Identifying and Analyzing Social Discourses on the Development of Natural Tourism using Q Methodology (Case Study: Oak Forests, Ilam Province)

جغرافیاوتوسعه ناحیه ای

Article 10, Volume 20, Issue 4 - Serial Number 41, December 2022, Pages 349-315   

Document Type: Research

DOI: 10.22067/jgrd.2023.79396.1218

Authors

Zeinab Shahbazi Kuchkale¹; Abbas Amini^{* 2}; Ahmad Taghdisi²

¹PhD Candidate, Department of Geography and Rural Planning, Faculty of Geographical Sciences and Planning, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

²Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Rural Planning, Faculty of Geographical Sciences and Planning, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the supportive discourses of developing tourism activities in forest regions of Ilam province and answer the question whether these discourses are aligned with the goals of sustainable development in long run. The statistical population of the descriptive-exploratory study included some locals, entrepreneurs, public and private officials, practitioners of the tourism sector, academicians, and environmental NGO members. Purposive sampling was employed. Q analysis of data identified three distinctive discourses, each of which has assessed the tourism development in a different point of view, whereas they acknowledge the importance of oak forests. The first one is “sustainable rural tourism entrepreneurship” that allows and enables an effective form of tourism policy making and implementation process that is simultaneously considering the lives of local residents, sustainability of natural environment, and the balance of both development and conservation. “Strictly conservative” discourse rejects any touristic utilization of the forests and the third prosaic perspective does the complete opposite with a positive attitude towards tourism in large scale with national concerns. “Mass tourism development” perspective necessitates both infrastructure and diplomacy for its development. Recognizing the constructive elements of diverse viewpoints, integrating their commonalities, and making necessary adjustments on their contradictions is a long-term collaborative process toward a comprehensively development of communit-based tourism and environmental sustainability ending to strike a balance between multiple and sometimes inconsistent objectives.

Keywords

Tourism; Discourse Analysis; Q Methodology; Oak Forests; Ilam Province

References

1. اسدی، ع.، و بیات، ن. (1396). تحلیل محتوای کیفی گفتمان توسعه گردشگری ادبی در ایران، گردشگری شهری، 1(4)، 14-1.
2. آزادخانی، پ.، حسین زاده، ج.، و سلیمی باوندپور، آ. (2018) . بررسی اثرات اجتماعی-فرهنگی توسعه گردشگری شهری ایلام. جغرافیای اجتماعی شهری، 5(1)، 1-15.‎
3. بیات، ن.، بدری، س.، رضوانی، م.، و فرجی سبکبار، ح. (1393) . فراتحلیلی بر مطالعات گردشگری روستایی در ایران: پژوهشی در چارچوب روش‌شناسی کیو. مجله پژوهش و برنامه ریزی روستایی، 3( 7)، 85-100.
4. پیری، ع. (1390). سیمای منابع طبیعی و آبخیزداری استان ایلام. ایلام: انتشارات اداره کل منابع طبیعی و آبخیزداری.
5. خوشگویان فرد، ع. (1386). روش‌شناسی کیو. تهران: انتشارات مرکز تحقیقات صدا و سیما.
6. دانایی فرد، ح.، حسینی، ی.،  و شیخها، ر. (1392).  شالوده‌های نظری روش‌شناسی. تهران: انتشارات صفار.
7. سعیدی، ع.، بهشتی، س.، و رضوانی، ر. (1391). موانع اساسی سیاست‌گزاری گردشگری از نظر نخبگان. برنامه‌ریزی و توسعه گردشگری، 1(2)، 33-56.
8. سمیعی، ‌س.، و غیاثیان، م. (2015) . تحلیل گفتمان مدیران و نخبگان کشور درباره صنعت گردشگری در ایران.مطالعات مدیریت گردشگری، 31(10)، 1-18.‎
9. شجاعی، م.، و تراب احمدی، م. (1393) . بررسی تحقق پذیری اهداف کمی سند چشم انداز توسعه گردشگری. اولین همایش بین المللی علمی راهبردی توسعه گردشگری جمهوری اسلامی ایران چالش‌ها و چشم اندازها، پژوهشکده گردشگری جاهد دانشگاهی، مشهد.  

ضیایی، م.، و عباسی، د. (1397) . چالش‌ها و رویکردهای توسعه‌ گردشگری پایدار: از نظریه تا عمل.‎ برنامه‌ریزی و توسعه گردشگری، 7(24)، 8-37.

قادری، ا. (1383). آشنایی با صنعت جهانگردی. ماهنامه کجا، 1(2)، 8-22.

نظریان، ا.، و نظری، ش. (2012). آسیب‌شناسی مبانی نظری برنامه‌ریزی و نظام برنامه‌ریزی طرح‌های شهری و روستایی با رویکرد آمایش گردشگری (استان‌های ایلام، کرمانشاه و لرستان).فصلنامه علمی وپژوهشی نگرش‌های نو در جغرافیای انسانی، 4(4)، 1-16.‎

13. Addams, H ., & Proops, J. L. (Eds.). (2000). Social discourse and environmental policy: An application of Q methodology. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing.
14. Ahmadi, M., Khodadadi, M ., & Shahabi, H. (2018). Planning for ecotourism in the protected area of Manesht and Ghelarang, Ilam Province, Iran. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 19(2), 243-268.
15. Amaruzaman, S., Leimona, B., van Noordwijk, M., & Lusiana, B. (2017). Discourses on the performance gap of agriculture in a green economy: a Q-methodology study in Indonesia. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management, 13(1), 233–47.
16. Anderson, W. (2015). Cultural tourism and poverty alleviation in rural Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 13(3), 208-224.
17. Ashworth, G. J., & Voogd, H. (1990). Selling the city: Marketing approaches in public sector urban planning. London: Belhaven Press.
18. Barry, J., & Proops, J. (1999). Seeking sustainability discourses with Q methodology. Ecological economics, 28(3), 337-345.
19. Brondizio, E. S. (2017). Interdisciplinary as collaborative problem framing. ITEMS: Insights from the Social Sciences (Social Science Research Council). Retrieved from https://items. ssrc. org/ interdisciplinarity/ interdisciplinarity -as- collaborative-problem-framing.
20. Brown, S. R. (1993). A primer on Q methodology. Operant subjectivity, 16(3/4), 91-138.
21. Butler, R. (1980). The concept of a tourist area cycles of evolution: Implications for management of resources, Canadian Geographer, 24, 5-12.
22. Cathal,O., JeremyGault., A, ValCummins, A., & Inskeep, E. (1988). Tourism Planning: An emerging specialization. Journal of the American planning Association, 54(3), 360-72.
23. Caton, K., & Santos, C. A. (2007). Heritage tourism on Route 66: Deconstructing nostalgia.
24. Cheia, G. (2013). Ecotourism: Definition and concepts. Revista de Turism-Studii Si Cercetari in Turism, (15), 56-60.
25. Chirenje, L. I. (2017). Contribution of ecotourism to poverty alleviation in Nyanga, Zimbabwe. Chinese journal of population resources and environment, 15(2), 87-92.
26. Cuppen, E., Breukers, S., Hisschemöller, M., & Bergsma, E, (2010). Q methodology to select participants for a stakeholder dialogue on energy options from biomass in the Netherlands. Ecological Economics, 69, 579-591.
27. Dryzek, J. S., & Niemeyer, S. (2008). Discursive representation. American Political Science Review, 102(4), 481-493.
28. Duenckmann, F. (2010). The village in the mind: Applying Q-methodology to re-constructing constructions of rurality. Journal of Rural Studies, 26(3), 284-295.
29. Eden, S., Donaldson, A., & Walker, G. (2005). Structuring subjectivities? Using Q methodology in human geography. Area, 37(4), 413-422.
30. Ellingsen, I. T., Størksen, I., & Stephens, P. (2010). Q methodology in social work research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 13(5), 395-409.
31. Fazito, M., Scott, M., & Russell, P. (2016). The dynamics of tourism discourses and policy in Brazil. Annals of Tourism Research, 57, 1-17.
32. Fick, L. (2003). Draft guide line: Methodology for carrying cappacity assessment for the use of water for recreational purposes. Department of Water Affairs And Forestry.16 p.
33. Glynos, J., Howarth, D., Norval, A., & Speed, E. (2009). Discourse analysis: Varieties and methods. Discussion Paper. NCRM. (Unpublished). Retrieved from https://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/id/eprint/796/
34. Grimwood, B. S., Yudina, O., Muldoon, M., & Qiu, J. (2015). Responsibility in tourism: A discursive analysis. Annals of Tourism Research, 50, 22-38.
35. Gyan, P., N, Duarte., B, Morais., & Graefe, R. (2004). Nature tourism constraints: A cross-activity comparison. Annals of Tourism Research, 31(3), 540–555.
36. Hajer, M., & Versteeg, W. (2005). A decade of discourse analysis of environmental politics: Achievements, challenges, perspectives. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 7(3), 175-184.
37. Hannam, K., & Knox, D. (2005). Discourse analysis in tourism research a critical perspective. Tourism Recreation Research, 30(2), 23-30.
38. Higgins-Desbiolles, F. (2018). Sustainable tourism: Sustaining tourism or something more?. Tourism Management Perspectives, 25, 157-160.
39. Hillman, B. (2003). The poor in paradise: Tourism development and rural poverty in China’s Shangri-La. In Landscapes of diversity: proceedings of the III symposium on montane mainland South East Asia (MMSEA) (pp. 545-553). Kunming, China: Yunnan Sciences and Technology Press.
40. Hottola, P. (Ed.). (2009). Tourism strategies and local responses in Southern Africa. Wallingford: Cabi Publication.
41. Hugé, J., Velde, K. V., Benitez-Capistros, F., Japay, J. H., Satyanarayana, B., Ishak, M. N., ..., & Dahdouh-Guebas, F. (2016). Mapping discourses using Q methodology in Matang mangrove Forest, Malaysia. Journal of Environmental Management, 183, 988-997.
42. Hugé, J., Waas, T., Dahdouh-Guebas, F., Koedam, N., & Block, T. (2013). A discourse-analytical perspective on sustainability assessment: interpreting sustainable development in practice. Sustainability Science, 8(2), 187-198.
43. Hunter, C. (1997). Sustainable tourism as an adaptive paradigm. Annals of Tourism Research, 24(4), 850-867.
44. Hunter, W. C. (2013). Understanding resident subjectivities toward tourism using Q method: Orchid Island, Taiwan. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 21(2), 331-354.
45. Ioannides, D. (1995). A flowed implementation of sustainable tourism: The experience of Akamos, Cyprus. Tourism management, 16(8), 583-592.
46. Jafari, J. (1990). Research and scholarship: The basis of tourism education. Journal of Tourism Studies, 1(1), 33-41.
47. Journal of Travel Research, 45(4), 371–386.
48. Judd, D., & Simpson, D. (2003). Reconstructing the local state: The role of external constituencies in building urban tourism. American Behavioral Scientist, 46(8), 1056–1069.
49. Langston, J. D., McIntyre, R., Falconer, K., Sunderland, T., Van Noordwijk, M., & Boedhihartono, A. K. (2019). Discourses mapped by Q-method show governance constraints motivate landscape approaches in Indonesia. PLoS One, 14(1), e0211221.
50. Law, C. (1993). Urban tourism: Attracting visitors to large cities. London: Mansell Publishing Limited.
51. Lee, J. H. (2019). Conflict mapping toward ecotourism facility foundation using spatial Q methodology. Tourism Management, 72, 69-77.
52. López-i-Gelats, F., Tàbara, J. D., & Bartolomé, J. (2009). The rural in dispute: Discourses of rurality in the Pyrenees. Geoforum, 40(4), 602-612.
53. McKeown, B., & Thomas, D. B. (2013). Q methodology(Vol. 66). New York: Sage publications.
54. Moulin, C., & Boniface, P. (2001). Routeing heritage for tourism: Making heritage and cultural tourism networks for socio-economic development. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 7(3), 237–248.
55. Mutana, S., & Mukwada, G. (2018). Mountain-route tourism and sustainability. A discourse analysis of literature and possible future research. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 24, 59-65.
56. Newman, H. (2002). Race and the tourist bubble in downtown Atlanta. Urban Affairs Review, 37(3), 301–321.
57. Nijnik, M., Nijnik, A., Bergsma, E., & Matthews, R. (2014). Heterogeneity of experts’ opinion regarding opportunities and challenges of tackling deforestation in the tropics: A Q methodology application. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 19(6), 621–640.
58. Overdevest, C. (2000). Participatory democracy, representative democracy, and the nature of diffuse and concentrated interests: a case study of public involvement on a national forest district. Society & Natural Resources, 13(7), 685–696.
59. Page, S. (1995). Urban tourism. London: Routledge.
60. Phillips, N., Lawrence, T. B., & Hardy, C. (2004) Discourse and institutions. Academy of Management Review, 29, 635–652.
61. Roessingh, C., Duijnhoven, H., & Berendse, M. (2008). Caribbean delight: Moving beyond the sustainability discourse in tourism. ARA: Journal of Tourism Research/Revista de Investigación Turística, 1(2), 21-33.
62. Santos, C. A., Belhassen, Y., & Caton, K. (2008). Reimagining Chinatown: An analysis of tourism discourse. Tourism Management, 29(5), 1002-1012.
63. Sharpley, R. and Telfer, D. (2015). Tourism and development: Concepts and issues (2^nd ed). UK: Channel View Publications.
64. Soleimanpour, H. (2006). Nature-based tourism: A draft international covenant (1^st). Tehran, Iran: CENESTAfor IUCN/CEEP
65. Stephenson, W. (1953). The study of behavior: Q-technique and its methodology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
66. Stergiou, D., & Airey, D. (2011). Q-methodology and tourism research. Current Issues in Tourism, 14(4), 311-322
67. Stronza, A. (2001). Anthropology of tourism: Forging new ground for ecotourism and other alternatives. Annual Review of Anthropology, 30, 261-283.
68. Susan, E. (1991). Nature tourism and rural development in tortuguero. Tourism Research, 18(2), 186-201.
69. Tosun, C. (2006). Expected nature of community participation in tourism development, Tourism Management, 27(3), 493-504.
70. Watts, S., & Stenner, P. (2012). Doing Q Methodological Research. New York: Sage Publications.
71. Weaver, D. (2008). Sustainable tourism: Theory and practice. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.
72. Webler, T., Danielson, S., & Tuler, S. (2009). Using Q method to reveal social perspectives in environmental research. Greenfield MA: Social and Environmental Research Institute, 54, 1-45.