Conceptualising local perceptions of research‐related tourism in an indigenous village in Fiji

Abstract

Despite increasing academic interest concerning host perceptions of tourists and tourism, local perceptions of research tourists—whether this includes students, consultants, scientists, or volunteers—have attracted little attention. The study conceptualises and examines perceptions of Research‐related Tourism (RrT) in the context of an indigenous Fijian village. Qualitative research was conducted, involving talanoa, observations and semi‐structured interviews. An inductive and thematic approach was employed to analyse data, where research findings reveal the socio‐economic and environmental benefits of RrT for the host community: increased income, enhanced infrastructure, and improved quality of life. Findings also indicate negative impacts: unequal benefit sharing, lack of reciprocity between hosts and research tourists, and lack of transparency in developing and managing RrT. Moreover, the results indicate the formation of a hierarchisation of RrT types, helping to further conceptualise tourism impacts. Finally, recommendations are developed to advance appropriate forms of research tourism that benefit the community.

Prospects for the development of popular science tourism in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District

“…In general, in foreign and domestic publications devoted to the conceptualization of scientific tourism, there are two approaches to its interpretation. In the first case, scientific tourism is considered as an integral part of already existing types of tourism, such as ecological, educational, adventure, educational/academic, volunteer, industrial [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. For example, in the works of P. West (2008), M. A. Lyubarskaya, A. N. Lyubarsky (2013), D. I.…”

“…; -activities provided for by the plan of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District and carried out as part of the decade of science and technology in the Russian Federation in 2022-2031. 4. By belonging to cultural and leisure institutions, on the basis of which educational events are organized aimed at familiarizing with the natural, ethnocultural and historical and cultural features of the region: -museums, museum complexes (state budgetary institution of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District "Yamal-Nenets District Museum and Exhibition Complex named after I.S.…”

A Phenomenological Exploration of How People with Limited Mobilities Experience Adventure Tourism in Virtual Reality

“…The original theory failed to address the complexities involved in the interaction of individuals between tourists, the people they travel with and the hosts that offer them tourism experiences (Maoz, 2006). A lack of focus on social interactions constrains how the tourist gaze is understood as a constructionist theory and questions the knowledge that can be produced from using the theory (Shah et al, 2023). Addressing these criticisms, Urry and Larsen (2011) acknowledged the local gaze, and that tourism is experienced through all the senses, by experiencing sensations that might be out of the ordinary for the tourist.…”