Developing a Global Ecotourism Network Through a Framework Expansion
Author
Pedersen, Maria Helene
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2016
Submitted on
2016-11-29
Pages
66
Abstract
Denne afhandling hjælper Global Ecotourism Network (GEN) med at finde ud af, hvordan netværket kan tiltrække nye medlemmer til sit globale fællesskab. Økoturisme forstås her som miljøansvarlig turisme. Studiet er et casestudie med en blandet metode—interviews og et spørgeskema—og følger en humanistisk undersøgelsestilgang for at forstå forskellige verdenssyn i et globalt netværk. Forskerens rolle er også som praktiker-forsker, baseret på erfaring fra et praktikforløb hos GEN. En litteraturgennemgang af netværk og økoturisme peger på et hul i forskningen: der findes kun lidt viden om globale netværk i økoturismesektoren. For at strukturere analysen anvendes rammeværket Successful International Tourism Networks (SITN) (Morrison m.fl., 2004), som udvides med supplerende litteratur. Derudover inddrages modellen Tourism Network Lifecycle (Zehrer & Raich, 2010). Det udvidede rammeværk består af seks elementer: GEN’s mål; GEN’s organisatoriske struktur og ledelse; GEN’s ressourcer; medlemsengagement, fordele og læring på tværs af organisationer; samt GEN’s livscyklus. Når rammeværket anvendes på GEN, fremhæver det indsatsområder, der kan gøre netværket mere attraktivt for potentielle nye medlemmer. Elementerne er nyttige til at belyse forskellige udviklingsmuligheder, men rammeværket er fortsat mindre stærkt inden for organisatorisk struktur og ledelse, kommunikationssystemer og opbygning af medlemsrelationer.
This thesis supports the Global Ecotourism Network (GEN) in identifying how to attract new members to its global community. Ecotourism is understood here as environmentally responsible tourism. The study uses a case study with mixed methods—interviews and a survey—and follows a humanistic inquiry approach to understand different worldviews within a global network. The researcher also works as a practitioner-researcher, drawing on experience from an internship at GEN. A literature review on networks and ecotourism reveals a gap: there is little research on global networks in the ecotourism sector. To guide the analysis, the study adopts the Successful International Tourism Networks (SITN) framework (Morrison et al., 2004) and expands it with additional relevant literature. It also incorporates the Tourism Network Lifecycle model (Zehrer & Raich, 2010). The resulting expanded framework comprises six elements: GEN’s objectives; GEN’s organizational structure and leadership; GEN’s resourcing; member engagement, benefits and inter-organizational learning; and GEN’s lifecycle. Applying this framework to GEN highlights priority areas that could make GEN more attractive to prospective members. The elements are useful for showing different development opportunities, but the framework remains weaker on issues of organizational structure and leadership, communication systems, and building member relationships.
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