Editor: Ian Kelly, Coordinator, IIPT Educators' Network

The IIPT Occasional Papers Series is the outcome of a special interest session held at the 2003 CAUTHE (Council for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Education) Conference, and presents a range of views on Peace through Tourism. There are no copyright restrictions on the use of these papers, but an acknowledgment is appreciated.

At present, the series comprises 11 papers, as follows:
(click on Titles to download the PDF's)

Foreword (Louis D'Amore)

2. Peace through Tourism: A SWOT Analysis (Ian Kelly)
This paper applies the usually business-oriented instrument of a SWOT analysis in which the author looks at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats influencing the potential of tourism to contribute to a more harmonious and therefore more peaceful world. He distinguishes elements of tourism which are positive from those which are negative in this context, and concludes that, with appropriate management, tourism has greater potential than any other human activity. The use of the SWOT analysis approach is further illustrated in an examination of event tourism.

3. Degradation or Enhancement through Tourism: A Role for Ethical/Religious Approaches (Polladach Theerapappisit)
The author argues for recognition of community values in tourism planning and development, with particular reference to the Greater Mekong Subregion and the ethics promoted by Buddhism. He offers a framework for the incorporation of tourism into the economic base of the region in ways which allow communities to make choices and to protect their traditions, lifestyles and environments from the negative impacts. He submits that, although the specific value base may differ from that of the Mekong region, similar approaches could be applied in other destinations.

4. Tourism and Peace: The Traveller
(Sashana Askjellerud)
This paper looks at the impact of travel on the individual traveller. Sashana Askjellerud reports on the experiences of a group of Norwegian university students undertaking study in Spain, and traces the stages through which they moved, from anxiety and misunderstanding to a higher level of cultural and self-awareness. The author notes the positive influence of requiring the visiting students to act in host community roles, and the discomfort involved in questioning one's established beliefs.

5. The Role of the Travel Writer (Phil Voysey)
Phil Voysey takes us on a journey through the world of travel-writing, demonstrating how the culture of the writer impacts on her or his perspectives and judgments, the limitations inevitably imposed by fleeting acquaintance with the subject, and a failure to question preconceptions and prejudices. Voysey argues that the travel writer has an obligation to do more than merely entertain or focus on the exotic, and to open the minds of readers to both the complexities and the commonalities of the world.

6. An Operational Perspective (Diane Phillips)
The central role of the hospitality provider is reviewed by Dianne Phillips in this paper. On the basis of research conducted into employment criteria and management attitudes to training she concludes that a commitment to peace, while implicit in the vision of many hospitality organisations, is not reflected in practice. The author suggests a number of strategies by which the industry could enhance its recognition of and responses to cultural diversity, and encourage understanding among visitors and local communities.

7. Reconciliation Tourism: Healing Divided Societies (Freya Higgins-Desbiolles)
This paper reviews the concept of peace through tourism with respect to the role of tourism in contributing to reconciliation between the indigenous people of Australia and the non-indigenous inhabitants. The principles of this approach are illustrated through a case study analysis of a tourism operation run by members of the South Australian Ngarrindjeri community. The author notes the significance of this project for indigenous peoples from elsewhere in Australia and from other countries.

8. Dark Tourism, Hate and Reconciliation: The Sandakan Experience
(Dick Braithwaite and Yun Lok Lee)
The authors call on the experiences of their families to demonstrate how tourism can contribute to reconciliation in the aftermath of war and colonialism. They note the importance of commemoration in ensuring that we do not forget the circumstances in which large-scale acts of inhumanity occur, but emphasise also the provision of opportunities to express remorse and forgiveness.

9. Tourism as a Tool for Attitude Change (Ian Kelly)
The author seeks to demonstrate how tourism experiences can be managed  to encourage the adoption by individuals of attitudes conducive to more harmonious relationships among people of differing cultures. The chapter focuses on negative dispositions - prejudice, stereotyping, ethnocentrism - and ways in which these may be changed for positive dispositions - tolerance, compassion, goodwill, justice and respect. Tourism is seen as able to contribute by providing experiences which involve communication and hospitality (in the broadest sense), and by expressing an ethic incorporated into tourism education and training. Suggestions are offered for measuring the success of such provisions, and some additional considerations are indicated.

10. Tourism and the Peace Proposition: An Empirical Analysis (Ian Kelly)
The report is based on a 1995 investigation into the effectiveness of study tours offered by Community Aid Abroad in meeting its objectives. It examines the influence of the tours in encouraging the development of attitudes deemed conducive to more peaceful relationships among the world’s people. Participants in the study tours were surveyed to identify their socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics, and any changes generated by the tour experience in their attitudes to travel in general, relationships with the Third World, foreign aid, and aid to deprived groups within Australia. They were also questioned on post-tour membership in and donations to aid and community organisations. In general, the tour product was successful in encouraging appropriate attitude development, but it is concluded that most participants merely confirmed previously held attitudes, and that, if tourism is to contribute to peaceful and harmonious relations among people, there is a need for organisations such as CAA to attract a wider market, or for travel organisers to adopt elements of the study tour, and other, approaches which enhance the quality of host-visitor interaction and the opportunities for people to learn about each other. Some recommendations to this end are provided.

11. Situational Conditions of Attitude Change within Tourism Settings: Understanding the Mechanics of Peace through Tourism (Daniel Etter)
The peace through tourism debate has gained considerable momentum following the first international conference on peace through tourism in 1988. Empirical analysis of tourism as a means for fostering peace has been minimal compared to other areas of tourism. Contact theory stems from the field of social psychology and implies that contact between people, generally of different ethnicity, will lead to a change in, or a reaffirmation of, intercultural attitudes towards other ethnic groups. The aim of this research paper was to evaluate the relevance of conditions identified in contact theory as explaining attitudes of tourists towards cultural groups at a destination. The research implied that all are important for positive attitude change but that common goals, voluntary and intimate contact and the absence of negative personality structures are of particular importance.

For more information on the IIPT Educators Network,
Contact Ian Kelly iankelly@picknowl.com.au