines the entrepreneurial environment for SMEs as a multidimensional set of interacting formal/informal institutions influencing regional economic growth. Acknowledging the multidimensional nature of SME growth, this study tests an approach to measure SME institutional environment quality through the identification of regional-level determinants.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used in this paper is based on Bruns et al.’s (2017) model and is tested on 81 Russian Federation regions. The approach seeks to determine variation in entrepreneurial ecosystems based on quality and estimated marginal effects of difference across geographical regions.
Findings
The most severe obstacle to SME development in Russia is its shadow economy and corruption. Access to finance, high transportation fees, and instability in the political and economic field ranks second and third, respectively. Results suggest governments should eliminate main obstacles at country-level, which hampers the SME sector's development. While this is noted for this case looking at Russia, this is a common argument found in SME research.
Practical implications
Findings from this study are useful in managerial practice, aimed at increasing innovative development and increasing the competitiveness of Russian SMEs. A neo-institutional approach is one of the theoretical strands with the emphasis on enhanced understanding of organizational behavior and social capital, including cultural norms and beliefs.
Originality/value
Utilizing an extended empirical approach to assess the institutional environment for SMEs addresses a research gap – offering novel insight on SME growth useful for policy makers. The results can inform managerial practices to increase SME contribution to economic growth.
International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 2018
Enqing Tian and Nicholas Wise. Online First. An Atlantic Divide? Mapping the Knowledge Domain of ... more Enqing Tian and Nicholas Wise. Online First. An Atlantic Divide? Mapping the Knowledge Domain of European and North American Based Sociology of Sport, 2008-2018. International Review for the Sociology of Sport.
The sociology of sport has become a burgeoning subdiscipline in the 21st century. To assess knowledge domains and the status quo of the field in Europe and North America, this study uses CiteSpace (a bibliometric visualization software) to analyse 870 academic articles published in the International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Journal of Sport & Social Issues and Sociology of Sport Journal from 2008 to 2018. By mapping/examining core contributors, keywords, high citations/cited authors, major clusters and citation bursts, the findings echo John W. Loy’s ‘risk of critical mass’ calling for various citation analysis approaches. The study expands Jon Dart and Ørnulf Seippel’s recent topic model studies on subdisciplinary development in recent decades, contributing to informed discussions of geographical politics and research directions in the field. The scale and scope of this analysis is highly generalizable to assess pre-existing state-of-the-art research on the sociology of sport.
Event Management, 2020
Aquilino, L., N. Wise and J. Harris. Accepted. Wackiness and event management: the case of the Wo... more Aquilino, L., N. Wise and J. Harris. Accepted. Wackiness and event management: the case of the World Alternative Games. Event Management.
The World Alternative Games (WAG) is a biennial event which takes place in Britain’s smallest town. This paper considers the ways in which wackiness is central to event spaces within the town of Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. Based on a social constructivist approach, this work sheds light on aspects of the concept development, planning and organisation of events within a particular locale. It shows how wackiness is an important element of the event management development in the town and a key part of wider rural tourism development.
Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 2019
Vasin, S., L. Gamidullaeva, N. Wise and K. Korolev. Online First. Knowledge Exchange and the Trus... more Vasin, S., L. Gamidullaeva, N. Wise and K. Korolev. Online First. Knowledge Exchange and the Trust Institution: A New Look at the Problem. Journal of the Knowledge Economy
In the knowledge economy, the search and exchange of knowledge is widely recognized as a key factor contributing to the creation and mobilization of company’s knowledge resources to maintain its competitive advantage. This study is devoted to identifying the role of interpersonal trust in the process of searching and sharing knowledge. Theoretical analysis shows that previously conducted studies in this research field are mainly focused on revealing the relationship between interpersonal trust and the willingness to use knowledge. This study is interested in the willingness to establish contact between economic actors for the purpose of knowledge exchange, and this becomes important when discontinuities in innovation result from a lack of knowledge exchange and interaction between stakeholders. The effects of two different types of interpersonal trust (cognition-based trust and affect-based trust) on willingness to share explicit and tacit knowledge between individuals have been separately examined and tested. The analysis conducted is based on data obtained from surveying 295 employees from large organizations in Penza, Russia. To validate the survey, a confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling was undertaken to verify advanced causal hypotheses. To test the hypotheses, a multiple correlation-regression analysis was used. Results reveal that both types of interpersonal trust positively correlate with the willingness to share both explicit and implicit knowledge. Additionally, it has been established that the willingness to share tacit knowledge is more influenced by affect-based trust between individuals, while cognition-based trust is more significant in explaining the willingness to share explicit knowledge. The need to create favorable conditions within organizations to ensure the exchange of knowledge without constraints is highlighted.
Local Economy, 2019
Wise, N., M. Polidoro, Gareth Hall and R.R. Uvinha. 2019. User-Generated Insight of Rio’s Rocinha... more Wise, N., M. Polidoro, Gareth Hall and R.R. Uvinha. 2019. User-Generated Insight of Rio’s Rocinha Favela Tour: Authentic Attraction or Vulnerable Living Environment? Local Economy 34(7): 680–698.
Urban transformations help shape new opportunities and create/re-create awareness in everyday living environments. It is not transformation in the infrastructural sense, but transformation in the form of a service industry producing socio-economic change that can result in inclusion and exclusion of people in the community, thus affecting the everyday living environment. Within this, we need to consider the tourist gaze and how users who visit/tour vulnerable living environments report perceptions of their experiences on forums such as TripAdvisor, which helps researchers frame understandings of commodification, opportunities/awareness and even authenticity (each addressed in this paper). This paper evaluates TripAdvisor posts of ‘Rio’s Rocinha Favela Tour’. In many respects, the notion of commodification, and even authenticity, runs through each theme, but the analysis and data posted to TripAdvisor challenges us to consider how a favela becomes a consumer product or a tourist attraction. The Rocinha Favela tour is widely publicised to prospective visitors as a chance to experience a living and working favela, the focus of the first theme presented in this paper. Given Rocinha has become a popular attraction in Rio, this leads to the second theme: opportunity or awareness. Opportunities do exist for people in the community to get involved in tourism, and turning the favela into a product helps shape and maintain awareness. The third theme builds on and relates to the previous two, but focuses more on the semblances of authenticity that emerges. To link the points highlighted in this paper, a discussion of soft power concerns relationships bonded through economic and cultural influence. Because favelas have become distinct attractions, it is cultural appeal and a different (residential) side of the city that persuades travellers to visit. Online and social media platforms for more than a decade now have played an important role today in projecting images and promoting authentic experiences based on user-perceptions, and this paper looks at how the users communicate their experiences.
Journal of Community Psychology, 2019
Zhao, Y. and N. Wise. 2019. Evaluating the intersection between ‘green events’ and sense of commu... more Zhao, Y. and N. Wise. 2019. Evaluating the intersection between ‘green events’ and sense of community at Liverpool’s Lark Lane Farmers Market. Journal of Community Psychology 47(5): 1118–1130.
More research needs to evaluate links between community psychology and event impacts. Events are not just entertainment focused economic drivers, but gatherings contributing to society, community, and local cultural identity. There is also a need to address “green” philosophies, while visible and widespread, are not just environmentally focused, but also local community focused—concerning elements of social sustainability, belonging and sense of community. This makes the discussion of “green events” relevant to community psychology and local well‐being researchers. The aim of this study is to find other possibilities of how green events could contribute to local community well‐being by investigating how farmer markets unite people to understand how such events reinforce and shape a sense of community. This paper is based on participant observations and semistructured interviews to explore the conceptual notion of sense of community. Three emerged themes are presented: local participation, social atmosphere, and a sense of belonging.
The Journal of Popular Culture, 2019
Wise, N., C. Melis and T. Jimura. 2019. Liverpool’s Urban Imaginary: The Beatles and Tourism Fans... more Wise, N., C. Melis and T. Jimura. 2019. Liverpool’s Urban Imaginary: The Beatles and Tourism Fanscapes. The Journal of Popular Culture. 52(6): 1433-1450.
Social Sciences, 2018
Wise, N. 2018. Editorial: Tourism and Social Regeneration. Social Sciences 7(12): 262.
Much rese... more Wise, N. 2018. Editorial: Tourism and Social Regeneration. Social Sciences 7(12): 262.
Much research has focused attention on tourism developments and regeneration efforts. Regeneration is often regarded as the process of renewal or redevelopment of existing facilities and infrastructures, and thus, expansions for, or new investments in, tourism and visitor attractions align with contemporary regeneration strategies and initiatives linked to transitioning economic bases. Planners and policy makers are concerned with maintaining a competitive advantage, resulting in policies and investments aimed at developing spaces in transition for the purpose of economic gain and/or image revival. To go beyond the focus on economic impacts of tourism-led regeneration, the purpose of this special issue is to address the importance of, and the need to, critically assess issues, problems and solutions surrounding social regeneration resulting from tourism change, developments or initiatives. More research considering how members of a community and event attendees engage with spaces and places transformed for tourism is needed. Paying closer attention to intangible impacts to extend recent debates surrounding tourism initiatives, involvement and futures is needed, emphasizing improved welfare and empowering local communities and its residents. Evaluating differing trends associated with social regeneration, including discussions and critiques of existing policies, or the lack of insight and initiatives among planners, policy makers and members of the community concerning tourism, is an attempt to debate new directions concerning tourism, social impacts and social policy. The goal of this special issue is to bring together both international and interdisciplinary perspectives, so submissions that test conceptual boundaries, offer a critique of social policy, or provide evidence from a specific case (or cases) are welcome.
European Journal of Tourism Research, 2019
Reference:
Wise, N., M. Perić and J. Ðurkin. 2019. Benchmarking Service Delivery for Sports Touri... more Reference:
Wise, N., M. Perić and J. Ðurkin. 2019. Benchmarking Service Delivery for Sports Tourism and Events: Lessons for Gorski kotar, Croatia from Pokljuka, Slovenia. European Journal of Tourism Research 22: 107–128.
Benchmarking is essential for developing destinations to improve and develop their service delivery. Croatia is a well-established summer tourism destination, but more remote (inland) destinations seek to increase their competitiveness to help sustain Croatian tourism year-round-to diversify tourism offerings beyond the (more traditional) sea and sun opportunities. Expanding Croatia's tourism offer will require additional investments, not only in coastal destinations but in rural continental areas as well. Looking at how more established rural and winter destinations are planned and managed, this paper seeks to discuss how Croatia can learn from its neighbour Slovenia which has well-established winter sports destinations (in rural areas). This is where a benchmarking approach, building on a comparative analysis conducted through fieldwork research contributes new insight. Research was conducted in both Pokljuka (Slovenia) and Gorski kotar (Croatia) between 2015 and 2017. Three different procedures were used to collect data: (1) documental research of the destinations, facilities and events, (2) on site visits involving qualitative interviews and conversations with key stakeholders and (3) direct observation of the destination while attending events. Three emergent themes best reflected the analysed insights from the data collection: infrastructure, business operations and community involvement/stakeholder participation. To assess different points of service offering and delivery, discussions in Pokljuka were framed around sports tourism opportunities and their established business models to understand planning, management, organisation and service delivery. These same three points are then discussed as opportunities for Gorski kotar. To reiterate the benchmarking focus, first research must present a comparative analysis and then put emphasis on planning and managing service delivery to help highlight how insight from a well-established destination informs emerging destinations with tourism potential. Citation: Wise, N., M. Perić and J. Ðurkin (2019) Benchmarking service delivery for sports tourism and events: Lessons for Gorski Kotar,
Tourism Management Perspectives, 2018
Full Reference:
Lin, Y-H., C. Ryan, N. Wise and L.W. Low. 2018. A Content Analysis of Airline Mis... more Full Reference:
Lin, Y-H., C. Ryan, N. Wise and L.W. Low. 2018. A Content Analysis of Airline Mission Statements: Changing Trends and Contemporary Components. Tourism Management Perspectives 28: 156–165.
Mission statements have an important bearing on business and in the airline industry such statements inform and connect international and heterogeneous stakeholders. While research was conducted on airline mission statements over a decade ago, the industry has since been transformed with the rise of new global carriers and changing consumer trends. The purpose of this study is to examine current airline mission statements to update findings from previous studies. The analysis evaluates the content of mission statements from 79 passenger airlines from around the world. The outcomes reveal products/services, customers, and location/markets as the three most prevalent components. Additionally, it appears mentions of safety in mission statements are increasingly apparent as airlines seek to ensure trust and confidence among consumers. The results and conclusions build on a framework of ten mission statement components and make comparisons between airlines and regions of the world.
Event Management, 2018
This conceptual article presents an understanding of the term experience and lived experience by ... more This conceptual article presents an understanding of the term experience and lived experience by detailing the hermeneutic circle as a guiding framework to capture the volunteer journey of sport event volunteers. Sport event volunteering research has seen increased interest in the past decade, and this article acknowledges that there is a need to reconsider foundation understandings of the notion of experience. Because previous research has encouraged academics to focus less on the structure of experiences, it is therefore necessary to concentrate on meanings that further consider lived experiences as they are produced by individuals. Volunteering at a sport event represents a journey that can be captured at different stages, and this is can be done by putting emphasis on research participants' meanings and memories, as outlined in the conceptual model presented in this article.
Full Reference:
Gellweiler, S., N. Wise, and T. Fletcher. 2018. Understanding the ‘lived experience’ of sport event volunteers: Using the hermeneutic circle as a guiding conceptual framework. Event Management 22(4): 629-642.
European Journal of Geography, 2018
Educators continually seek new technologies to complement and enhance the student learning experi... more Educators continually seek new technologies to complement and enhance the student learning experience. The use of technologies in the classroom promotes spatial awareness, important across a number of disciplines. To better enable students to gain spatial awareness, higher education educators creatively utilise geospatial technologies in the classroom to enhance engagement and help visualise theoretical subject content. Teaching innovations and integrating technologies into the classroom over the past decade adhere to changing technological paradigms aimed at better engaging students in lectures and seminars to increase their practical and applied understanding and make classes more interactive. This study is an analysis of insight on approaches observed in academic literature. Three these themes emerged and are articulated in this paper: classroom engagement, interactive spatial knowledge, and practical skills acquisition. The first two are concerned with learning impacts in the classroom whilst the third theme focuses on career impacts.
Cities/regions are increasingly using events to aid social/economic development. The European Cap... more Cities/regions are increasingly using events to aid social/economic development. The European Capital of Culture promotes urban management and economic production using culture to drive social legacies, job creation and civic repositioning. This paper aims to understand how Matera and Basilicata’s residents perceive destination competitiveness ahead of the 2019 European Capital of Culture. This paper adapts the Integrated Model of Destination Competitiveness and suggests a new determinant to understand resident perceptions. This paper contributes a new determinant to consider in competitiveness research: social conditions to improve local wellbeing. Two hundred respondents identify strengths/weaknesses of each competitiveness determinant. The results presented in this study display sample mean values and standard deviations for each indicator, as well as Wilcoxon test statistic (z). Competitive indicators are those showing means above 4.0. Descriptive and inferential analyses using SPSS 17 show strengths/weaknesses comparing Matera (city) and Basilicata (region) with similarities and differences outlined to consider both urban and regional perspectives and differences. For the data analysis, Wilcoxon paired signed rank test displays differences in the competitiveness factors between Matera and Basilicata. Wilcoxon (a nonparametric alternative to paired sample t-test) was performed since the data distribution was left skewed and Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistic indicates violation of normality assumption. Results show the majority of inherited, created and supporting resources are competitive, as well as image and social conditions; however, management and organisation needs improvement. It is essential that European Capital of Culture hosts have long-term competitive strategies in place to strengthen urban and regional capacity when delivering diverse cultural programmes, at present, and into the future. This study offers insight before the 2019 European Capital of Culture to inform planners and policymakers ahead of the event and offers consideration and discussion of social impacts and the need to gain such insight in competitiveness research going forward.
This paper presents a conceptual and methodological approach for researching a neighbourhood in M... more This paper presents a conceptual and methodological approach for researching a neighbourhood in Manaus by identifying a range of social conditions useful for better understanding how urban change and development affects a community and its residents. Manaus, in Brazil’s Amazonia region, received much criticism from sceptics as a host city. Part of the issue was the US$300 million was spent on a 40,000+ seat upgraded stadium in a city with no regular sporting tournaments. This paper positions the need to look beyond the tangible features and assess social impacts based on community perceptions to locate local meanings of change. The purpose of this paper is to develop and put forward a plan for conducting future research following the hosting of mega-events in Manaus by framing a conceptual approach and the use of ethnography.
This study looks at the role the media plays in how a destination is communicated over time post-... more This study looks at the role the media plays in how a destination is communicated over time post-conflict–by considering how discourses longitudinally brand a destination. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) was the centre of a violent conflict in the early 1990s. The war ended with the signing of the Dayton Agreement. Much of the conflict, and especially the siege of Sarajevo, was captured by the media. The representation of the Bosnian War established a negative imagination of the new country, resulting initially in a hesitancy to travel to a war-torn destination. This paper suggests place repression, fading memory and destination redefining as a framework to analyse media content and brand a post-conflict destination. In the years following the agreement, there was no discussion promoting travel to BiH. After 2000, travel was still advised against but the narrative began to change and promote the destination by discussing the past and present situation.Post-2000 content reduced significantly but stories promoting travel increased after 2003 with more extended narratives promoting travel and new opportunities for branding the destination.
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Journal Articles by Nicholas Wise
Abstract: The cruise industry is the fastest growing component of mass tourism and is a key contributor to overtourism. The cruise industry is having a very significant impact on the country of Iceland, as cruises take people to some of the country’s most remote areas. In Iceland, the increase has been even more dramatic, with cruise ship arrivals increasing by over 91% (between 2015 and 2019) in Iceland’s small northern town of Akureyri and its surrounding ports. This paper is critical of the expansion of cruise tourism in Iceland despite the potential economic impacts of cruise ship tourism. Scholars argue the need to consider economic gains alongside environmental costs and social consequences that disrupt communities. This in perspective paper considers current economic, environmental and social impacts of cruise ship arrivals in Iceland before outlining some recommendations that align with environmentally friendly practices for policy makers to consider going forward. The triple bottom line framework is widely considered in tourism planning, and this paper seeks to connect the economic, social and environmental dimensions of tourism in a sustainable way to look at the present situation in Iceland and address policy considerations going forward.
Keywords: cruise tourism, Iceland, local tourism policy, overtourism, triple bottom line
Critical sports geographers are concerned with societal impacts and how sports contribute space and place meaning. How we understand sport and recreational approaches in different places aligns with the continued transformation of space and attitudes towards sport. Thus, the objective of this issue is to bring together a collection of papers that discusses critically informed geographical issues in a single collection to display the range of approaches and work conducted in the area of sports geography. Not unlike scholars working in similar and overlapping disciplines (e.g. Sociology, Anthropology or Cultural studies), Geographers seek to better understand the significance of a sports team in relation to the culture and political identity of a place, investigate issues relating to inclusion and exclusion or to address why people migrate to particular countries. While specific research foci may vary, at a fundamental level Geographers interested in sport seek to explore spatial awareness, contested histories, migration and mobility, and complexities of place and debating notions of scale and existing designations of power as it relates to sports governance. Geographically orientated critique of sport has also emerged in a range of other contextual examinations. Interest has been demonstrated in work related to post/de/colonial power relations, connections and process, sport development and sport diplomacy. In continuation, we are challenged to ask questions that relate to geography when watching the Summer or Winter Olympics or understanding politically contested histories, such as when England and Argentina meet in the FIFA World Cup, or when Real Madrid play against FC Barcelona. Alternatively, professional sports teams spread their influence through their brands to develop global fan bases and gain media contracts in new markets; we see this with football clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea from England or professional baseball teams such as the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers from the USA. The elite leagues in the world are thus able to attract the best talent from around the world which gets us looking at issues surrounding athlete and talent migration. These are just a few questions and points of interest to geographers, as and athletes continue to be mobile fans begin to learn about the places they are from, we as academics are encouraged to assess understandings of mobility and place associations and imaginations. Moreover, in and through our work that plays on the shared geography-sport borders we might, ideally, also bring to the fore critical issues, resolutions, opportunities and possibilities that might challenge inequities and inequalities and recraft spaces anew.
Increased competition and the expansion of the global economy and pressures to adapt to transitions and new developments are challenging geographers to rethink the impacts of sport, both locally and globally – which is changing and challenging the way we think about spatial transformation and place meaning. We are seeing this with popular sports from the USA being staged and performed in England, with the NFL and NBA already in London, and MLB to commence in June 2019 showcasing the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Sports spaces have thus become ‘known’ to communities and individuals in varied and nuanced ways. One predominant way in which space and place narratives of sport are crafted and mobilized is via media and media processes. Sports are, for example, increasingly broadcasted as spectacles through the media and our knowledge of places is communicated to us through newspapers, television, film, photographs and more recently social media. Nations, regions and cities are places imagined (and reimagined) through various cultural elements, political situations or economic bases. Therefore, sports have become an extension of place narratives that often fulfill how people come to know or associate with places because they are so widely publicized through links to particular sports or iconic individuals. In this sense, sport becomes synonymous with places and identities that connect people (many of these ideas are explored within this special edition). Here, again, the notion of geographical imaginations are important to highlight and understand how we read into, associate, challenge and contest the meanings of places and individuals (or teams in some respect) help create or reinforce geographical imaginations.
This international collection includes contributions from academics based in Brazil, China, England, Hong Kong, Norway, Scotland, South Africa and the United States. Drawing on an array of global examples and contexts, the 11 articles included in this collection address sports geography based on various perspectives.
Benson, A., and N. Wise, eds. 2017. International Sports Volunteering. London: Routledge.
Harris, J., and N. Wise. 2011. “Geographies of Scale in International Rugby Union – The Case of Argentina.” Geographical Research 49 (4): 375–383.
Hughson, J., and G. Kohe. 2010. “Get into the ‘Groove’: Travelling Otago’s Super-Region.” Sport in Society 13 (10): 1552–1566.
Kohe, G. 2011. At the Heart of Sport: The New Zealand Olympic Committee and the History of the Olympic Movement in New Zealand. Wellington: New Zealand Olympic Committee.
Kohe, G. Z. 2015. “(Dis)Located Olympic Patriots: Sporting Connections, Administrative Communications and Imperial Ether in Interwar New Zealand.” Sport in Society 18 (7): 800–815.
Kohe, G. Z. 2015a. “For the Good of the Game(?): The Legacy of the Football Trust, the Football Pools & the Dangerous of Political Promise.” The International Journal of the History of Sport 32 (11/12): 1378–1394.
Kohe, G. Z. 2017. “London 2012 (Re)calling: Youth Memories Olympic ‘Legacy’ Ether in the Hinterland.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 52 (1): 24–44.
Kohe, G. Z. 2016. ‘The Football Trust as a Mechanism of Industry Change’. In Routledge Handbook of Football Studies, edited by J. Hughson, K. Moore, R. Spaaij, and J. Maguire, 50–62. Oxon: Routledge.
Kohe, G. Z., and W. Bowen-Jones. 2016. “Rhetoric and Realities of London 2012 Olympic Education and Participation ‘Legacies’: Voices from the Core and Periphery.” Sport, Education and Society 21 (8): 1213–1229.
Kohe, G. Z., and D. M. Peters, eds. 2016. High Performance Disability Sport Coaching. Oxon: Routledge.
Purdy, L. G., G. Z. Kohe, and R. Paulauskas. 2017. “Coaches as Sports Workers: Professional Agency within the Employment Context of Elite European Basketball.” Sport, Education & Society.
Wise, N. 2011. “Transcending Imaginations through Football Participation and Narratives of the Other: Haitian National Identity in the Dominican Republic.” Journal of Sport & Tourism 16 (3): 259–275.
Wise, N. 2014. “Layers of the Landscape: Representation and Perceptions of an Ordinary (Shared) Sport Landscape in a Haitian and Dominican Community.” Geographical Research 52 (2): 212–22.
Wise, N. 2015a. “Football on the Weekend: Rural Events and the Haitian Imagined Community in the Dominican Republic.” In Exploring Community Festivals and Events, edited by A. Jepson and A. Clarke, 106–117. London: Routledge.
Wise, N. 2015b. “Geographical Approaches and the Sociology of Sport.” In Routledge Handbook of the Sociology of Sport, edited by R. Giulianotti, 142–152. London: Routledge.
Wise, N. 2015. “Maintaining Dominican Identity in the Dominican Republic: Forging a Baseball Landscape in Villa Ascension.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 50 (2): 161–178.
Wise, N. 2016. “Staging and Performing Identity at the Croke Park Classic: A Note on Sport, Geography and Neoliberalism.” European Journal of Geography 7 (4): 35–40.
Wise, N. 2017a. “In the Shadow of Mega-Events: The Value of Ethnography in Sports Geography.” In Critical Geographies of Sport: Space, Power, and Sport in Global Perspective, edited by N. Koch, 220–234. London: Routledge.
Wise, N. 2017. “Rugby World Cup: New Directions or More of the Same?” Sport in Society 20 (3): 341–354.
Wise, N., and G. Hall. 2017. “Transforming Brazil: Sporting Mega-Events, Tourism, Geography and the Need for Sustainable Regeneration in Host Cities.” In Sport, Events, Tourism and Regeneration, edited by N. Wise and J. Harris, 24–39. London: Routledge.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2010. “Reading Carlos Tevez: Football, Geography, and Contested Identities in Manchester.” International Journal of Sport Communication 3 (3): 322–335.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2014. “Finding Football in the Dominican Republic: Haitian Migrants, Space, Place and Notions of Exclusion.” In Football and Migration: Perspectives, Places and Players, edited by R. Elliott and J. Harris, 180–193. London: Routledge.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2016. “Community, Identity and Contested Notions of Place: A Study of Haitian Recreational Soccer Players in the Dominican Republic.” Soccer & Society 17 (4): 610–627.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2017a. “Covering ‘Captain America’ and (Re)Imagining the USA during the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup.” In Commercial Nationalism in Tourism, edited by L. White, 251–263. Bristol: Channel View Publications.
Wise, N., and J. Harris, eds. 2017b. Sport, Events, Tourism and Regeneration. London: Routledge.
Purpose
There are many ways of viewing, interpreting and even conceptualizing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) growth. This paper considers image regeneration and how this helps enhance place competitiveness. A focus on events and the spectacle they create also challenges to think about sustainable futures. This paper aims to supplement this focus on image regeneration and competitiveness, it is important to discuss and outline triple bottom line impacts as a framework to consider going forward.
Design/methodology/approach
Looking at the BRICS, the growing events, tourism and leisure industries transcend private and public business practices and can help align with more contemporary sustainable development practices and regeneration agendas. Such agendas can, in turn, help enhance destination competitiveness and image. While the authors need (and should) continue to assess and address economic impacts and development, it is just as important to consider environmental impacts and social impacts on a destination and its residents when considering competitiveness.
Findings
This conceptual paper frames insight from the literature to reflect on and consider research directions linked to triple bottom line impacts. The paper puts emphasis on the need to consider the social and environmental impacts of events.
Originality/value
This paper links conceptual discussions of image regeneration and competitiveness with triple bottom line impacts to look at directions for BRICS nations. It is useful for policymakers and planners who look at the “big picture” of event hosting and argues the need for more sustainable policy and planning agendas.
Purpose
A neo-institutional methodology defines the entrepreneurial environment for SMEs as a multidimensional set of interacting formal/informal institutions influencing regional economic growth. Acknowledging the multidimensional nature of SME growth, this study tests an approach to measure SME institutional environment quality through the identification of regional-level determinants.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used in this paper is based on Bruns et al.’s (2017) model and is tested on 81 Russian Federation regions. The approach seeks to determine variation in entrepreneurial ecosystems based on quality and estimated marginal effects of difference across geographical regions.
Findings
The most severe obstacle to SME development in Russia is its shadow economy and corruption. Access to finance, high transportation fees, and instability in the political and economic field ranks second and third, respectively. Results suggest governments should eliminate main obstacles at country-level, which hampers the SME sector's development. While this is noted for this case looking at Russia, this is a common argument found in SME research.
Practical implications
Findings from this study are useful in managerial practice, aimed at increasing innovative development and increasing the competitiveness of Russian SMEs. A neo-institutional approach is one of the theoretical strands with the emphasis on enhanced understanding of organizational behavior and social capital, including cultural norms and beliefs.
Originality/value
Utilizing an extended empirical approach to assess the institutional environment for SMEs addresses a research gap – offering novel insight on SME growth useful for policy makers. The results can inform managerial practices to increase SME contribution to economic growth.
The sociology of sport has become a burgeoning subdiscipline in the 21st century. To assess knowledge domains and the status quo of the field in Europe and North America, this study uses CiteSpace (a bibliometric visualization software) to analyse 870 academic articles published in the International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Journal of Sport & Social Issues and Sociology of Sport Journal from 2008 to 2018. By mapping/examining core contributors, keywords, high citations/cited authors, major clusters and citation bursts, the findings echo John W. Loy’s ‘risk of critical mass’ calling for various citation analysis approaches. The study expands Jon Dart and Ørnulf Seippel’s recent topic model studies on subdisciplinary development in recent decades, contributing to informed discussions of geographical politics and research directions in the field. The scale and scope of this analysis is highly generalizable to assess pre-existing state-of-the-art research on the sociology of sport.
The World Alternative Games (WAG) is a biennial event which takes place in Britain’s smallest town. This paper considers the ways in which wackiness is central to event spaces within the town of Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. Based on a social constructivist approach, this work sheds light on aspects of the concept development, planning and organisation of events within a particular locale. It shows how wackiness is an important element of the event management development in the town and a key part of wider rural tourism development.
In the knowledge economy, the search and exchange of knowledge is widely recognized as a key factor contributing to the creation and mobilization of company’s knowledge resources to maintain its competitive advantage. This study is devoted to identifying the role of interpersonal trust in the process of searching and sharing knowledge. Theoretical analysis shows that previously conducted studies in this research field are mainly focused on revealing the relationship between interpersonal trust and the willingness to use knowledge. This study is interested in the willingness to establish contact between economic actors for the purpose of knowledge exchange, and this becomes important when discontinuities in innovation result from a lack of knowledge exchange and interaction between stakeholders. The effects of two different types of interpersonal trust (cognition-based trust and affect-based trust) on willingness to share explicit and tacit knowledge between individuals have been separately examined and tested. The analysis conducted is based on data obtained from surveying 295 employees from large organizations in Penza, Russia. To validate the survey, a confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling was undertaken to verify advanced causal hypotheses. To test the hypotheses, a multiple correlation-regression analysis was used. Results reveal that both types of interpersonal trust positively correlate with the willingness to share both explicit and implicit knowledge. Additionally, it has been established that the willingness to share tacit knowledge is more influenced by affect-based trust between individuals, while cognition-based trust is more significant in explaining the willingness to share explicit knowledge. The need to create favorable conditions within organizations to ensure the exchange of knowledge without constraints is highlighted.
Urban transformations help shape new opportunities and create/re-create awareness in everyday living environments. It is not transformation in the infrastructural sense, but transformation in the form of a service industry producing socio-economic change that can result in inclusion and exclusion of people in the community, thus affecting the everyday living environment. Within this, we need to consider the tourist gaze and how users who visit/tour vulnerable living environments report perceptions of their experiences on forums such as TripAdvisor, which helps researchers frame understandings of commodification, opportunities/awareness and even authenticity (each addressed in this paper). This paper evaluates TripAdvisor posts of ‘Rio’s Rocinha Favela Tour’. In many respects, the notion of commodification, and even authenticity, runs through each theme, but the analysis and data posted to TripAdvisor challenges us to consider how a favela becomes a consumer product or a tourist attraction. The Rocinha Favela tour is widely publicised to prospective visitors as a chance to experience a living and working favela, the focus of the first theme presented in this paper. Given Rocinha has become a popular attraction in Rio, this leads to the second theme: opportunity or awareness. Opportunities do exist for people in the community to get involved in tourism, and turning the favela into a product helps shape and maintain awareness. The third theme builds on and relates to the previous two, but focuses more on the semblances of authenticity that emerges. To link the points highlighted in this paper, a discussion of soft power concerns relationships bonded through economic and cultural influence. Because favelas have become distinct attractions, it is cultural appeal and a different (residential) side of the city that persuades travellers to visit. Online and social media platforms for more than a decade now have played an important role today in projecting images and promoting authentic experiences based on user-perceptions, and this paper looks at how the users communicate their experiences.
More research needs to evaluate links between community psychology and event impacts. Events are not just entertainment focused economic drivers, but gatherings contributing to society, community, and local cultural identity. There is also a need to address “green” philosophies, while visible and widespread, are not just environmentally focused, but also local community focused—concerning elements of social sustainability, belonging and sense of community. This makes the discussion of “green events” relevant to community psychology and local well‐being researchers. The aim of this study is to find other possibilities of how green events could contribute to local community well‐being by investigating how farmer markets unite people to understand how such events reinforce and shape a sense of community. This paper is based on participant observations and semistructured interviews to explore the conceptual notion of sense of community. Three emerged themes are presented: local participation, social atmosphere, and a sense of belonging.
Much research has focused attention on tourism developments and regeneration efforts. Regeneration is often regarded as the process of renewal or redevelopment of existing facilities and infrastructures, and thus, expansions for, or new investments in, tourism and visitor attractions align with contemporary regeneration strategies and initiatives linked to transitioning economic bases. Planners and policy makers are concerned with maintaining a competitive advantage, resulting in policies and investments aimed at developing spaces in transition for the purpose of economic gain and/or image revival. To go beyond the focus on economic impacts of tourism-led regeneration, the purpose of this special issue is to address the importance of, and the need to, critically assess issues, problems and solutions surrounding social regeneration resulting from tourism change, developments or initiatives. More research considering how members of a community and event attendees engage with spaces and places transformed for tourism is needed. Paying closer attention to intangible impacts to extend recent debates surrounding tourism initiatives, involvement and futures is needed, emphasizing improved welfare and empowering local communities and its residents. Evaluating differing trends associated with social regeneration, including discussions and critiques of existing policies, or the lack of insight and initiatives among planners, policy makers and members of the community concerning tourism, is an attempt to debate new directions concerning tourism, social impacts and social policy. The goal of this special issue is to bring together both international and interdisciplinary perspectives, so submissions that test conceptual boundaries, offer a critique of social policy, or provide evidence from a specific case (or cases) are welcome.
Wise, N., M. Perić and J. Ðurkin. 2019. Benchmarking Service Delivery for Sports Tourism and Events: Lessons for Gorski kotar, Croatia from Pokljuka, Slovenia. European Journal of Tourism Research 22: 107–128.
Benchmarking is essential for developing destinations to improve and develop their service delivery. Croatia is a well-established summer tourism destination, but more remote (inland) destinations seek to increase their competitiveness to help sustain Croatian tourism year-round-to diversify tourism offerings beyond the (more traditional) sea and sun opportunities. Expanding Croatia's tourism offer will require additional investments, not only in coastal destinations but in rural continental areas as well. Looking at how more established rural and winter destinations are planned and managed, this paper seeks to discuss how Croatia can learn from its neighbour Slovenia which has well-established winter sports destinations (in rural areas). This is where a benchmarking approach, building on a comparative analysis conducted through fieldwork research contributes new insight. Research was conducted in both Pokljuka (Slovenia) and Gorski kotar (Croatia) between 2015 and 2017. Three different procedures were used to collect data: (1) documental research of the destinations, facilities and events, (2) on site visits involving qualitative interviews and conversations with key stakeholders and (3) direct observation of the destination while attending events. Three emergent themes best reflected the analysed insights from the data collection: infrastructure, business operations and community involvement/stakeholder participation. To assess different points of service offering and delivery, discussions in Pokljuka were framed around sports tourism opportunities and their established business models to understand planning, management, organisation and service delivery. These same three points are then discussed as opportunities for Gorski kotar. To reiterate the benchmarking focus, first research must present a comparative analysis and then put emphasis on planning and managing service delivery to help highlight how insight from a well-established destination informs emerging destinations with tourism potential. Citation: Wise, N., M. Perić and J. Ðurkin (2019) Benchmarking service delivery for sports tourism and events: Lessons for Gorski Kotar,
Lin, Y-H., C. Ryan, N. Wise and L.W. Low. 2018. A Content Analysis of Airline Mission Statements: Changing Trends and Contemporary Components. Tourism Management Perspectives 28: 156–165.
Mission statements have an important bearing on business and in the airline industry such statements inform and connect international and heterogeneous stakeholders. While research was conducted on airline mission statements over a decade ago, the industry has since been transformed with the rise of new global carriers and changing consumer trends. The purpose of this study is to examine current airline mission statements to update findings from previous studies. The analysis evaluates the content of mission statements from 79 passenger airlines from around the world. The outcomes reveal products/services, customers, and location/markets as the three most prevalent components. Additionally, it appears mentions of safety in mission statements are increasingly apparent as airlines seek to ensure trust and confidence among consumers. The results and conclusions build on a framework of ten mission statement components and make comparisons between airlines and regions of the world.
Full Reference:
Gellweiler, S., N. Wise, and T. Fletcher. 2018. Understanding the ‘lived experience’ of sport event volunteers: Using the hermeneutic circle as a guiding conceptual framework. Event Management 22(4): 629-642.
Abstract: The cruise industry is the fastest growing component of mass tourism and is a key contributor to overtourism. The cruise industry is having a very significant impact on the country of Iceland, as cruises take people to some of the country’s most remote areas. In Iceland, the increase has been even more dramatic, with cruise ship arrivals increasing by over 91% (between 2015 and 2019) in Iceland’s small northern town of Akureyri and its surrounding ports. This paper is critical of the expansion of cruise tourism in Iceland despite the potential economic impacts of cruise ship tourism. Scholars argue the need to consider economic gains alongside environmental costs and social consequences that disrupt communities. This in perspective paper considers current economic, environmental and social impacts of cruise ship arrivals in Iceland before outlining some recommendations that align with environmentally friendly practices for policy makers to consider going forward. The triple bottom line framework is widely considered in tourism planning, and this paper seeks to connect the economic, social and environmental dimensions of tourism in a sustainable way to look at the present situation in Iceland and address policy considerations going forward.
Keywords: cruise tourism, Iceland, local tourism policy, overtourism, triple bottom line
Critical sports geographers are concerned with societal impacts and how sports contribute space and place meaning. How we understand sport and recreational approaches in different places aligns with the continued transformation of space and attitudes towards sport. Thus, the objective of this issue is to bring together a collection of papers that discusses critically informed geographical issues in a single collection to display the range of approaches and work conducted in the area of sports geography. Not unlike scholars working in similar and overlapping disciplines (e.g. Sociology, Anthropology or Cultural studies), Geographers seek to better understand the significance of a sports team in relation to the culture and political identity of a place, investigate issues relating to inclusion and exclusion or to address why people migrate to particular countries. While specific research foci may vary, at a fundamental level Geographers interested in sport seek to explore spatial awareness, contested histories, migration and mobility, and complexities of place and debating notions of scale and existing designations of power as it relates to sports governance. Geographically orientated critique of sport has also emerged in a range of other contextual examinations. Interest has been demonstrated in work related to post/de/colonial power relations, connections and process, sport development and sport diplomacy. In continuation, we are challenged to ask questions that relate to geography when watching the Summer or Winter Olympics or understanding politically contested histories, such as when England and Argentina meet in the FIFA World Cup, or when Real Madrid play against FC Barcelona. Alternatively, professional sports teams spread their influence through their brands to develop global fan bases and gain media contracts in new markets; we see this with football clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea from England or professional baseball teams such as the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers from the USA. The elite leagues in the world are thus able to attract the best talent from around the world which gets us looking at issues surrounding athlete and talent migration. These are just a few questions and points of interest to geographers, as and athletes continue to be mobile fans begin to learn about the places they are from, we as academics are encouraged to assess understandings of mobility and place associations and imaginations. Moreover, in and through our work that plays on the shared geography-sport borders we might, ideally, also bring to the fore critical issues, resolutions, opportunities and possibilities that might challenge inequities and inequalities and recraft spaces anew.
Increased competition and the expansion of the global economy and pressures to adapt to transitions and new developments are challenging geographers to rethink the impacts of sport, both locally and globally – which is changing and challenging the way we think about spatial transformation and place meaning. We are seeing this with popular sports from the USA being staged and performed in England, with the NFL and NBA already in London, and MLB to commence in June 2019 showcasing the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Sports spaces have thus become ‘known’ to communities and individuals in varied and nuanced ways. One predominant way in which space and place narratives of sport are crafted and mobilized is via media and media processes. Sports are, for example, increasingly broadcasted as spectacles through the media and our knowledge of places is communicated to us through newspapers, television, film, photographs and more recently social media. Nations, regions and cities are places imagined (and reimagined) through various cultural elements, political situations or economic bases. Therefore, sports have become an extension of place narratives that often fulfill how people come to know or associate with places because they are so widely publicized through links to particular sports or iconic individuals. In this sense, sport becomes synonymous with places and identities that connect people (many of these ideas are explored within this special edition). Here, again, the notion of geographical imaginations are important to highlight and understand how we read into, associate, challenge and contest the meanings of places and individuals (or teams in some respect) help create or reinforce geographical imaginations.
This international collection includes contributions from academics based in Brazil, China, England, Hong Kong, Norway, Scotland, South Africa and the United States. Drawing on an array of global examples and contexts, the 11 articles included in this collection address sports geography based on various perspectives.
Benson, A., and N. Wise, eds. 2017. International Sports Volunteering. London: Routledge.
Harris, J., and N. Wise. 2011. “Geographies of Scale in International Rugby Union – The Case of Argentina.” Geographical Research 49 (4): 375–383.
Hughson, J., and G. Kohe. 2010. “Get into the ‘Groove’: Travelling Otago’s Super-Region.” Sport in Society 13 (10): 1552–1566.
Kohe, G. 2011. At the Heart of Sport: The New Zealand Olympic Committee and the History of the Olympic Movement in New Zealand. Wellington: New Zealand Olympic Committee.
Kohe, G. Z. 2015. “(Dis)Located Olympic Patriots: Sporting Connections, Administrative Communications and Imperial Ether in Interwar New Zealand.” Sport in Society 18 (7): 800–815.
Kohe, G. Z. 2015a. “For the Good of the Game(?): The Legacy of the Football Trust, the Football Pools & the Dangerous of Political Promise.” The International Journal of the History of Sport 32 (11/12): 1378–1394.
Kohe, G. Z. 2017. “London 2012 (Re)calling: Youth Memories Olympic ‘Legacy’ Ether in the Hinterland.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 52 (1): 24–44.
Kohe, G. Z. 2016. ‘The Football Trust as a Mechanism of Industry Change’. In Routledge Handbook of Football Studies, edited by J. Hughson, K. Moore, R. Spaaij, and J. Maguire, 50–62. Oxon: Routledge.
Kohe, G. Z., and W. Bowen-Jones. 2016. “Rhetoric and Realities of London 2012 Olympic Education and Participation ‘Legacies’: Voices from the Core and Periphery.” Sport, Education and Society 21 (8): 1213–1229.
Kohe, G. Z., and D. M. Peters, eds. 2016. High Performance Disability Sport Coaching. Oxon: Routledge.
Purdy, L. G., G. Z. Kohe, and R. Paulauskas. 2017. “Coaches as Sports Workers: Professional Agency within the Employment Context of Elite European Basketball.” Sport, Education & Society.
Wise, N. 2011. “Transcending Imaginations through Football Participation and Narratives of the Other: Haitian National Identity in the Dominican Republic.” Journal of Sport & Tourism 16 (3): 259–275.
Wise, N. 2014. “Layers of the Landscape: Representation and Perceptions of an Ordinary (Shared) Sport Landscape in a Haitian and Dominican Community.” Geographical Research 52 (2): 212–22.
Wise, N. 2015a. “Football on the Weekend: Rural Events and the Haitian Imagined Community in the Dominican Republic.” In Exploring Community Festivals and Events, edited by A. Jepson and A. Clarke, 106–117. London: Routledge.
Wise, N. 2015b. “Geographical Approaches and the Sociology of Sport.” In Routledge Handbook of the Sociology of Sport, edited by R. Giulianotti, 142–152. London: Routledge.
Wise, N. 2015. “Maintaining Dominican Identity in the Dominican Republic: Forging a Baseball Landscape in Villa Ascension.” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 50 (2): 161–178.
Wise, N. 2016. “Staging and Performing Identity at the Croke Park Classic: A Note on Sport, Geography and Neoliberalism.” European Journal of Geography 7 (4): 35–40.
Wise, N. 2017a. “In the Shadow of Mega-Events: The Value of Ethnography in Sports Geography.” In Critical Geographies of Sport: Space, Power, and Sport in Global Perspective, edited by N. Koch, 220–234. London: Routledge.
Wise, N. 2017. “Rugby World Cup: New Directions or More of the Same?” Sport in Society 20 (3): 341–354.
Wise, N., and G. Hall. 2017. “Transforming Brazil: Sporting Mega-Events, Tourism, Geography and the Need for Sustainable Regeneration in Host Cities.” In Sport, Events, Tourism and Regeneration, edited by N. Wise and J. Harris, 24–39. London: Routledge.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2010. “Reading Carlos Tevez: Football, Geography, and Contested Identities in Manchester.” International Journal of Sport Communication 3 (3): 322–335.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2014. “Finding Football in the Dominican Republic: Haitian Migrants, Space, Place and Notions of Exclusion.” In Football and Migration: Perspectives, Places and Players, edited by R. Elliott and J. Harris, 180–193. London: Routledge.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2016. “Community, Identity and Contested Notions of Place: A Study of Haitian Recreational Soccer Players in the Dominican Republic.” Soccer & Society 17 (4): 610–627.
Wise, N., and J. Harris. 2017a. “Covering ‘Captain America’ and (Re)Imagining the USA during the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup.” In Commercial Nationalism in Tourism, edited by L. White, 251–263. Bristol: Channel View Publications.
Wise, N., and J. Harris, eds. 2017b. Sport, Events, Tourism and Regeneration. London: Routledge.
Purpose
There are many ways of viewing, interpreting and even conceptualizing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) growth. This paper considers image regeneration and how this helps enhance place competitiveness. A focus on events and the spectacle they create also challenges to think about sustainable futures. This paper aims to supplement this focus on image regeneration and competitiveness, it is important to discuss and outline triple bottom line impacts as a framework to consider going forward.
Design/methodology/approach
Looking at the BRICS, the growing events, tourism and leisure industries transcend private and public business practices and can help align with more contemporary sustainable development practices and regeneration agendas. Such agendas can, in turn, help enhance destination competitiveness and image. While the authors need (and should) continue to assess and address economic impacts and development, it is just as important to consider environmental impacts and social impacts on a destination and its residents when considering competitiveness.
Findings
This conceptual paper frames insight from the literature to reflect on and consider research directions linked to triple bottom line impacts. The paper puts emphasis on the need to consider the social and environmental impacts of events.
Originality/value
This paper links conceptual discussions of image regeneration and competitiveness with triple bottom line impacts to look at directions for BRICS nations. It is useful for policymakers and planners who look at the “big picture” of event hosting and argues the need for more sustainable policy and planning agendas.
Purpose
A neo-institutional methodology defines the entrepreneurial environment for SMEs as a multidimensional set of interacting formal/informal institutions influencing regional economic growth. Acknowledging the multidimensional nature of SME growth, this study tests an approach to measure SME institutional environment quality through the identification of regional-level determinants.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used in this paper is based on Bruns et al.’s (2017) model and is tested on 81 Russian Federation regions. The approach seeks to determine variation in entrepreneurial ecosystems based on quality and estimated marginal effects of difference across geographical regions.
Findings
The most severe obstacle to SME development in Russia is its shadow economy and corruption. Access to finance, high transportation fees, and instability in the political and economic field ranks second and third, respectively. Results suggest governments should eliminate main obstacles at country-level, which hampers the SME sector's development. While this is noted for this case looking at Russia, this is a common argument found in SME research.
Practical implications
Findings from this study are useful in managerial practice, aimed at increasing innovative development and increasing the competitiveness of Russian SMEs. A neo-institutional approach is one of the theoretical strands with the emphasis on enhanced understanding of organizational behavior and social capital, including cultural norms and beliefs.
Originality/value
Utilizing an extended empirical approach to assess the institutional environment for SMEs addresses a research gap – offering novel insight on SME growth useful for policy makers. The results can inform managerial practices to increase SME contribution to economic growth.
The sociology of sport has become a burgeoning subdiscipline in the 21st century. To assess knowledge domains and the status quo of the field in Europe and North America, this study uses CiteSpace (a bibliometric visualization software) to analyse 870 academic articles published in the International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Journal of Sport & Social Issues and Sociology of Sport Journal from 2008 to 2018. By mapping/examining core contributors, keywords, high citations/cited authors, major clusters and citation bursts, the findings echo John W. Loy’s ‘risk of critical mass’ calling for various citation analysis approaches. The study expands Jon Dart and Ørnulf Seippel’s recent topic model studies on subdisciplinary development in recent decades, contributing to informed discussions of geographical politics and research directions in the field. The scale and scope of this analysis is highly generalizable to assess pre-existing state-of-the-art research on the sociology of sport.
The World Alternative Games (WAG) is a biennial event which takes place in Britain’s smallest town. This paper considers the ways in which wackiness is central to event spaces within the town of Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. Based on a social constructivist approach, this work sheds light on aspects of the concept development, planning and organisation of events within a particular locale. It shows how wackiness is an important element of the event management development in the town and a key part of wider rural tourism development.
In the knowledge economy, the search and exchange of knowledge is widely recognized as a key factor contributing to the creation and mobilization of company’s knowledge resources to maintain its competitive advantage. This study is devoted to identifying the role of interpersonal trust in the process of searching and sharing knowledge. Theoretical analysis shows that previously conducted studies in this research field are mainly focused on revealing the relationship between interpersonal trust and the willingness to use knowledge. This study is interested in the willingness to establish contact between economic actors for the purpose of knowledge exchange, and this becomes important when discontinuities in innovation result from a lack of knowledge exchange and interaction between stakeholders. The effects of two different types of interpersonal trust (cognition-based trust and affect-based trust) on willingness to share explicit and tacit knowledge between individuals have been separately examined and tested. The analysis conducted is based on data obtained from surveying 295 employees from large organizations in Penza, Russia. To validate the survey, a confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling was undertaken to verify advanced causal hypotheses. To test the hypotheses, a multiple correlation-regression analysis was used. Results reveal that both types of interpersonal trust positively correlate with the willingness to share both explicit and implicit knowledge. Additionally, it has been established that the willingness to share tacit knowledge is more influenced by affect-based trust between individuals, while cognition-based trust is more significant in explaining the willingness to share explicit knowledge. The need to create favorable conditions within organizations to ensure the exchange of knowledge without constraints is highlighted.
Urban transformations help shape new opportunities and create/re-create awareness in everyday living environments. It is not transformation in the infrastructural sense, but transformation in the form of a service industry producing socio-economic change that can result in inclusion and exclusion of people in the community, thus affecting the everyday living environment. Within this, we need to consider the tourist gaze and how users who visit/tour vulnerable living environments report perceptions of their experiences on forums such as TripAdvisor, which helps researchers frame understandings of commodification, opportunities/awareness and even authenticity (each addressed in this paper). This paper evaluates TripAdvisor posts of ‘Rio’s Rocinha Favela Tour’. In many respects, the notion of commodification, and even authenticity, runs through each theme, but the analysis and data posted to TripAdvisor challenges us to consider how a favela becomes a consumer product or a tourist attraction. The Rocinha Favela tour is widely publicised to prospective visitors as a chance to experience a living and working favela, the focus of the first theme presented in this paper. Given Rocinha has become a popular attraction in Rio, this leads to the second theme: opportunity or awareness. Opportunities do exist for people in the community to get involved in tourism, and turning the favela into a product helps shape and maintain awareness. The third theme builds on and relates to the previous two, but focuses more on the semblances of authenticity that emerges. To link the points highlighted in this paper, a discussion of soft power concerns relationships bonded through economic and cultural influence. Because favelas have become distinct attractions, it is cultural appeal and a different (residential) side of the city that persuades travellers to visit. Online and social media platforms for more than a decade now have played an important role today in projecting images and promoting authentic experiences based on user-perceptions, and this paper looks at how the users communicate their experiences.
More research needs to evaluate links between community psychology and event impacts. Events are not just entertainment focused economic drivers, but gatherings contributing to society, community, and local cultural identity. There is also a need to address “green” philosophies, while visible and widespread, are not just environmentally focused, but also local community focused—concerning elements of social sustainability, belonging and sense of community. This makes the discussion of “green events” relevant to community psychology and local well‐being researchers. The aim of this study is to find other possibilities of how green events could contribute to local community well‐being by investigating how farmer markets unite people to understand how such events reinforce and shape a sense of community. This paper is based on participant observations and semistructured interviews to explore the conceptual notion of sense of community. Three emerged themes are presented: local participation, social atmosphere, and a sense of belonging.
Much research has focused attention on tourism developments and regeneration efforts. Regeneration is often regarded as the process of renewal or redevelopment of existing facilities and infrastructures, and thus, expansions for, or new investments in, tourism and visitor attractions align with contemporary regeneration strategies and initiatives linked to transitioning economic bases. Planners and policy makers are concerned with maintaining a competitive advantage, resulting in policies and investments aimed at developing spaces in transition for the purpose of economic gain and/or image revival. To go beyond the focus on economic impacts of tourism-led regeneration, the purpose of this special issue is to address the importance of, and the need to, critically assess issues, problems and solutions surrounding social regeneration resulting from tourism change, developments or initiatives. More research considering how members of a community and event attendees engage with spaces and places transformed for tourism is needed. Paying closer attention to intangible impacts to extend recent debates surrounding tourism initiatives, involvement and futures is needed, emphasizing improved welfare and empowering local communities and its residents. Evaluating differing trends associated with social regeneration, including discussions and critiques of existing policies, or the lack of insight and initiatives among planners, policy makers and members of the community concerning tourism, is an attempt to debate new directions concerning tourism, social impacts and social policy. The goal of this special issue is to bring together both international and interdisciplinary perspectives, so submissions that test conceptual boundaries, offer a critique of social policy, or provide evidence from a specific case (or cases) are welcome.
Wise, N., M. Perić and J. Ðurkin. 2019. Benchmarking Service Delivery for Sports Tourism and Events: Lessons for Gorski kotar, Croatia from Pokljuka, Slovenia. European Journal of Tourism Research 22: 107–128.
Benchmarking is essential for developing destinations to improve and develop their service delivery. Croatia is a well-established summer tourism destination, but more remote (inland) destinations seek to increase their competitiveness to help sustain Croatian tourism year-round-to diversify tourism offerings beyond the (more traditional) sea and sun opportunities. Expanding Croatia's tourism offer will require additional investments, not only in coastal destinations but in rural continental areas as well. Looking at how more established rural and winter destinations are planned and managed, this paper seeks to discuss how Croatia can learn from its neighbour Slovenia which has well-established winter sports destinations (in rural areas). This is where a benchmarking approach, building on a comparative analysis conducted through fieldwork research contributes new insight. Research was conducted in both Pokljuka (Slovenia) and Gorski kotar (Croatia) between 2015 and 2017. Three different procedures were used to collect data: (1) documental research of the destinations, facilities and events, (2) on site visits involving qualitative interviews and conversations with key stakeholders and (3) direct observation of the destination while attending events. Three emergent themes best reflected the analysed insights from the data collection: infrastructure, business operations and community involvement/stakeholder participation. To assess different points of service offering and delivery, discussions in Pokljuka were framed around sports tourism opportunities and their established business models to understand planning, management, organisation and service delivery. These same three points are then discussed as opportunities for Gorski kotar. To reiterate the benchmarking focus, first research must present a comparative analysis and then put emphasis on planning and managing service delivery to help highlight how insight from a well-established destination informs emerging destinations with tourism potential. Citation: Wise, N., M. Perić and J. Ðurkin (2019) Benchmarking service delivery for sports tourism and events: Lessons for Gorski Kotar,
Lin, Y-H., C. Ryan, N. Wise and L.W. Low. 2018. A Content Analysis of Airline Mission Statements: Changing Trends and Contemporary Components. Tourism Management Perspectives 28: 156–165.
Mission statements have an important bearing on business and in the airline industry such statements inform and connect international and heterogeneous stakeholders. While research was conducted on airline mission statements over a decade ago, the industry has since been transformed with the rise of new global carriers and changing consumer trends. The purpose of this study is to examine current airline mission statements to update findings from previous studies. The analysis evaluates the content of mission statements from 79 passenger airlines from around the world. The outcomes reveal products/services, customers, and location/markets as the three most prevalent components. Additionally, it appears mentions of safety in mission statements are increasingly apparent as airlines seek to ensure trust and confidence among consumers. The results and conclusions build on a framework of ten mission statement components and make comparisons between airlines and regions of the world.
Full Reference:
Gellweiler, S., N. Wise, and T. Fletcher. 2018. Understanding the ‘lived experience’ of sport event volunteers: Using the hermeneutic circle as a guiding conceptual framework. Event Management 22(4): 629-642.
This special issue explores places, practices and (soft) power to examine issues pertinent to socio-economic inclusion and exclusion. Through the evaluation of these topics, further insight is offered on social, cultural and political impacts on places and local economies. Soft power is a term used widely in political geography, political science and international affairs. The term, coined by Nye (1990, 2004), refers to the ability to shape attitudes, perceptions and preferences through culture and/or political ideals in order to build a particular appeal, or create attractive (and affirmative) value. Academics in fields from international relations, marketing, sociology, urban/regional studies and human geography periodically engage with this term (e.g. Chatin and Gallarotti, 2019; Chitty et al., 2016; Surowiec, 2019), and it is useful to try and further explore this idea from international and interdisciplinary perspectives as it can influence and impact ongoing or ever-changing practices in different places. Critical scholars, such as Lefebvre (1991), Mitchell (2003) and Soja (1989), argue that the very semblance of power is framed around notions of inclusion and exclusion; therefore, it is important to assess insight surrounding the socio-economic considerations of soft power based on different practices in different places.
The aim of this special issue is to evaluate, extend and relate discussions of soft power to critical conceptions of social impacts so that researchers, practitioners and policy makers can debate, discuss and further understand the affects and influences on places and local economies. Areas of study such as tourism and events offer much insight. These are important because of what they contribute to local economies and utilise elements of place and culture to persuade people to visit and attend (see Maguire and Hanrahan, 2016), as is the focus of several papers in this special issue. Also explored in this special issue are papers focusing on soft power in relation to migration, sport, local enterprise initiatives and concerns facing health inequalities. This positions the socio-economic focus of this special issue, to establish a platform for exploring issues of inclusion and exclusion influenced by soft power. The focus on soft power may put emphasis on spatially bounded areas experiencing gentrification or regeneration, concentrated in regions undergoing population change, migration or demographic transition, or based on political initiatives reinforced through popular culture, propaganda or fear. This special issue will draw insight from a range of international cases drawing from, contesting and uniting interdisciplinary perspectives to contribute nascent insight on social and critical theory to influence policy makers and practitioners and encourage community participation. The special issue will build on previous special issues that appeared in Local Economy (focusing on local community, place, policy and power) and Bulletin of Latin American Research (assessing sport and social transformation in Brazil) in 2017 and 2018, respectively (see Hall and Wise, 2019; Wise, 2017).
Across Latin America, sport represents an important cultural and political response to facilitating social transformation and addressing social challenges, and this is especially evident today in Brazil. Brazil is also one of many nations to have emphasised a positive relationship between sport and progressive social and economic development (Reis et al., 2016). This relationship is best seen in its development and modernisation strategy where bidding to host mega‐sports events was one catalyst for driving change and earning global recognition (Rojek, 2013). What was termed Brazil's ‘sporting decade’ (Reis et al., 2013) saw successful bids and the hosting of the 2007 Pan American Games, the 2014 men's FIFA Football World Cup and the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Enjoying global prestige and an international perception of economic and social stability, Brazil was ready to participate in globalisation processes. Sport, therefore, enabled Brazil, like other host nations before them, to align its social, political, and economic structures with Global North worldviews to facilitate its transformation into a modernised ‘developed’ and globally competitive nation (Maharaj, 2015).
Since the hosting of sporting mega‐events, much academic literature about the critical impact of sport on Brazil and its society emerged (e.g., Reis et al., 2015; Gaffney, 2016; Wise and Hall, 2017). This special issue contributes a collection of papers dedicated to assessing important points of academic inquiry going forward. The global media regularly focuses on the performance of a minority population of elite athletes. However, sport, when assessed more broadly, impacts upon individuals and communities locally – the majority of whom will not participate in or follow any particular sport, but see significant amounts of government funds redirected to build venues for sporting events.
The papers included in this special issue bring together several recently completed projects that have demonstrated alternative narratives about the impact of sport on Brazilian society. Each paper challenges us to reflect more critically on the breadth and reach of sporting legacies beyond tangible urban regeneration, the ‘exoticism’ of Brazil as a destination, and ‘sport is good’ mantras that are perpetuated in popular conceptions of sport and its proxy affiliations. This special issue begins with Christopher Gaffney asking: can we blame Rio? Gaffney's paper addresses a number of crises affecting the city that will, for the foreseeable future, continue to take its toll on the city's political economy and its residents. The following two papers are empirical projects examining the impact of FIFA on violation of children's rights under the banner of ‘securitisation’, and the impact of pacification processes in the comunidades of Rio de Janeiro on sex workers is discussed in articles by Lorraine van Blerk et al. and Amanda de Lisio and João Gabriel R. Sodré, respectively. The fourth article, by Gareth Hall and Arianne Reis, examines the social transformation narrative of programme leaders who implemented large‐scale sport‐for‐development projects in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Their paper addresses the inclusion of the sport of rugby in the Summer Olympics, which has since leveraged opportunities to develop rugby in school communities as an alternative to football. The final article by Nicholas Wise, concerning the case of Manaus, provides a conceptual paper that frames the need for ethnographic research to uncover social impacts of change inductively to gain a more enabling representation of sport and social transformation. Each paper offers conceptual and methodological insight useful for scholars looking at issues and controversies surrounding sport and social transformation across Latin America and beyond.
The contribution of events to destination revitalisation and competitiveness is an area of research that needs more attention, especially as events can have either lasting or contesting legacies (García, 2005). Building on the fact that place management and place branding are issues of increasing international importance, we need to further conceptualise and critically understand how places change or adapt to meet the needs of their residents and visitors against a back-drop of economic uncertainty, demographic change and technological innovation.
If we consult the tourism literature, destination competitiveness is a well-researched area, with a number of accepted models and approaches that have been used and adopted over the past few decades (Crouch and Ritchie, 1999; Crouch, 2011; Dwyer and Kim, 2003; Hassan, 2000). Building on this foundation of research, there is a need for research that focuses on more niche forms of destination development to build on competitiveness, and this is where it is important to link competitiveness with destination revitalisation (Clark and Wise, 2018; Wise and Clark, 2017). Moreover, there is an increasing need to look at the role of events in enhancing competitiveness, also building on recent literature addressing the impact of events to development, regeneration and revitalisation (Smith, 2012; Richards and Palmer, 2010; Wise and Harris, 2017, 2019a, 2019b) . Therefore, this special issue will focus specifically on how events contribute to destination revitalisation and competitiveness.
The guest editors of this special issue have published on the topics of destination competitiveness and destination revitalisation, independently and interdependently, with colleagues from our own networks and in collaboration with each other (Aquilino et al., 2019; Armenski et al., 2018, 2011; Dwyer et al., 2016; Mulec and Wise, 2013; Wise, 2016). Seeking to extend the mpact of this work aligned with the area of events and place management, urban change and development, this special issue includes six papers addressing critical/conceptual issues pertinent to the role of events in shaping competitiveness and revitalisation. These papers each contribute theoretical knowledge positioning the role of events in the host destination, and how they play a vital role in urban/regional revitalisation and competitiveness, and the cases across the papers are internationally dispersed. We now offer an overview of each paper and the case(s) each paper has discussed and addressed.
The papers included in this special issue each have wider benefits. For teaching, this special issue intends to strengthen event management students understanding of place development and competitiveness in an increasingly competitive events environment. The work also has useful practical and policy recommendations for destination planners and event managers. These articles provide planners with insight on best policies and good practice for successful event management, as well as bringing to attention the importance of the long-term event legacy planning. The research is also useful for tourism destination managers who are looking at the increasing role of event and the theoretical focus explored in each paper is useful for academic researchers going into or expanding research that links and aligns events, competitiveness and revitalisation. Looking at the contribution of this special issue to the journal Place Management and Development, this special issue builds on previous collections, notably Participatory Placemaking (Issue 2, 2018) and Place in Practice (Issue 1, 2014) by putting a more defined focus on events and events management.
References
Aquilino, L., Armenski, T. and Wise, N. (2019), “Assessing the competitiveness of Matera and the Basilicata region (Italy) ahead of the 2019 European capital of culture”, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 503-517.
Armenski, T., Dwyer, L. and Pavluković, V. (2018), “Destination competitiveness: public and private sector tourism management in Serbia”, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 13, pp. 384-398.
Armenski, T., Vladimir, M., Nemanja, D. and Tamara, J. (2011), “Integrated model of destination competitiveness”, Geographica Pannonica, Vol. 15, pp. 58-69.
Clark, J. and Wise, N. (Eds) (2018), Urban Renewal, Community and Participation: Theory, Policy and Practice, Springer, Berlin.
Crouch, G.I. (2011), “Destination competitiveness: an analysis of determinant attributes”, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 50 No. 1, pp. 27-45.
Crouch, G.I. and Ritchie, J.R.B. (1999), “Tourism, competitiveness, and societal prosperity”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 44 No. 3, pp. 137-152.
Dwyer, L., Dragićević, V., Armenski, T. and Cvelbar, L.K. (2016), “Achieving destination competitiveness: an importance–performance analysis of Serbia”, Current Issues in Tourism, Vol. 19 No. 13, pp. 1309-1336.
Dwyer, L. and Kim, C. (2003), “Destination competitiveness: determinants and indicators”, Current Issues in Tourism, Vol. 6 No. 5, pp. 369-413.
García, B. (2005), “Deconstructing the city of culture: the long-term cultural legacies of Glasgow 1990”, Urban Studies, Vol. 42 Nos 5/6, pp. 841-868.
Hassan, S.S. (2000), “Determinants of market competitiveness in an environmentally sustainable tourism industry”, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 239-245.
Mulec, I. and Wise, N. (2013), “Indicating the competitiveness of Serbia’s Vojvodina region as an emerging tourism destination”, Tourism Management Perspectives, Vol. 8, pp. 68-79.
Richards, G. and Palmer, R. (2010), Eventful Cities: Cultural Management and Urban Revitalisation, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.
Smith, A. (2012), Events and Urban Regeneration, Routledge, London.
Wise, N. (2016), “Outlining triple bottom line contexts in urban tourism regeneration”, Cities, Vol. 53, pp. 30-33.
Wise, N. and Clark, J. (Eds) (2017), Urban Transformations: Geographies of Renewal and Creative Change, Routledge, London.
Wise, N. and Harris, J. (Eds) (2019a), Sport, Events, Tourism and Regeneration, Routledge, London.
Wise, N. and Harris, J. (Eds) (2019b), Events, Places and Societies, Routledge, London.
The purpose of this special issue is to bring together interdisciplinary approaches of regeneration in relation to enterprise, sport and tourism, independently or interdependently. The collection of papers presented here resulted from a two-day international workshop hosted by Glasgow Caledonian University, organized by Dr Nicholas Wise and Dr Geoff Whittam. Due to the already noted events occurring in Glasgow and Scotland, this international conference was timely. The two-day international workshop sought to analyse which current regeneration initiatives in the UK have proved to be ‘successful’, and to distil what lessons can be learnt from differing experiences, both in Scotland and internationally.
The interdisciplinary nature of regeneration was the focus of the workshop grounding regeneration as the anchor to debate and discuss in relation to enterprise, sporting events and tourism. While many debates concerning change, renewal and revitalization, each framed under this notion of regeneration, there has often been a focus on economic significance and impact. While this did represent an important part of discussions and is included in this special issue, many papers deal with the evolving focus on social impact and ‘who is regeneration for’? This is an on-going debate as budgets are tightened, especially among the public sector, change and regeneration, since the 1980s, has been private sector driven often resulting in capital gains for investors, but there is a need to identify wider societal impacts (see Smith, 2012).
Table of contents (14 chapters)
Changing Spaces in Historical Places
Pages 1-19
Wise, Nicholas (et al.)
Clarksdale, Mississippi: Downtown Regeneration, Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Blues Music
Pages 21-38
Henshall, John C.
Beer as Cultural Lubricant: Brewing Tsingtao, Regenerating Qingdao
Pages 39-55
Zang, Xiaolin (et al.)
Sporting Heritage and Touristic Transformation: Pacaembu Stadium and the Football Museum in São Paulo, Brazil
Pages 57-69
Uvinha, Ricardo Ricci (et al.)
Old Town Tallinn: Medieval Built Heritage Amid Transformation
Pages 71-83
Michelson, Aleksandr (et al.)
The Sweet Auburn Historic District in Atlanta: Heritage Tourism, Urban Regeneration, and the Civil Rights Movement
Pages 85-96
Spirou, Costas (et al.)
Winter Cities and Local Magic: Re-storying an Urban Ravine in Edmonton, Canada
Pages 97-110
Wall, Karen
City on Fire: Deterritorialisation and Becoming at Edinburgh’s Beltane Fire Festival
Pages 111-123
Melis, Claudia
A Geospatial Approach to Conserving Cultural Heritage Tourism at Kumbh Mela Events in India
Pages 125-140
Saha, Kakoli (et al.)
Changing Faces of Tokyo: Regeneration, Tourism and Tokyo 2020
Pages 141-155
Jimura, Takamitsu
(Re)Building a Bridge: Landscape, Imagination and Memory in Mostar
Pages 157-171
Wise, Nicholas
Urban Regeneration and Rural Neglect: The Pall of Dark Tourism in Cambodia
Pages 173-185
Tyner, James A.
Cultural Heritage and Tourism Stimulus: Regional Regeneration in Southern Africa
Pages 187-203
Sifolo, Portia Pearl Siyanda
Expanding Perspectives in Tourism, Cultural Heritage and Urban Regeneration
Pages 205-213
Jimura, Takamitsu; Wise, Nicholas
This book critically examines how rugby union has developed in recent years, in nations on the periphery of the sport. Focusing on people and places on the fringes, it examines contemporary issues and challenges within the global game.
Such a collection is timely, as the sport’s governing body seeks to expand influence and participation beyond the eight core nations, with the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan being the first time that that tournament has taken place outside of the core. Presenting case studies from Europe, Africa, North and South America, Asia and the Middle East, this collection offers an interdisciplinary account of a sport that is undergoing a period of significant change. Through examination of topics such as the development of rugby sevens and the growth of women’s rugby, it considers what the future may hold for the sport.
Rugby in Global Perspective is important reading for students of sport in society, the globalisation of sport, sports studies, sport development and associated fields. It is also a valuable resource for academic researchers working in rugby union or sport in the peripheral rugby nations, as well as those with an interest in cultural geography, sociology, development studies, events studies, event management and sport management.
Table of Contents
1. Japan 2019 and the internationalisation of rugby union 2. Challenging the core: the rise of Argentina in international rugby 3. Against all odds: Fijiana’s flight from zero to hero in the Rugby World Cup 4. From past to present: is there room for professional rugby in the United States of America? 5. Struggling for recognition: developing rugby union in Lebanon 6. ‘Moufflons’ living precariously: the brief history of rugby union in Cyprus 7. Rugby and sport development in Brazil: from peripheral to centre stage 8. Rugby beyond the core in Africa 9. Rugby towards 2030
This book explores an innovative set of critical narratives, accounts and engagements by different authors about their professional mobility and how that relates to the discipline and their life experiences.
Human Geography and Professional Mobility seeks to encourage, influence, and help students understand geographic concepts based on critical reflections, international experiences, and practical insight laid out in stories of real people, real geographers, and real college faculty, that students can relate to. This volume is less theoretical and more personal insight-based, wherein first-hand and personal accounts of practical experiences are explored, which renders the text supplementary reading for human geography, population geography, world geography, and migration/mobility classes.
With critical navigation of spaces in response to several geographical questions, this book offers a novel perspective on professional mobility of geographers which will be of interest to students and academics in the fields of geography, tourism, sociology, and anthropology.
Table of Contents
1 Experience, mobility, professional narratives, and human geography
WERONIKA A. KUSEK AND NICHOLAS WISE
2 Population geographies of Brazil: a geographer’s personal and professional viewpoints
ALAN P. MARCUS
3 Migration: how international fieldwork helped me embrace my immigrant identity
WERONIKA A. KUSEK
4 Geography of a life: a woman’s journey in place and culture
HANIEH HAJI MOLANA
5 Working among regions: understanding identity and ethnicity in a globalized world through India and its diaspora
CHRISTABEL DEVADOSS
6 Engaging in fieldwork in Paris
DAVID H. KAPLAN
7 Seeking sense of place: reflections on study abroad, becoming an international geographer, and living a mobile lifestyle
NICHOLAS WISE
8 Doing linguistic geography research: field experiences from Galicia, Spain
KATHRYN L. HANNUM
9 Political geography: sovereignty, Indigenous rights, and governance in an island context
CADEY KORSON
10 Nature, culture, and tourism in the Caribbean
VELVET NELSON
11 A secret affair: researching Ireland’s Catholic Mass Rocks
HILARY BISHOP
12 Urban and environmental geographies: challenges and successes of fieldwork in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
SARAH L. SMILEY
13 Understanding geography through international experiences: a student perspective
MICHAELA L. GAWRYS AND J. TODD NESBITT
14 Framing your own narratives: reflecting on personal and professional development
NICHOLAS WISE AND WERONIKA A. KUSEK
This book will discuss international event cases to frame knowledge around the increased demands, pressures and complexities that globalisation, transnationalism, regeneration and competitiveness has put on events, places and societies. Integrating discussions of theory and practice, this book will explore the range of conceptual perspectives linked to how geographers and sociologists understand events and the role events play in contemporary times. This involves recognizing histories and planning strategies, the purpose of bidding for an event or the local meanings that have emerged and changed in the place. This helps us analyse how events have the potential to redefine place identities.
This international edited collection will appeal to academics across disciplines such as geography, planning and sociology, as well as students on events management and events studies courses.
Table of Contents
Events, places and societies: introducing cases, perspectives and research directions. Nicholas Wise and John Harris 1. Introduction to place. Velvet Nelson 2. Privilege on the Pearl: the politics of place and the 2016 UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Natalie Koch 3. Social impacts and implications of hosting festivals on the place and local community: the EXIT Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia. Vanja Pavluković, Tanja Armenski, and Juan Miguel Alcántara-Pilar 4. The spaces, places and landscapes of Brazil’s Carnival: racialized geographies and multiscale perspectives of Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre. Maurício Polidoro 5. Renewing Rijeka for 2020: managing placemaking, regeneration and community participation. Nicholas Wise, Jelena Đurkin and Marko Perić 6. Cinematic sense of place: embodied celluloid spectres on the red carpet in Cannes. Dorota Ostrowska 7. Qingdao International Beer Festival: place identity and colonial heritage. Xiaolin Zang, Bouke van Gorp, and Hans Renes 8. A taste of place: The Hokitika Wild Foods Festival in New Zealand. Alexandra Gillespie and C. Michael Hall 9. Durban and the forfeiture of the 2022 Commonwealth Games: a bid won and lost by default. Brij Maharaj 10. Cultural sites of tension in the Iditarod of Alaska. Trine Kvidal-Røvik and Kari Jæger 11. Reinventing and reimagining rural Wales: the case of the World Alternative Games. Lucia Aquilino and John Harris 12. Re-creating the clan: “brotherhood” and solidarity at the Masters World Championship Highland Games. James Bowness 13. La Monoestrellada and the display of identity politics in Puerto Rico: cultural activism and placemaking in 78 pueblos y 1 bandera. Brenda L. Ortiz-Loyola and José R. Díaz-Garayúa 14. Follow the leather brick road: place, community and the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco and beyond. Lindsey Gaston 15. Whose Europe?: representing place in the Ryder Cup. Don Colley and John Harris 16. Linking geographical and sociological interpretations: place, society and Diwali around the world. Nicholas Wise Conclusion: expanding (inter)disciplinary perspectives in research on events. John Harris and Nicholas Wise
Urban Transformations offers insight into both risk and reward as local communities and public authorities creatively address the challenge of building vital and sustainable urban environments. The authors in this edited collection argue that understanding the specifics of community, space and place is crucial to delivering insights into how, where, when, why and for whom urban areas might successfully transform. The chapters investigate urban change using a range of approaches, and case studies from the four corners of the Earth – from the United States to Iran; from the United Kingdom to Canada. The varying scales at which governance or regeneration initiatives operate, the nature and composition of urban communities, and the local or global interests of different private sector actors all raise questions for urban policy and practice. It is important to not only consider the drivers of regeneration, but its beneficiaries need to be identified.
Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, Part I examines volunteering in the context of international sporting events, while Part II evaluates volunteering initiatives related to sport development. Including case studies from Australia, Cameroon, Namibia, Norway, Russia, the UK, the US and Zambia, this substantial volume provides a truly international perspective on the changing roles of sport volunteering.
Showcasing the latest research from across the globe, International Sports Volunteering is a valuable resource for any course on sport studies, sport event management, sport development, sport tourism, sport geography, the sociology of sport or leisure studies.
Major events represent an opportunity to connect people, may it be the host city residents, the spectators or the international guests. We now live in an interdependent world where identities are no longer fixed, but fluid. Transnationalism has resulted in a global workforce where mobility has never been greater and opportunities exceed national borders. There exists a range of literature concerning sport and transnational migration (Carter, 2007; Darby & Solberg, 2010; Grainger, 2006; Mangan, 1996; Wong & Trumper, 2002), but this chapter moves beyond a focus on transnationalism, theoretically, per se, and focuses on my own personal perspectives as critically linked to volunteering at a major international sporting event. People who lead mobile lifestyles are referred to as global citizens. While people often identify with a particular home (i.e. where an individual was born grew up), such traditional understandings of home are now challenged, because where someone belongs can be multi-faceted. In the United States there is very little recognition, if any coverage, or mention of the Commonwealth Games in the media. Although the event may not be exposed in non-Commonwealth countries, someone working and/or living in Glasgow from outside the Commonwealth might question the rationale behind such a major (not mega) event. In total 71 countries competed in the 2014 Commonwealth Games comprising of 17 sports. I argue more research which includes the voice of an international volunteer is needed.
This chapter is a self-reflexive paper addressing my role as an international volunteer after moving to Glasgow, UK ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. While living in Glasgow I took the opportunity to be a volunteer at the Commonwealth Games. Coming from the United States, I am from outside the Commonwealth, and as such, I outline new feelings of belonging to a new community as a Clydesider . As a volunteer, I was assigned to work at the Emirates Area during the Commonwealth Games as a member of the spectator services team. Each day I would rotate jobs to interact with attendees inside and outside the stadium, or assist with entry clearance to certain areas in or out of the venue. I reflect on community and identity below, as volunteers we were easily recognized by our red polo-shirts and grey trousers. Taking a self-reflexive autoethnographic approach, this chapter examines differing notions of identity and sense of belonging based on my role as a spectator services volunteer at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Before moving to the United Kingdom, I did not have any formal ties to Glasgow or Scotland. Similarly, the Commonwealth Games is not an event featured in my country of origin. The focus of this work is to offer insight into relocation and volunteering in a place and at an event that I did not have an immediate connection to—with the intension to discuss how volunteering helps individuals develop a sense of belonging in a new place. This work will incorporate geographical notions of in place/out of place to reinforce discussions of transnationalism and self-identity.
In this chapter I will overview my reactions and perspectives as an international sport event volunteer whilst linking my narratives to pertinent conceptual social geographical understandings of sense of place and sense of belonging. Next this chapter turns to the academic literature addressing volunteer motivations and sense of place and belonging. A brief overview of my method precedes my accounts, self-reflections and experiences as a 2014 Commonwealth Games Clydesider (or volunteer).
IoT aims to connect the objects of everyday life by embedding internet-connected devices within them and sharing their information online. Smart technology that exploits IoT data offers new opportunities for the travel and hospitality industry. The IoT enables easy access and interaction with a wide variety of information for contexts such as transportation, attractions, tours, shopping and hotels. IoT big data tourism applications will need to integrate social media, content marketing, and wearable IoT devices. After outlining conceptual understandings of the IoT and its potential for smart cities, this chapter provides practical foundations for destinations organisers and stakeholders in this emerging smart tourism paradigm.