MS in Sustainable Tourism – Comprehensive Exam Candidate: Michaelina Antahades

1. MS in Sustainable Tourism – Comprehensive Exam Candidate: MichaelinaAntahades Exam Committee: Dr. Joseph D. Fridgen, Dr. Derek Alderman, & Dr. Carol Kline June 23, 2011

2. Review and provide a summary of two of your projects that you have completed either in a class or on research and graduate assistantships. As an example we know you have worked on projects focused on such topics as image and race within travel promotion, volunteerism, food systems and tourism, prepared food taxes, general tourism policies, etc. One or more of these or other projects would be appropriate.

3. Project #1 – Fall 2010 Project #2 – Fall 2010 Class final project for GEOG 6300, Images of Race and Gender in State Travel Guides from the Carolinas Worth 30% of grade in class Grade received = A Poster presented at NET & Eastern Region’s Mini Summit • Class group project for SUTO 6000, The Sustainable Food Systems of North Carolina • Worth 200 points • Grade received = A • Poster presented at NET & Eastern Region’s Mini Summit

4. Food and beverage is an important part the tourism destination, offering visitors an opportunity to learn about food in relation to: • local/regional cuisine • artisan preparation • growth/production • The Eastern NC region can appeal to tourists through authenticity, education, personal connection, and tasty homegrown foods.  Linking sustainable food systems to tourism helps: - create and strengthen culture - generates revenue - aids in environmental conservation

5. Review and summarize the current popular and practitioner information on sustainable food, food systems, and tourism. Discuss the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impacts of food systems on communities. • Outline the breadth of issues in sustainable food production. If applicable, state how each has an effect on the tourism industry. • Outline the breadth of programs happening in North Carolina and the organizations behind them. • Inventory the sustainable food system in Eastern North Carolina. Include all stages of the supply chain. • Suggest major initiatives that would begin to address the issues. Be creative and realistic. • Summarize the above information in a report. All sources/citations must be in APA format. • Design a large poster to capture the above information. If possible, map the region’s food system elements (bonus project points). The poster will be printed and displayed at the Center for Sustainable Tourism.

6. Each stage along the food systems affects the triple bottom line: • Environment • Economics • Culture Production Waste/ Recycling Transport NC Organizations (25+) • Sustainable Food/Tourism • Initiatives for ENC • Connect small farms with low-income families • Establish composting at higher education campuses • Promote crop mob to empower local communities • Promote eco-fast food establishments in Pitt County • Start a chapter of Buy Fresh, Buy Local • Develop culinary trails & packages Sustainable Food Systems Processing Consumption Access Distribution

7. GEOG 6300 - Seminar in Cultural Geography - 4-6 weekly readings on specific topics within the discipline of cultural geography were discussed/broken down/analyzed - Final project was choice between research paper, chapter of thesis, article to be submitted for possible publication, funding proposal • Research Paper Option - 15-20 pages dealing with a certain aspect of cultural geography as applied to an empirical case study - Performed a visual content analysis identifying images of race and gender in the 2010 state travel guides from North and South Carolina - Gave 15 minute in class presentation on methodology, findings, conclusions, & directions for future research - Extension and replication of study has turned into an independent study

8. RESET Initiative tourismreset.org Images of Race and Gender in State Travel Guides from the Carolinas Race and Responsible Marketing Visibility of African Americans in 2010 State Travel Guides • When photographs in marketing fail to show African Americans, they run the risk of perpetuating social inequity in tourism, thus making it unsustainable socially and culturally. • Feelings of racial acceptance directly affect the tourism choices of African Americans. • The frequency of African Americans being pictured in natural and outdoor leisure settings possibly impacts the cross-racial resonance of eco-tourism and environmental sustainability issues. Adapted from Martin (2004), “Apartheid in the Great Outdoors: American Advertising and the Reproduction of a Racialized Outdoor Leisure Identity.” Gender Representations in 2010 State Travel Guides Adapted from Pritchard (2001), “Tourism and Representation: A Scale for Measuring Gendered Portrayals.”

9. The three pillars of sustainability are discussed and presented in various ways by authors and scholars of various disciplines. Please offer a graphic presentation of the triple bottom line and discuss its meaning and implications for the study of sustainable tourism. This can be a graphic that you develop or select one from another author. Be prepared to discuss, define and defend the graphic. Start your discussion with a definition of sustainable tourism and relate the definition to the graphic presented.

10. Sustainability: Tourism : “The practice of travelling” - Mirriam Webster “The industry and practice of travel” - Dr. Kline “Tourism has become one of the major players in ‎international commerce, and represents one of the main income ‎sources for many developing countries.” - World Tourism Organization • "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". – Brundtland Report • “Sustainability is best defined by the word “usufruct” which means to enjoy and live off of the fruits/profits of something” - Dr. Marcucci

11. Sustainable Tourism Defined: “Tourism attempting to make a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate future employment for local people. The aim of sustainable tourism is to ensure that development brings a positive experience for local people, tourism companies and the tourists themselves.” - Wikipedia “Responsible travel where travelers and travel providers protect the environmental, socio-cultural, and economic values of the places they visit and the planet at large” - Sustainable Travel International “Sustainable tourism involves the minimization of negative impacts and maximization of positive impacts” - David Weaver “The maintenance of a balance where tourism runs at a profit but not at the expense of the natural, cultural, or ecological resources.” - International Federation of Tour Operators "Sustainable tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process and it requires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and/or corrective measures whenever necessary. Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices amongst them. " - United Nations World Tourism Organization

12. Three Pillars of Sustainability Environment Socio-Cultural Economic

13. The Triple Bottom Line Viable Tourism Development Environment Economic Sustainable Tourism Equitable Tourism Development Socio-Cultural Integrity of People & Resources is Maintained

14. Any field of study is made up of leaders, writers and scholars that make a difference in the development and approach to the field. Please identify two major scholars or persons that have had a major influence on the development and current thinking in the area of sustainable tourism. One of these figures should be a current or more modern writer, the other can be more of a historical figure in the field. Define their contributions and significance to the field.

15. Historic Contributors Modern Contributors Jan Flora & Cornelia Flora “Spiraling Up: Mapping Community Transformation with Community Capitals Framework” Journal of the Community Development Society Vol. 37, No. 1, Spring 2006 Richard Sharpley Tourism Development and the Environment: Beyond Sustainability? 2009 • Goffman - Front Stage / Back Stage - The Presentation of Self - 1959 • MacCannell - The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class - 1976

16. Erving Goffman – Historic Contributor to the Field • Established the concept of Front Stage and Back Stage • Front Stage - areas where tourists are “performed” for - a certain level of decorum is expected & sets of standards are met • Back Stage - areas where “props” can be concealed - activities that might discredit the “performance” witnessed in the front stage are conducted

17. Influenced Dean MacCannell - applied concept specifically to tourism - Front Stage = spaces manipulated and managed to accommodate tourists - Back Stage = places where private, everyday lives of local residents are given priority • Tourists seek authenticity • Took concepts of place & space into account - “stages” are placed in different spaces - places are used as “stages” in different spaces at varying times

18. Relation to Sustainability: Sense of Place - the tourist’s sense of place while and after visiting &the resident’s sense of place with and without tourists - both must be taken into account when developing tourism in a sustainable fashion Delivery of an Authentic Experience - achieved through careful balance of front/back stage - zoning - indicators Use of Stages - It is possible for the same space to be used as different types of “stage” at different times - flexibility of space contributes to the ability of a place to sustain itself

19. Flora’s 7 Capitals The Spiraling of Capital Assets • Spiraling Up: • Bridging social capital brings outside expertise together with internal wisdom • Involvement of youth supporting entrepreneurship, capturing 10% of wealth transfer • Cultural capital increases • Philanthropy provides ongoing funding to support more leadership, new business, and recruitment of youth • Spiraling Down: • Loss of jobs • Decline in population • Decline in per capital income • Loss of generational transfer of wealth

20. Sharpley’s book is a challenge to the “status quo” of sustainable tourism development - sustainable tourism as we know it is at am impasse, we should look beyond it - tourism = economic activity in the form of capitalism • Destination Capitals = most appropriate framework for optimizing the economic benefits of tourism to the destination

21. Summary: The Big Picture of SUTO • Sustainable tourism is hard to define & comes in many forms • Components of the triple bottom line can be seen across the board • Concepts of sustainability & sustainable tourism can be found in other disciplines & scholarly works • Even critics uphold some of the basics of sustainable tourism development • More work is needed toward consensus building, planning, and scholarly research