Developing research and decision-making strategies as indicators for sustainable eco- or nature tourism in New Zealand

Holzapfel, R.

New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference, Lincoln University

1998

New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference

Advances in Research – Proceedings of the 3rd New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference – 1998

ISBN/ISSN 086476-113-9

This working paper examines possible means of identifying adequate strategies indicating the level of sustainability of eco- or nature tourism in New Zealand. The research relies on the presumption that sustainable tourism development can be expressed as an operational theoretical concept and as a field of empirical inquiry as well as dynamic forecasting. Outlining the paradigmatic significance of systems thinking, a non-linear perspective is adopted viewing tourism as the emergent property of an open, complex and adaptive system, which displays self-organising and self-maintaining characteristics. It is hypothesized that sustainable tourism development reflects a homeostatic condition. Sustainability and sustainable tourism development are perceived as a subjective and unstructured problem situation of connected problem areas within a continuum of differential interpretations. Drawing on ideas from Participatory Rural Appraisal methods and Participatory Action Research the paper focuses on the suitability and applicability of a modified version of Soft Systems Methodology as a means of structuring a debate leading to decision-making strategies. Proposed activities are seen as tentative answers in a continuous learning process where problems and solutions are constantly evolving.

Keywords:

Management, Tourism, Tourism Management, Ecotourism, Nature, Natural resources

In Advances in Research - Proceedings of the 3rd New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference - 1998

Exploratory

National

Outdoor Recreation

Tourists

Outdoors

National Parks

Management, Participation, Planning, Tourism

1359

July 12, 2012