Social and environmental impacts, responses and indicators are reviewed for the mainstream tourism sector worldwide, in five categories: population, peace, prosperity, pollution and protection. Of the ~5000 relevant publications, very few attempt to evaluate the entire global tourism sector in terms which reflect global research in sustainable development. The industry is not yet close to sustainability. The main driver for improvement is regulation rather than market measures. Some tourism advocates still use political approaches to avoid environmental restrictions, and to gain access to public natural resources. Future research priorities include: the role of tourism in expansion of protected areas; improvement in environmental accounting techniques; and the effects of individual perceptions of responsibility in addressing climate change.

Online review sites provide increasingly important sources of information in tourism product purchases. We tested experimentally how source, content style, and peripheral credibility cues in online postings influence four consumer beliefs, and how those in turn influence attitudes and purchase intentions for an eco-resort. We compared tourists' posts to managers' posts, containing vague versus specific content, and with or without peripheral certification logos. First, we tested effects of tourists' beliefs about utility, trustworthiness, quality and corporate social responsibility on attitude toward the resort and purchase intentions. Second, we tested the role of source, content, and certification on the beliefs. The interactions are complex, but broadly tourists treat specific information posted by customers as most useful and trustworthy. Their purchase intentions are influenced principally by their overall attitude toward the resort and their beliefs in its corporate social responsibility.

At least 14 different motivations for adventure tourism and recreation, some internal and some external, have been identified in ~50 previous studies. Skilled adventure practitioners refer to ineffable experiences, comprehensible only to other participants and containing a strong emotional component. These are also reflected in the popular literature of adventure tourism. This contribution draws on >2000 person-days of ethnographic and autoethnographic experience to formalise this particular category of experience as rush. To the practitioner, rush is a single tangible experience. To the analyst, it may be seen as the simultaneous experience of flow and thrill. Experiences which provide rush are often risky, but it is rush rather than risk which provides the attraction. Rush is addictive and never guaranteed, but the chance of rush is sufficient motivation to buy adventure tours.

Farm tourism enterprises combine the commercial constraints of regional tourism, the nonfinancial features of family businesses, and the inheritance issues of family farms. They have theoretical significance in regional tourism geography and economics, family tourism business dynamics, and rural diversification. We examined motivations of farm tourism operators throughout Australia using both qualitative and quantitative methods. In contrast to Europe and the United States, social motivations are marginally more important overall than economic motivations. For most operators, however, both are important; and different motivations are dominant for different types of farm landholders and at different stages in farm, family, and business lifecycles. For some families, tourism is a critical component of income streams to keep the current generation on the family property and provide opportunities for succeeding generations. For others it combines social opportunities with retirement income. Tourism, agricultural, or rural initiatives, including farm tourism, need to incorporate this diversity.

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Recreational capacity is a function of the natural and social environment, the activity concerned, and the management regime. Indo-Pacific surf destinations with cheap and open access and no capacity management have experienced crowding, crime, pollution and price collapses. Many island surf breaks can handle only a few surfers at once because of the shape of the reefs. A crowding factor may be conceptualised as the proportion of rideable waves each surfer is forced to cede to another boardrider. Quota management systems using operator permits need to incorporate the complexity of the environment and the industry, but be equitable enough to gain general acceptance,and simple enough to enforce without dispute. Siberut Island in the Mentawai chain near West Sumatra, Indonesia, is covered by dense tropical rainforest which supports a number of endangered species and has been proposed as a Biosphere Reserve. It is also home to indigenous village communities with traditional social and religious practices. This island is subject to commercial logging and plantation agriculture, and tourism seems to be the only politically realistic economic alternative at present. To provide infrastructure for long-term growth in nature and cultural tourism, an immediate source of tourism revenue is needed. The most immediate option seems to be surf lodges on some of the smaller Mentawai Islands, which have already been largely cleared and are already visited by boat-based surf tour operators. Operators will only invest in lodges if they can acquire preferential rights to particular surf breaks. Hence the recreational capacity of the islands for surf tourism must be determined, and allocated between operators through a management system. Relevant data and one management option are presented here.

Ecolabels in tourism are commonplace but uncoordinated. Established by individual companies, industry associations, voluntary organizations and government agencies, ecolabels range in scale from single villages to worldwide, from single activities to entire destinations; and they include voluntary codes, awards, accreditation and certification schemes. The degree to which they affect consumer purchasing decisions and corporate environmental performance is largely unknown. If ecolabels contribute to informed tourist choice, they could be a valuable environmental management tool, but only if critical conditions are met. Ecolabels need broad coverage and penetration in relevant market sectors, well-defined and transparent entry criteria, independent audit, and penalties for non-compliance. They also need an effective underlying framework of environmental regulation.

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