The Social Impacts of Tourism in the Unesco Champlain-Adirondack
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THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF TOURISM IN THE UNESCO CHAMPLAIN-ADIRONDACK BIOSPHERE RESERVE (USA) A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Graduate School of Leadership & Change Antioch University In partial fulfillment for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Kelly L. Cerialo ORCID Scholar No. 0000-0002-1568-3751 June 2021 THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF TOURISM IN THE UNESCO CHAMPLAIN-ADIRONDACK BIOSPHERE RESERVE (USA) This dissertation, by Kelly L. Cerialo, has been approved by the committee members signed below who recommend that it be accepted by the faculty of Graduate School of Leadership & Change Antioch University in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Dissertation Committee: • Lize (A.E.) Booysen, DBL, Committee Chair • Donna Ladkin, PhD, Committee Member • Marina Novelli, PhD, Committee Member ii Copyright © 2021 by Kelly L. Cerialo All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF TOURISM IN THE UNESCO CHAMPLAIN-ADIRONDACK BIOSPHERE RESERVE (USA) Kelly L. Cerialo Graduate School of Leadership & Change Yellow Springs, OH In its most benign form, tourism is able to protect the cultural and ecological integrity of a region and to promote economic development in line with sustainability principles. Additionally, sustainable forms of tourism have the potential to improve the quality of life within the host community by promoting intergenerational equity. However, sustainable models of tourism are extremely challenging to design, implement, and manage at the community level because of competing stakeholder interests. There are significant power dynamics associated with sustainable tourism planning and management that often fail to incorporate all citizens’ voices, particularly those belonging to underprivileged backgrounds. Due to the growth of international tourism (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) and its related impacts, multinational organizations such as the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) continue to collaborate with member states and affiliates to identify methods to improve existing sustainable tourism strategies, discover new ones, and to address the social impacts of tourism globally. This study examines the social impacts of tourism in UNESCO’s Champlain-Adirondack Biosphere Reserve and the stakeholders’ dynamics that influence tourism planning in the region. Through an exploratory case study, this research uses media analyses, document review, focus groups, iv and semi-structured interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the social impacts of tourism and the stakeholders’ dynamics related to tourism management. Stakeholder theory, responsible leadership, and ecosystem services are used as a theoretical framework to ground the inquiry and to provide insight into how the social impacts of tourism are related to tourism planning dynamics. The findings revealed significant new knowledge about social impacts of tourism in the Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness and a mapping of complex competing stakeholder interests related to tourism management. A conceptual model is offered to assess the social impacts of tourism in international UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu/) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu/). Keywords: tourism, sustainable tourism, social impact, UNESCO, biosphere reserve, Champlain- Adirondack Biosphere Reserve, protected areas, stakeholder theory, responsible leadership, ecosystem services v Acknowledgments The five years that led to this publication have been simultaneously humbling and empowering. I am filled with gratitude for those who have supported and inspired me along the way. To my dissertation committee—Dr. Lize Booysen, for your wisdom, patience, and grace. Thank you, Karin, for introducing me to the beauty and complexities of South Africa that eventually led to this study. Your brilliant feedback and encouragement kept me grounded, optimistic, and moving forward throughout my PhD journey. I could not have asked for a better chair and mentor. To Dr. Donna Ladkin—Thank you for your incredible attention to detail, insightful analysis, and for always encouraging me to see things from a new perspective. To Dr. Marina Novelli—Thank you for your guidance, innovative thinking, and expertise on sustainable tourism. Your scholarship is inspiring and has changed the way that I view tourism. To C16 and my Antiochian friends—Thank you for your candor, thought-provoking discussions, and your leadership. I am honored to have learned about leadership and change with such a dynamic and inspiring group of change agents. Thank you to my colleagues and mentors at Paul Smith’s College—particularly Joe Conto, Dr. Diane Litynski, and Dr. Melanie Johnson for your support and encouragement. And thank you to Dr. Eric Holmlund for introducing me to this PhD program and for being a research buddy, sounding board, and mentor since I started the program. Thank you to my UNESCO Biosphere Reserve colleagues for teaching me that: Life is an amazing series of connections. Between people, between people and nature, between knowledge and action, across time and place. If these connections break, we put vi our collective quality of life at risk. If we keep them strong, we build a future that inspires us. (UNESCO, n.d.) Thank you to Anthea Rossouw—owner and operator of Dreamcatchers tourism company in South Africa—who showed me what a truly sustainable model of tourism should look like. A sincere thank you to the 50 participants who took time to participate in this study and who helped me tell the complex story about the social impacts of tourism in the Champlain-Adirondack Biosphere Reserve. A special thank you to my friends and family, particularly my parents, Jill and Doug, who have stuck by my side throughout all of my academic and professional pursuits. Thank you for always believing in me and for teaching me a strong work ethic that has helped turn obstacles into opportunities. I am forever grateful for your love, support, and positivity. To Jeremy—for your love, laughter, unfaltering encouragement, and patience—this dissertation would not be finished without you. You always gave me something to look forward to after a long day of writing. Your dedication, praise, and clever feedback gave me inspiration when I needed it the most. I cannot wait for our post-PhD adventures together! vii Dedication To Dustyn K. Gobler, one of my oldest and dearest friends, who appreciated the power of written word and who loved to explore new places with an open heart and open mind. This one is for you, my friend. May your humility, wisdom, kindness, love of dogs, books, writing, and travel live on in those whose lives you’ve touched. viii Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... vi Dedication .................................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Tourism Background .................................................................................................................. 2 UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme ................................................................ 4 UNESCO Biosphere Reserve’s Functions and Goals ................................................................. 5 Land Zoning in Biosphere Reserves ........................................................................................... 6 Biosphere Reserves: Looking Beyond the Traditional Concept of Protected Areas ................. 7 Purpose and Significance of the Study ....................................................................................... 8 Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 9 Overview of Research Design .................................................................................................... 9 Theoretical Frameworks ........................................................................................................... 10 Stakeholder Theory in Tourism ............................................................................................ 11 Responsible Leadership in Tourism...................................................................................... 12 Ecosystem Services in Tourism ................................................................................................ 12 Definition of Key Terms ........................................................................................................... 13 Study Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 14 Positionality of the Researcher ................................................................................................. 15 Overview of the Dissertation Chapters ..................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................