Stakeholder Perceptions of Tourism Development in Marahau/New Zealand
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STAKEHOLDER PERCEPTIONS OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN MARAHAU/NEW ZEALAND: A ROLE FOR PARTICIPATORY APPROACHES AND GIS by Julia Christiane Hasse A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Tourism Management Victoria University of Wellington 2001 Marahau adjoining the Abel Tasman National Park ABEL TASMAN NATIONAL PARK MARAHAU ROAD TO MARAHAU (Source: Taylor, 2000) ii ABSTRACT Tourism research is increasingly focusing on community participation and stakeholder collaboration in tourism planning. It is argued that sustainable development outcomes require the integration of community perspectives into the planning processes, and that the views of different stakeholders must be communicated effectively to interested parties. These core issues are explored in this thesis. I draw upon advances made in participatory research in development studies and introduce these to tourism planning. The thesis also introduces participatory approaches and GIS (PAGIS) as a tool that can be blended into a framework that facilitates a better understanding of stakeholders’ perceptions towards tourism, and therefore has the potential to improve community participation and stakeholder interaction in tourism planning. The case study used in this thesis is Marahau, a small community in New Zealand located at the gateway to an icon of New Zealand’s tourism industry, the Abel Tasman National Park. The community has undergone rapid transformation from an agricultur- based economy to an expanding tourism destination. The recent increase in visitor numbers, tourism businesses, and permanent residents in the community have resulted in major management and planning issues concerning the future of Marahau. This research highlights the changes that tourism development has brought to the community and presents the various perceptions of stakeholders in this particular setting. The research shows that to plan for more sustainable forms of tourism development the subjective perspectives and the roles of all stakeholders need to be understood and integrated into a responsive planning framework. PAGIS can increase the number and diversity of people able to participate in decision-making. PAGIS integrates ‘expert’ and ‘local’ knowledge that can result in more responsive planning procedures to enhance tourism’s potential to act as a force for more sustainable development. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would have not been possible without the support, encouragement and friendship of many other people. My greatest thanks and appreciation goes to my two supervisors Dr. John McKinnon and Prof. Simon Milne for their guidance throughout this entire process, for their patience and for making me feel that I could always count on them. Thanks to Dr. Stephen Doorne, who helped me out in parts of my thesis and to Dr. Irena Ateljevic for her friendship and insightful discussions about life. I also want to thank Prof. Douglas Pearce and Dr. Bob Garnham. Special thanks to my father Dr. S. Jagdev Sawhney in Bonn, Dr. Sue Muloin in Australia, Anna Dowling and Adrian Dickison in Wellington for their time to help me edit this thesis. I am very grateful for that! My appreciation goes to the Victoria University of Wellington for their financial support through the postgraduate scholarship, the thesis-related support from the School of Business and Public Management and the administrative support in the first years of my research from the Institute of Geography. I would like to express my appreciation to Maureen Penning, the Scholarship Officer for prompt support in any matter. Special thanks also to all my friends and colleagues at Victoria University of Wellington, to Lee Davidson, Dr. Laurie Jackson, Martin Carroll, Kala Retna, Dr. Brad Jackson, Dr. Zusanna Lonti, Arun Elias, Suli Tuvuki, Stephen Engle, Jovo Ateljevic and many others for their friendship, understanding, advice and support throughout the Ph.D. process. A big thank you to the community of Marahau for a very memorable time and experience outside the University environment, for the coffees, teas, cookies and even relish, I received during the interviews and visits. I really enjoyed my time there. I hope that my work will make a valuable contribution to your future. Thanks to Jan Caird for her help in getting started, to Robert Pfalzer for his friendship, to Mike Bannock for his insightful discussions, to Tom, Ingrid and Peter and to all the other lovely people in Marahau. A particular thanks to Monika Diesing for her friendship during my stay in Marahau. I also want to thank Markus Beier from Germany for his support, without it I would still be interviewing visitors. iv Particular thanks for the highly appreciated support from Tasman District Council and Department of Conservation staff: Dennis-Bush King, Susan Pipes, Julie Cooper, Alan Price, Brendon Clough and Colin Wishard in providing the GIS information and other relevant documents for my research. Thanks to Katie Greer for her support and friendship. Also, I wish to express my special thanks to Paul Davis from Latitude Nelson for his support, cooperation, discussions and most significantly for having introduced me to the community of Marahau. My deep thanks to my parents in Germany, who encouraged me throughout this time and supported me with chocolate, coffee, e-mails and postcards. I also wish to thank the city of Wellington, being a place that I consider very special in regards to its constant weather challenges, intriguing beauty, vibrant and colourful appearance. I value the special time I spent here. Finally, I would also like to express a very special thanks to all my friends in New Zealand and worldwide for their friendship, understanding, support in all sorts of ways and patience during the last couple of years and everyone else who made my stay in Wellington an unforgettable experience. A very special thanks here to Dirk Berlin, Kirsten Hennrich, Bill Hager, Heiko Philippi, Caren Schröder, Peter Bailey, Rich Graham, Dr. Stephen Bannister, Michelle Oldham and to my lovely flatmate Bronwyn Williams for their friendship and support in all sort of ways in ‘good and bad’ times. Also, to special thanks to Helen McNaught and Peter Hill for their friendship and a wonderful Christmas 2000 and to Chris Cosslett for some wonderful times and experiences in Marahau and Wellington. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................................IV LIST OF FIGURES ..............................................................................................................X LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................XI APPENDICES................................................................................................................... XII GLOSSARY..................................................................................................................... XIII CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................. 1 1.1 TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION ................................1 1.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK......................................................................................3 1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................4 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY..........................................................................................5 1.5 STRUCTURE OF THESIS .............................................................................................7 CHAPTER II: MARAHAU - THE GATEWAY TO PARADISE.............................................. 10 2.1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................10 2.2 CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT OF TOURISM................................................................11 2.3 THE ‘STORY’ OF MARAHAU ...................................................................................14 2.3.1 A Regional History.......................................................................................15 2.3.2 The ‘Mecca’ for Visitors to New Zealand....................................................18 CHAPTER III: RE-ADDRESSING COMMUNITY AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ............. 22 3.1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................22 3.2 THE INVENTION OF DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................23 3.2.1 The Major Paradigms ...................................................................................24 3.2.2 The Impasse..................................................................................................26 3.2.3 The ‘Post-Impasse’.......................................................................................28 3.3 EARLY APPROACHES TO TOURISM PLANNING ........................................................30 vi 3.4 SOME NEW DIRECTIONS.........................................................................................33 3.4.1 The Contested Terrain of Community..........................................................33 3.4.2 Community Tourism Approach....................................................................35