{"title":"Glacier tourism and tourist reviews: an experiential engagement with the concept of “Last Chance Tourism”","authors":"Z. Abrahams, G. Hoogendoorn, J. Fitchett","doi":"10.1080/15022250.2021.1974545","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT A growing body of literature frames Last Chance Tourism as a key motivation for tourists visiting glaciers. Much of the discourse considers the contradiction of tourists contributing to the degradation of what they recognise to be a threatened attraction. Due to the significant acceleration of glacial retreat, glaciers and glacier tourism are a key focus. This paper explores the extent to which the “Last Chance” lexicon extends to the tourists’ vocabulary when reflecting on their visits to Sólheimajökull Glacier and three glaciers distributed across the two hemispheres, through an analysis of 2004 TripAdvisor User Generated Content (UGC) reviews written between 2017 and 2019. The reviews reveal that a quarter of tourists are explicitly engaging in the “Last Chance” discourse. Topics of tourist satisfaction, access to the glacier, weather and guided tours are more common. For those who do mention the “Last Chance” aspect, commentary on the aesthetics of the glacier, a recognition of the impact of climate change, and warnings to future travelers are captured with no clear indication of experiences leading to an ambassadorship. The tourists engage in a vicious cycle enhancing the retreat of glaciers by viewing them. Understanding these perspectives is critical in managing these destinations sustainably.","PeriodicalId":47630,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism","volume":"22 1","pages":"1 - 14"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2021-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"9","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2021.1974545","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 9
Abstract
ABSTRACT A growing body of literature frames Last Chance Tourism as a key motivation for tourists visiting glaciers. Much of the discourse considers the contradiction of tourists contributing to the degradation of what they recognise to be a threatened attraction. Due to the significant acceleration of glacial retreat, glaciers and glacier tourism are a key focus. This paper explores the extent to which the “Last Chance” lexicon extends to the tourists’ vocabulary when reflecting on their visits to Sólheimajökull Glacier and three glaciers distributed across the two hemispheres, through an analysis of 2004 TripAdvisor User Generated Content (UGC) reviews written between 2017 and 2019. The reviews reveal that a quarter of tourists are explicitly engaging in the “Last Chance” discourse. Topics of tourist satisfaction, access to the glacier, weather and guided tours are more common. For those who do mention the “Last Chance” aspect, commentary on the aesthetics of the glacier, a recognition of the impact of climate change, and warnings to future travelers are captured with no clear indication of experiences leading to an ambassadorship. The tourists engage in a vicious cycle enhancing the retreat of glaciers by viewing them. Understanding these perspectives is critical in managing these destinations sustainably.
期刊介绍:
Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism is the leading Nordic journal for hospitality and tourism research. SJHT aims at initiating and stimulating high-impact and innovative research relevant for academics and practitioners within the hospitality and tourism industries. The journal takes an interdisciplinary approach including, but not limited to geography, psychology, sociology, history, anthropology, and economics. SJHT encourages research based on a variety of methods, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The journal covers all types of articles relevant to the Nordic region, as well as the North Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic regions. We also welcome reviews and conceptual articles with a broader geographical scope that clearly enhance the theoretical development of the hospitality and tourism field. In addition to research articles, we welcome research notes and book reviews. Published articles are the result of anonymous reviews by at least two referees chosen by the editors for their specialist knowledge.