Richard Voase provides an interesting collection of case studies regarding Western european holidays development. The case studies are well organized in three thematic areas based on political, economic and socio-cultural contexts. The collection of stories communicates changes in holidays development and practices and mirrors how holidays development wishes for new ways of holidays thinking. Voase ends that holidays experiences, on تور های پاتایا the part of travelers, show signs of active decision making with passive consumption. This point requests the reader to believe that tourists choose “canned” experiences that are creatively constructed, however accessed through extensive information search and decision-making.
The case studies are authored by a variety of authors with strong local ties to the place they write about which enables extraordinary insight into issues the holidays industry faces in Europe and America (although America is not the focus of this book). This book can be used in a holidays development course to help students identify current issues in holidays (e. h., environmental challenges, sustainability, efficiency approaches) and build upon explanations and theoretical models in holidays.
In his introduction, Voase conveys that the analysis or decryption of the cases is based on political, economic, socio-cultural and technological environments. The analysis captures the multidimensionality of the holidays product and the cultural and social factors that relate to current ideologies, which affect how holidays evolves. Such ideologies are relating to prevalent postmodernism approaches that apparently affect those consumer behaviors, which capture experiential consumption rather than production processes of goods and services.
The book consists of eleven chapters. The first four chapters are accomplished under the listings of a political context analysis. The first chapter, by Meethan, presents the role of holidays marketing and public policy in the counties of Devon and Cornwall, Great britain. Meethan ends that for these two counties “marketing was one aspect of a bigger integrated policy which aims to incorporate holidays more fully into the regional economy” and these programs would not have been possible without the funding from the european union (EU). “The cases of Devon and Cornwall also demonstrate how new organizational forms emerge as a response to bigger structural changes”.
Chapter 2, by Morpeth, focuses on the role of leisure and holidays as political instruments in Britain during the 1980s. Central and local governments used leisure and recreation policies as an file format of urban policy to balance the uncomfortable side effects of lack of employment and structural problems evident in Great britain in the 1980s. Morpeth discusses the case of the city of Middlesbrough and the role of Thatcherism policies on the city, which focused on the generation of inner cities and the use of holidays as a tool for regeneration.
Chapter 3, by Voase, discusses the influence of political, economic and social change in a mature tourist destination; the Isle of Thanet in southeast Great britain. Voase ends that the process of policy, planning and development of holidays in a mature destination is not always straightforward. The antagonistic nation-wide topics among the stakeholders involved in holidays development led to disparity regarding the development of the destination. Chapter 4, by Robledo and Batle, focuses on Mallorca as a case study for replanting holidays development for a mature destination using Butler’s (1980) product life cycle concept. As a mature destination, Mallorca needs a sustainable development strategy to survive in the future. This acknowledgement led the Holidays Ministry of the Balearics Island Government to establish a holidays supply-side regulation to protect mid-air. This plan however, as Robledo and Bade identified, is an interesting case of struggle between different groups (i. e., government, ecological groups, councils, hoteliers, construction industry) safeguarding their interests in holidays development. Voase identifies these first four chapters having three common factors: the role and interplay of local tiers of government in the formulation and rendering of policy, the role of nation-wide topics as a vehicle for the promotion and management of economic interests, and the powerful influence of socio-cultural factors. While these common factors are not directly evident in the presented case studies, Voase fills that gap along with his writings. These common factors can stimulate further discussion about what is the role of nation-wide topics in holidays and how policy make a difference to researchers and practitioners in the field.
The second perhaps the book focuses on the economic context of holidays and its use as a regeneration and wealth creation tool. Chapter 5, by Lewis, focuses on two agri-environmental schemes, Tir Cymen and Tir Gofal, and how they affected recreational access in out of the way Wales. This chapter presents how these schemes caused many changes in the gardening practices in Wales. These changes positively effected recreation opportunities in Wale’s gardening landscape and changed relationships between “rural and urban and new demands for out of the way access, all of which now reflect the interdependence of environmental health, local social and economic needs, and access to land for recreation”.
Chapter 6, by Lindroth and Soisalon-Soinimen, discusses how a historic tourist product was developed in Loviisa, Finland. Encourage the holidays development was to create an image of Loviisa as a historic tourist destination and to create new products in angle with the historic theme. Lindroth and Soisalon-Soinimen identified that without the support of the tourist office, as well as the National Board of Antiquities, development would not have gone by significantly. Also, the european union funding helped with training and expert help. The professionals and project leaders involved in the process molded the project through their enthusiastic actions described in in the event study.
Chapter 7, by Bohn and Elbe, describes the story of one man and how his vision for the municipality of Alvdalen, Sweden transformed town into tourist destination. The most important element in this story is that this man created a destination without being an expert in the field of holidays development. He used the current notion of relationship marketing to achieve successful development without knowing its full value as a marketing tool. This chapter underlines also the importance of cooperation among stakeholders involved in holidays. Voase identifies factors that these three cases share: the role of the individual entrepreneur in developing the product, the consumption of natural resources, and holidays focusing on past heritage.
The third perhaps the book focuses on the socio-cultural context of holidays in four case studies. Chapter 8, by Finn, discusses the change of European football from being a fan’s sport to being a spectator’s sport. Finn identifies current sport marketing approaches, which construct a product, or experience where fans’ identity doesn’t fit with current “civilized” consumption processes, and instead, spectators’ identity fits with those images and procedures promoted by sport marketers inside and outside football stadiums.
Chapter 9, by Baron-Yelles, focuses on holidays and the nation-wide topics of nature-based holidays and how the ‘Grand Site National at La Point du Raz” have changes in holidays provision services and infrastructure to accommodate tourists’ demands. In this chapter, the reader can observe trade offs between natural resources and the provision of holidays experiences. This case study also shows how a destination responded to stakeholders’ opinions about coast efficiency, public access and allowable visitation levels.
Chapter 10, by Lohmann and Mundt, focuses on maturing markets for cultural holidays in Germany. The chapter discusses how holidays shapes culture through the exchange of experiences between travelers and residents in a destination. Travel and holidays are discussed as constituents of culture. Lohmann and Mundt conclude travel has become an important part of people’s lives and in turn face other cultures, which can affect their own.
Chapter 11, by East and Luger, focuses on youth culture and holidays development in the Austrian mountain range. East and Luger share interesting ideas on youths’ reactions and behavioral adjustments toward tourists. They report that youth who are involved in holidays through family businesses are more respectful of tourists. Youth in out of the way mountain areas were found to be interested in urban experiences.
Voase ends these four final cases have three underlying themes. The first theme is that the consumption experience is staged or produced. This theme brings to mind MacCannell’s (1976) notion of front and back stage realities. Front stage is the presentation of a destination to visitors, whereas back stage is the real or truer nature of a destination. The second theme is that commercialization and commodification are not synonymous terms. The third theme is environments are often manipulated to influence people. Voase explains how sport environments have changed and caused spectators to also change.
Overall, this book is useful to practitioners and academics because it provides case studies offered by people with close connections to the holidays industry, thus providing an insider’s viewpoint. Voase, as both a practitioner in resort holidays marketing and an instructional, effectively brings together case studies which focus on Western european holidays and communicates concepts which shift ‘old’ holidays principles to ‘new’. His introductions of each collection of cases (i. e., economic, political and socio-cultural) are new. Voase, however, does not discuss the introduction of Euro currency in January 2002. This is an important change to the economic structure of all countries-members of the EUROPEAN and their socio-cultural development. The interconnection of the EUROPEAN countries through the common currency might create a feeling of a larger community, which potentially affects holidays through cultural, social, political and economic of EUROPEAN member-countries.