Destination Libya: Developing Libya as an Internationally – Competitive Tourism Destination By Akram Esa Omar Khalifa, BSc., MIBA. Thesis submitted to the Cardiff School of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 2010 Cardiff School of Management, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, Colchester Avenue, Cardiff, CF23 9XR United Kingdom i Declaration I declare that this work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted for any other degree. I further declare that this thesis is the result of my own independent work and investigation, except where otherwise stated (a bibliography is appended). Finally, I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and abstract to be made available to outside organisations. Akram Esa Omar Khalifa (Candidate) Prof. Nigel Morgan (Director of Studies) Prof. Eleri Jones (Supervisor) i Dedication I dedicate this work to my mother and father who provided me with unbounded support and encouragement. I also dedicate this work to my wonderful teachers, tutors, supervisors and anyone else who taught me, especially those at Kiklah’s Secondary School. Additionally, a particular dedication goes to my brothers Nasir, Adub-Almunim and Salah, and also to my uncles Hussian Omar Ali and Mohammed Abid-Alnabi. II Acknowledgement All thanks to Allah, who guided me and illuminated the way, particularly in the difficult stages of this thesis. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to my great supervisory team, Professor Nigel Morgan, the Director of Studies and Professor Eleri Jones, the supervisor, for their advice, support and valuable guidance throughout the whole research process. I am also indebted to my family- my parents, brothers and sisters, while special thanks go to my wife and children Asma, Zeyad, Hamam and new baby Mohammed for their patient and continued support and inspiration. In addition to this, I would to thank all the people who gave me advice as well as useful comments and contributions, including Dr Claire Haven-Tang and Professor Alison Morrison at Strathclyde University, and those who took part in this research and were a source of the primary data and information. Finally, this research was made possible by the generosity of the Libyan government which sponsored me for the whole period of study and I am very grateful for their support. III Abstract Libya is an emerging tourism destination in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Early efforts to encourage tourism in the 1990s were re-energised after the lifting of UN sanctions in 2003 following dramatic changes in Libya’s foreign policy. Despite a healthy economy, high rates of unemployment (30%) combine with a dominant source of income - oil - which contributes 95% of GDP. Thus Libya is considering tourism for economic diversification. This thesis explores the challenges that face Libya in this endeavour and develops a best practice model (SCDM2) to help Libya achieve its ambitions as an internationally-competitive tourism destination. Data collection from key stakeholders in the Libyan tourism product (government officials, tour operators, hotel managers, tourists and local communities) involved five qualitative methods (focus group interviews, semi-structured interviews, document analysis, audio-visual materials and participant observation). Libya is a unique destination with: long untouched coastal beaches; stunning and well- preserved Roman and Greek antiquities; amazing desert adventure opportunities; pre- historic civilisations; generous and hospitable people. Despite being very safe, Libya has an image problem in the UK: desert; hot; a culture similar to other Arab countries; controlled by Qudaffi who promotes anti western policies. The tourism industry faces enormous challenges, mostly related to the absence of a clear strategy for tourism development: destination accessibility; poor protection for tourism attractions/antiquities; weak human resource development, environmental and quality service issues. The demand side of SCDM2 focuses on destination image. The supply side addresses destination elements: destination accessibility; destination planning and management; supporting resources; local communities; comparative advantage; the significance of global environment. The thesis concludes that despite good comparative advantage there are major challenges to delivering appropriately-priced, high-quality products enabling Libya to compete with other MENA destinations and makes a number of recommendations to Libya’s decision-makers to address the key challenges. IV Table of contents page Declaration I Dedication II Acknowledgment III Abstract IV Table of contents X List of figures XI List of abbreviations XIV List of appendices XV Chapter 1: Introduction 1-1 1.1 Background 1-1 1.2 The autobiography of the researcher 1-5 1.3 The research problem 1-8 1.4 Research questions 1-12 1.5 Research agenda 1-13 1.6 Aims and objectives 1-13 1.6.1 Research aims 1-13 1.6.2 Specific objectives 1-14 1.7 Research methodology and design 1-14 1.8 Overview of thesis 1-16 Chapter 2: Research Methodology 2-1 2.1 Introduction 2-1 2.2 Research approch 2-2 2.3 Theoretical approach 2-3 2.3.1 Research epistemology 2-4 2.3.2 Theoretical perspective 2-6 2.3.3 Research types 2-7 2.4 Practical approach 2-16 2.4.1 Research methodology 2-16 2.4.1.1 Case study 2-16 2.4.2 Research methods 2-19 2.4.2.1 Data collection methods 2-19 2.4.3 Population and sampling 2-30 2.4.3.1 Purposive sampling 2-32 2.4.3.2 Snowball sampling 2-32 2.4.3.3 Sample size 2-33 2.4.4 Pilot study 2-36 2.4.5 Data analysis 2-38 2.4.5.1 Content analysis 2-39 2.4.5.2 Software for data analysis 2-40 2.5 Ethical considerations 2-41 2.6 Validity and reliability 2-45 2.7 Summary 2-47 Chapter 3: Tourism Sustainability and Competitiveness 3-1 V 3.1 Introduction 3-1 3.2 Background 3-1 3.3 Tourism Impacts 3-4 3.4 The Importance of Sustainable Tourism for Destination Competitiveness 3-9 3.5 Principles and Objectives of Sustainable Development 3-10 3.6 Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Approach for Tourism Sustainability 3-12 3.7 Sustainable Tourism Development 3-14 3.7.1 Economic Sustainability 3-19 3.7.2 Social Sustainability 3-21 3.7.3 Environment Sustainability 3-23 3.8 Destination Competitiveness 3-27 3.8.1 Dimensions of Destination Competitive Advantage 3-30 3.8.2 Destinations’ Generic Competitive Strategies 3-31 3.9 Destination competitive models 3-32 3.9.1 Gronroos Model 3-33 3.9.2 Poon’s Model 3-34 3.9.3 Hassan’s Model 3-35 3.9.4 Ritchie and Crouch Model 3-38 3.9.5 Dwyer and Kim Model 3-40 3.9.6 Jones and Haven-Tang Model 3-41 3.9.7 Sustainable Competitiveness through Integrated Quality Management 3-43 3.9.8 European Federation Quality Model 3-45 3.10 Summary 3-46 Chapter 4: Sustainable Competitive Destination Model 4-1 4.1 Introduction 4-1 4.2 Tourism systems 4-2 4.3 Tourist market (Demand side) 4-3 4.3.1 Tourism Destination Image (TDI) 4-5 4.4 Tourism destination (Supply side) 4-30 4.4.1 Destination accessibility 4-30 4.4.2 Tourism products 4-31 4.4.3 Comparative advantage 4-33 4.4.4 Supporting resources and facilities 4-34 4.4.5 Local communities and tourism development 4-37 4.4.6 Destination planning and management 4-40 4.4.7 The impacts of global environment 4-54 4.5 Developing a Sustainable Competitive Destination Model (SCDM) 4-58 4.6 Summary 4-63 Chapter 5: The Libyan contxt 5-1 5.1 Introduction 5-1 5.2 Background 5-2 5.3 The Libya image in the UK market 5-10 5.4 Global enviroment 5-14 5.4.1 Libya’s economy 5-15 5.4.2 Libya’s social and culture environment 5-19 5.5 Destination accessibility of Libya 5-24 5.6 Supporting reources 5-25 VI 5.7 Comparative advantage 5-27 5.7.1 Natural reources 5-27 5.7.2 Heritage resources 5-30 5.7.3 Culture resources 5-36 5.7.4 Created resources 5-37 5.8 Local Communities 5-38 5.9 Tourim planning and management 5-39 5.9.1 Libyan political sysem 5-39 5.9.2 Tourim businesses including SMEs 5-42 5.9.3 Human Resources Deelopment 5-44 5.9.4 Environment issues 5-48 5.9.5 Tourism marketing strategies 5-48 5.9.6 Service quality 5-50 5.10 Summary 5-50 Chapter 6: Libya’s image in the UK 6-1 6.1 Introduction 6-1 6.2 Background 6-2 6.3 Destination image attributes 6-3 6.4 Libya’s image in the British Media 6-10 6.5 Libyan projected image through UK tour operators 6-11 6.6 Libyan image in the UK from Libyan preospective 6-13 6.7 Libya in the British non-visitors’ eyes 6-15 6.7.1 General information 6-15 6.7.2 Destination image 6-17 6.7.3 Supporting resources 6-18 6.7.4 Comparative advantage 6-20 6.7.5 Local communities 6-22 6.7.6 Destination planning and management 6-24 6.7.7 Service quality 6-25 6.8 The role of ‘word-of- mouth’ communication in marketing Libya 6-27 6.9 Libya’s branding and positioning 6-27 6.10 Summary 6-28 Chapter 7: Libya’s tourism industry 7-1 7.1 Introduction 7-1 7.2 Destination accessibility 7-4 7.3 Supporting resources 7-5 7.3.1 Accommodation 7-5 7.3.2 Transport 7-12 7.3.3 Infrastructure 7-15 7.3.4 Facilitating resources 7-24 7.4 Comparative advantage 7-30 7.4.1 Natural resources 7-30 7.4.2 Heritage reources 7-34 7.4.3 Culture resources 7-42 7.4.4 Created resources 7-47 7.5 Local communities 7-47 7.6 Destination planning and management 7-57 VII 7.6.1 The government’s role in developing the tourism industry 7-57 7.6.2 Tourism businesses including small and medium enterprises 7-64 7.6.3 Human Resources Development 7-66 7.6.4 Environment issues