Regions, cities, towns, and villages located at international borders are spatial gateways for tourist movement and cross border interaction. They offer opportunities for both competitive and cooperative tourism strategies and to unite to bring about economic co-operation and integration. In addition to economic co-operation, binational sites are uniquely situated to foster cultural and social integration. In an ideal world, binational collaboration could serve a means for increasing community understanding and integration. However, such integration is seldom achieved as a result of a variety of issues that often work in conjunction against the goal of integration. These reasons can be categorised as physical barriers (e.g., a river) and ideological barriers (e.g., Kyoto Accord) and result in competition rather than a co-operation. It is recognised that the strategic tourism planning and marketing initiatives in border regions is a complex task due to the interdependence of multiple stakeholders and fragmented control over resources. Greer suggests, from his research in Ireland, despite numerous difficulties, co-operation may be facilitated by formulating an inclusive and integrated tourism strategy, establishing a partnership balance, understanding political sensitivities and developing participative partnerships at the local level. There are many examples of successful binational tourism initiatives including St. Maarten/St. Martin, Thailand/ Malaysia, and Norway/Sweden/Denmark. Canada and the US are in a unique position to develop binational tourism initiatives in the Niagara Region; often considered the least developed of its binational partnerships. This is primarily due to a history of competition, versus collaboration of Niagara operators and communities. Niagara’s tourism challenges have never been competition by neighbouring communities. Rather, it is the insistence of Niagara Region’s communities in promoting themselves individually, rather than as a coordinated offering to the visiting public that has been the challenge. This will continue to waste human and financial resources and be a deterrent. The tourism industry on both sides of the Niagara border needs to work together to optimise the benefits from tourism. The focus should be on the basics, visitor needs and wants, market-based products, services, and pricing, and that elusive “value-added” component that will result in positive word of mouth referrals and return visitation.

Access to document: C16_Paula_Johnson.pdf

The Future of Affluent Travel & Leisure − Trends that will Shape Development
Chris Fair & Dianna Carr, Resonance Consultancy Ltd.  (New York, USA)

What is leisure in the 21st century? While Americans work more hours per week than any other society, their status as the wealthiest nation on the planet has also allowed them to create and partake in a diverse range of leisure activities. Travel, dining, golf, spas, sports and entertainment choices are virtually limitless today. As emerging nations give birth to a giant new middle class, these societies are seeking to emulate the American experience. The impact of which is far reaching both in the U.S. and around the globe. Resonance Consultancy, in partnership with New York’s Luxury Institute, is currently conducting a survey of affluent American households to identify trends in leisure behavior, aspirations and travel. Affluent aspirations are driving changes not only in North America, but around the globe as affluent customers seek out unique and rare experiences; driving tourism development in new developing markets. How can developing countries create sustainable resorts to cater to affluent high-dollar travellers? What kinds of experiences are they looking for? What countries are they looking to go to? These questions and more will be answered in the Future of Affluent Travel & Leisure presentation. Chris Fair is president of Resonance Consultancy. He has more than 15 years of experience consulting with leading hoteliers such as Fairmont, Hyatt, Raffles, Auberge Resorts, Kor Hotel Group, Kerzer International, and other leading developers in the creation of new destinations and resorts throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, United States and Canada. He holds a MSc in Studies of the Future from University of Houston and is a member of the World Future Society, Association of Professional Futurists, the Luxury Marketing Council, Luxury Board and the Urban Land Institute.

Access to document: C16_Chris_Fair.pdf

Community Entitlement and the Failure of Tourism as a Development Strategy
Walter Kuentzel (USA)

Access to document: C16_Walter_Kuentzel.pdf

An investigation of factors that may affect the behavioral intentions of visitors in a rural festival
Yating Liang & Steve Illum, Missouri State University (Springfield, USA); Tian Shu-Cole, Indiana University (Bloomington, USA)

This study examined behavioral intentions of visitors to a rural festival and the relationship between behavioral intentions of festival visitors and benefits they received in relation to their origins and the distance they traveled to the festival based on 413 questionnaires. A factor analysis generated three factors as benefits: the history appreciation benefit, the socialization benefit, and the enjoyment benefit. The respondents rated the enjoyment benefit the highest, followed by the socialization benefit, and history appreciation. Pearson’s correlations showed that distance traveled had a significant negative correlation with visitors’ intention to attend the festival again. Distance traveled did not have any significant correlations with visitors’ word-of mouth intentions, and the benefits they received. ANOVA tests indicated that the socialization benefit for the local residents was significantly higher among residents than nonresidents. The study provided a more thorough understanding of additional factors that may affect behavioral intentions of festival visitors, which may help festival organizers better understand visitors’ behavior and their behavioral intentions.