Special issue from Tourism Research 2002

Tourism and Hospitality Research

Editorial Locating contemporary tourism enquiry: Special issue from Tourism Research 2002 This special issue emerged from the ATHE-sponsored postgraduate panel held at Tourism Research 2002: an international interdisciplinary conference in Wales, jointly hosted by the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff and the Wales Tourist Board. Held in Cardiff in September 2002, Tourism Research 2002 was the result of a collaborative partnership between the tourist board and the wider tourism research collective in Welsh higher education and attracted over 250 papers from delegates in 29 countries. The conference programme was based around seven themes, which were intended both to convey the specific Welsh dimension of the event and to have global resonance. These were: small enterprises; the coast; language and communication; heritage and community; social and environmental inclusion; governments and transitional economies; and natural environments and sustainability (Haven, Botterill and Webb, 2002). To these themes, which formed conference panels, a postgraduate panel was added to reflect the developmental intent to nurture tourism research through the conference. Our intention in the original call for papers in this panel was to invite researchers to explore the extent and nature of epistemological and methodological debate in contemporary tourism research. We particularly targeted postgraduate students, but were also keen to stress that all researchers whose work is concerned with tourism would be welcome, particularly those engaged in interdisciplinary work. It was extremely pleasing, therefore, that with 26

contributions, the panel represented one of the largest at the conference and attracted worldwide interest, with a third of the contributors being based outside the UK, and submissions coming from continental Europe as well as Australia and New Zealand. Researchers ranged from established academics to postgraduate students recently embarked on their studies and as a result, the sessions discussed all aspects of the tourism research process: from problem identification to the dissemination of results and every stage in between. The conference sessions themselves generated considerable discussion and dialogue over the critical thinking, strategising and decision making which surround and constitute the research process. Our longerterm aim as panel chairs, however, was to contribute to the wider intellectual project of tourism scholarship by offering these (mainly younger) researchers at the panel an entree into the peer-reviewed publications process, an opportunity which the editors of this journal have generously provided. The panel was organised with the explicit intention to provide a forum for researchers to explore the methodology as well as the methods of tourism enquiry. Thus, we have a set of five papers in this special issue, which do both - some discuss methodological and epistemological issues as a way of thinking about the social world and others address methods in terms of research procedures and techniques all in the context of their particular case study. There is a broad range of different approaches in these papers, reflective of

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those discussed at the conference panel itself. A number of contributors present the findings from particular studies and describe the methods employed (eg Eugenio and Reiser); others discuss some of the challenges surrounding utilising specific methods or approaches (eg Trapp-Fallon). Some researchers clearly chose their epistemological perspective as a focus of their paper (eg Iwashita) and yet others presented papers which attempt to expose the decisions surrounding the research process itself (eg Papageorgiou). The increasing diversity of methodologies adopted by tourism researchers is also represented in this selection of papers which discuss modelling (Eugenio), participant observation (Reiser), interviewing (Iwashita, Reiser and Papageorgiou), the oral history approach (Trapp-Pallen), questionnaire surveys (Iwashita) and textual analysis (Iwashita, Trapp-Pallen and Reiser). If the range of papers in the postgraduate panel can be considered as representative of the current state of tourism enquiry, there is a roughly equal division between those favouring qualitative and those using quantitative approaches (with a number utilising both). Moreover, it does seem that many in the tourism academy (particularly the younger researchers) are responding to Jamal and Hollinshead's (2001: 78) call for 'a dialogue in travel and tourism research on the multiple approaches, theories, practices, methods, techniques that can assist those of us in tourism studies to do justice to the research topic and research questions we formulate and pursue'. Certainly, the contributions here indicate that many researchers are prepared to reflect on the shortcomings as well as the strengths of their approaches and are willing to engage in active debate over the nature of tourism enquiry. For those of us fortunate enough to have taken part, the panel sessions offered ample evidence both of the vibrancy of debate

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among the next generation of tourism researchers and of their willingness to take a critical and self-reflective view of their own approaches and stances. Many scholars now challenge the usefulness of seeing research as a linear narrative, whereby the researcher goes to the field, obtains data and writes them up (Crotty, 1998). The reality is much more complex and a clear theme, which emerged from the discussions during the postgraduate panel, is the issue of researcher reflexivity. There was also a notable movement among these tourism researchers (particularly those who favour qualitative approaches) to expound clearly their epistemological perspective as well as their research findings in their papers. All theoretical approaches to understanding the social world (whether they favour quantitative, qualitative, or combinations of both techniques and procedures) are embedded in an epistemological standpoint, yet historically it has been rare for tourism researchers to acknowledge how their own worldview influences the research process. Perhaps a willingness to confront this issue is itself a feature of the research degree process and many of the panel contributors were grappling with methodological and epistemological issues in preparation for defence of their theses. There was also, however, a strong sense in the panel sessions that many of these researchers will be keen to continue to place their epistemological positionings in the foreground of their postdoctoral work. This is something which would greatly enrich the research field of tourism studies, since there is a tendency among many established scholars to focus less on the nature and meaning of the research process and more on the implications of the research findings themselves. A number of authors (eg Delanty, 1997; Silverman, 1998) have suggested that this need properly to incorporate social theory into empirical social research is in fact the


Editorial

omy, social science's preoccupation with key challenge facing all those undertaking production and politics is slowly being contemporary social research. At the present time too many social science research challenged so that the cultural arenas of cuisine, leisure and tourism are becoming studies (including many in tourism) pay respected fields of enquiry. In addition, the only a cursory reference to theory; perhaps in order to provide some indication of acaability of the social scientist to break the ties of previously powerful epistemological demic rigour or a foundation to what are straightjackets is being increasingly faciliessentially 'factual' pieces of research. tated and encouraged by the fracturing of Theory is vital to the conduct of research, however, because 'contrary to crude formerly stable divisions between academic subjects (Seale, 1998). New perspectives are empiricists, who would deny the relevance emerging across disciplines and research of theory to research, the facts never speak fields as the post-colonial, post-industrial for themselves' (Silverman, 1998: 101). Social theory sensitises the researcher to world witnesses the increasing deconstruction of the largely masculine tradition of meaningful connections and is instrumental western thought - developments which in generating better ideas about what to are combining to stimulate a new awarelook for in a study. It also encourages ness of 'reality' as a construction of human researchers to 'develop conclusions with imagination. Place, space, time and identity more implications for other research. - none are now conceived as fixed but as Building theory is therefore one of the mutable, represented, relative and conmost important objectives of social science' (Schuett, 1996: 19). As Rosengren (2000: structed. It is in this spirit of epistemological exchange and synthesis that we would 19) suggests, it is essential that 'substantive suggest that perhaps tourism's variegated, theory, formal models and empirical data complex and interdisciplinary nature makes interact in a cumulative, spiralling process it particularly well placed to contribute to of knowledge building'. It is vital, therethese contemporary epistemological and fore, that tourism researchers attempt to ontological debates within the social articulate the theoretical framework which sciences. That is one of the key challenges underpins their work for it is only then that facing the current and the next generation research becomes a truly reflective process. of tourism scholars. By connecting more fully with the wider debates in the social sciences and embracing pluralist, multidimensional episREFERENCES temologies already in evidence elsewhere, Crotty, M. (1998) 'The Foundations of Social tourism studies have the opportunity to Research: Meaning and perspective in the research process', Sage, London. create a richer, more inclusive and more Delanty, G. (1997) 'Social Science: Beyond innovative research base. This is not to constructivism and realism', Open Unideny that significant disciplinary and crossversity Press, Buckinghamshire. disciplinary work is occurring at a gatherHaven, c., Botterill, D. and Webb, S. (2002) ing pace. Indeed, this interest has been 'Tourism Research 2002: An interdiscireflected in the 'proliferation of new jourplinary conference in Wales, Cardiff 4-7 nals that are orientated towards theoretical September 2002, conference proceedings', and critical works in methodological issues UWIC Press, Cardiff. in tourism studies' (jarnal and Hollinshead, Jamal, T. and Hollinshead, K. (2001) 'Tourism 2001: 66). This trend is also likely to accel- . and the forbidden zone: the underserved crate since, as much of the world itself power of qualitative inquiry', Tourism shifts from a production to a service econManagement, 22, 63-82.


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Rosengren, K.E. (2000) 'Communication: an introduction', Sage, London. Schuett, R.K. (1996) 'Investigating the Social W orId: The Process and Practice of Research' , Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks. Scale, C. (1998) (cd.) 'Researching Society and Culture', Sage, London. Silverman, D. (1998) 'Research and Social Theory' 97-110 to Seale, C. (ed.)

Editors' note

Our thanks as editors must go to Nigel and Eberhard for helping us put together a fascinating series of papers originating from the postgraduate panel at the Tourism Research 2002 conference. There is certainly considerable evidence here to suggest that the postgraduate tourism research community thinks seriously and deeply about the approaches it adopts and the methodologies and techniques it employs to further knowledge in this field. To complete this issue two further papers have been included that reinforce this reflective approach. The paper by Stergiou and Airey reports on an evaluation study of the inquiry conversion from a website promoting a tourism destination. In addition, however, they use the findings of this study to explore the assumptions underlying much conversion research and

'Researching Society and Culture', Sage, London.

Nigel Morgan University oj Wales Institute, Cardiff

Eberhard Bischoff University oj Wales, Swansea May 2003

to discuss some important methodological issues facing tourism researchers. The final paper by Sigala and Baum reflects on the changing face of the higher education environment and how these changes might impact on the future development and management of universities providing tourism and hospitality education. The combination of all the papers in this issue would seem to suggest an increasingly considered, reflective and challenging role for the tourism and hospitality researcher/ educator. We look forward to reflecting how things develop in the pages of this journal.


Professor Andrew Lockwood Professor Richard Butler School oj Management University oj Surrey June 2003