x

PREFACE

In early 2013, the UNWTO, with much fanfare, reported that more than one billion international overnight tourist trips occurred globally during the previous year. Aside from the symbolic power of this impressive number, the achievement was even more remarkable given the lingering effects of the global financial crisis — proof indeed of the tourism sector’s great resilience as well as the continuing explosive growth of mass tourism markets in China and other parts of Asia. We described tourism as a ‘juggernaut’ in the preface to the fourth edition, and see no reason to reconsider this characterisation. At the same time, we remain cautious against any sense of complacency. The ongoing civil war in Syria has devastated the tourism industry in that country and threatens to engulf other parts of the Middle East. In the Philippines, it was a natural crisis, Typhoon Haiyan, that pummelled that country’s tourism sector in November of 2013. So even though the trend of worldwide growth has been remarkably consistent, individual destinations can experience extreme and often unanticipated decreases in visitation that can endure for years. We can therefore say that managers must strive for destination and product resilience so that declines in visitation after such tragedies are as small as possible and recoveries are as quick as possible at all levels.

Of course, this aspiration is easier said than done given the complexity of tourism and its myriad and often subtle connections with other natural and human systems, but it is our hope that this new edition will continue to equip aspiring managers and planners with the broad cutting edge knowledge and mind-set conducive to resilience and innovation in the tourism sector. We continue to emphasise the paramount importance of sustainability, not only in the narrow social and environmental sense, but in a ‘triple bottom line’ sense that concurrently acknowledges the legitimacy of economic or financial viability. Such holistic thinking, transcending narrow ideological dogma, needs to be deeply embedded in the deliberations of all tourism planners and managers. Special features in each chapter also continue to emphasise how innovative technologies can be utilised in the interests of resilient and sustainable tourism. Social media, for example, has attained a degree of importance as a democratic marketing vehicle that we could not have foreseen even a few short years ago. The democratisation of tourism, and continued efforts to have it enshrined as a fundamental human right, furthermore, reflect the need to incorporate diversity and inclusivity into the managerial mind-set — old assumptions about wealthy white tourists and poor non-white hosts simply do not capture any longer the realities of contemporary tourism. Any manager of a Gold Coast theme park or marquee hotel will attest to this as they attempt to capitalise on the incredible opportunities afforded by this unfolding Asian Tourism Century. We invite the reader to embrace these challenges as well and to see tourism for what it truly is, one of the most important, widespread and fascinating forces of the modern era. As with its predecessors, the fifth edition of Tourism Management has benefited enormously from the professionalism and enthusiasm of the publishing team at John Wiley & Sons Australia. In particular, we acknowledge Terry Burkitt (Publishing Editor), Dan Logovik (Content Editor), Tara Seeto (Publishing Assistant), Kylie Challenor (Managing Content Editor), Delia Sala (Graphic Designer) and Tony Dwyer (External Composition Coordinator). Like them, we are proud and excited about this new edition, which reflects Wiley’s longstanding commitment to tertiary level tourism education in Australia and beyond.

Dr Dave Weaver

Dr Laura Lawton

March 2014