managing sustainable tourism: a legacy for the future

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pointingly, the book offers only minor examples from the Mediterranean, even though it is the world’s leading tourism region. Examples from resorts of major destinations such as France, Spain, Greece, and Turkey are not provided. Also the authors adopt a variety of approaches, and this variability allows them to focus on approaches that reflect their research interests, but it hinders comparisons across the chapters. Overall, this two-volume set is a valuable addition to the literature and will have several potential audiences such as academics, researchers, and students interested in destination development. It can also be useful for policymakers and planners, as it provides the opportunity to learn from past experiences. Butler should be con- gratulated for a compilation that successfully leads the reader into the tourist area lifecycle concept and its application. Konstantinos Andriotis: Hellenic Open University, Heraklio, Crete, 713 05, Greece. Email <[email protected]> REFERENCE Butler, R. 1980 The Concept of Tourism Area Cycle of Evolution: Implications for Manage- ment of Resources. Canadian Geographer 24:5–12. Assigned 23 February 2006. Submitted 21 April 2006. Accepted 10 May 2006 doi:10.1016/j.annals.2006.05.004 Managing Sustainable Tourism: A Legacy for the Future By David L. Edgell. Haworth Hospitality Press <http://www.haworth- press.com> 2006, xix + 144 (bibliography, index) $39.95 Pbk. ISBN 0789027712 Ralf C. Buckley Griffith University, Australia This is not an academic text. Its author was once US Under-Secretary of Com- merce for tourism, and his insider experience might well have made good reading. But he is now director of a proposed tourism research center at a regional south- ern US university (East Carolina University) so it is not unfair to assume this is Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 1178–1180, 2006 Printed in Great Britain 1178 PUBLICATIONS IN REVIEW

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Page 1: Managing Sustainable Tourism: A Legacy for the Future

1178 PUBLICATIONS IN REVIEW

pointingly, the book offers only minor examples from the Mediterranean, eventhough it is the world’s leading tourism region. Examples from resorts of majordestinations such as France, Spain, Greece, and Turkey are not provided. Alsothe authors adopt a variety of approaches, and this variability allows them to focuson approaches that reflect their research interests, but it hinders comparisonsacross the chapters.

Overall, this two-volume set is a valuable addition to the literature and will haveseveral potential audiences such as academics, researchers, and students interestedin destination development. It can also be useful for policymakers and planners, asit provides the opportunity to learn from past experiences. Butler should be con-gratulated for a compilation that successfully leads the reader into the tourist arealifecycle concept and its application.

Konstantinos Andriotis: Hellenic Open University, Heraklio, Crete, 713 05, Greece.Email <[email protected]>

REFERENCE

Butler, R.1980 The Concept of Tourism Area Cycle of Evolution: Implications for Manage-

ment of Resources. Canadian Geographer 24:5–12.

Assigned 23 February 2006. Submitted 21 April 2006. Accepted 10 May 2006

doi:10.1016/j.annals.2006.05.004

Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 1178–1180, 2006Printed in Great Britain

Managing Sustainable Tourism:A Legacy for the Future

By David L. Edgell. Haworth Hospitality Press <http://www.haworth-press.com> 2006, xix + 144 (bibliography, index) $39.95 Pbk. ISBN0789027712

Ralf C. BuckleyGriffith University, Australia

This is not an academic text. Its author was once US Under-Secretary of Com-merce for tourism, and his insider experience might well have made good reading.But he is now director of a proposed tourism research center at a regional south-ern US university (East Carolina University) so it is not unfair to assume this is

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intended as a university text. If so, it is disappointing. Its author is also a consultant,and this book reads as an attempt to promote his past clients, his current employer,and his future business. It does not provide an adequate basis to teach undergrad-uate university students about sustainable tourism.

For example, the entire bibliography contains 130 references in total, some ofwhich are simply different editions of the same text. Only four are articles in aca-demic tourism journals. A half dozen are 90s tourism textbooks. The rest are self-citations, articles in business magazines, and government and industry reports,many rather dated.

There are several case studies, but without any critical analysis. Most of the textseems to be taken from interpretive or marketing materials. A resort in Missouriwith a golf course, fly-fishing dam, and 4 km2 cattle paddock is described as‘‘the epitome of sustainable tourism’’ (p. 37). A mountain resort-residential devel-opment that runs writers’ workshops gets praise for ‘‘cultural tourism’’ (p. 69).The entire section headed ‘‘Yes, Tourism Impacts Natural Areas’’ fills less thantwo pages, and most of this is an extract from a 1999 report by an intergovernmen-tal trade-related organization. No information is provided on actual impacts, eventhough there are textbooks on this topic dating back 20 years (Edington andEdington, 1986).

Edgell claims to have ‘‘developed’’ the concept of ‘‘co-opetition’’ in 1995 (p.xiv). This apparently means co-operating with minor competitors against majorones. No relation to sustainability is suggested. However, the concept has beenfamiliar to anthropologists and biologists for centuries. Even the term was pub-lished previously (Buchen, 1994). There are some interesting snippets, but theseare drawn from other studies. These include the Cahokia Mounds, a state historicsite in Illinois, ‘‘the largest known prehistoric earthen construction in the UnitedStates’’ (p. 79), built between AD 900 and AD 1200. There is also good analysis ofpositive and negative impacts from the Embera Dura community ecotourism pro-ject in Panama, carried out by the US Forest Service.

Much of the material cited is from meetings such as Globe 90 in Vancouver, theRio Earth Summit in 1992, and the Barcelona Universal Forum of the Cultures in2004. These were valuable events, but the documents they produced were political,not academic. Similarly, the sustainability surveys of world tourism destinations car-ried out by National Geographic were a novel and intriguing approach, but never in-tended as an academic exercise.

University programs in tourism, as in most other disciplines, are expectedto teach analytic skills. These include: how to carry out a comprehensivereview of published information in any given field; how to distinguish betweenreliable and unreliable sources of information; how to identify important informa-tion and ignore trivia; and how to synthesize such information to provide an intel-ligible structure and new insights. This book does not demonstrate any of theseskills.

But perhaps, even though its author emphasizes his academic affiliation ratherthan his consultancy company as his current position, his work is actually intendedfor government agencies and commercial organizations. In that light, we are surelyentitled to considerable cynicism about the future sustainability of the Americantourism industry. Perhaps that is the take-home message from this book, even ifnot the one its author intended.

Ralf Buckley: International Centre for Ecotourism Research, Griffith University,Gold Coast 9726, Australia. Email <[email protected]>

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REFERENCES

Buchen, I.1994 The Collaborative Customer: The Benefits of ‘‘Co-opetition’’. Telemarketing

13(5):45.Edington, J., and M. Edington

1986 Ecology, Recreation, and Tourism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Assigned 27 February 2006. Submitted 28 April 2006. Accepted 18 May 2006

doi:10.1016/j.annals.2006.05.008