Creating Island Resorts

Brian King

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2002
• Print ISBN: 9780415149891
• eBook ISBN: 9781134749805
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Geography
• Index: Geography

This work studies tropical island resorts, the people who live and work there and the tourists who visit them. The author includes, but goes beyond the more commonly encountered marketing and economic analyses of resort destinations, by examining social, cultural, mythical, environmental, organizational and political dimensions.

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INTRODUCTION

THE MYTH OF THE TROPICAL ISLAND AS AN ‘EARTHLY PARADISE’

To the European mind, tropical islands are bountiful places offering travellers an escape from everyday realities and a temporary materialisation of what is imagined to be the ‘good life’. The jet aircraft has brought island paradises tantalisingly close for the relatively affluent of the world. For North Americans the Caribbean is delightfully close as are the islands of the Indian Ocean for more affluent South Africans. Despite their undoubted appeal, neither the Caribbean nor the Indian Ocean have quite the intoxicating attraction of the South Pacific. These previously most inaccessible of tropical islands now face the challenges of adapting to an influx of pleasure-oriented travellers from throughout the world, or in the case of those which have not yet established themselves as tourism destinations, to solicit such an influx.

The Pacific islanders who inhabit the ‘paradise’ to which so many Europeans have aspired are also under pressure to adapt to the temporary holiday migrations from across the globe. Australians have long regarded the South Pacific as their ‘back-yard’ and the South Pacific ‘paradise’ has always been more accessible for them than for residents of the Northern Hemisphere. Australian travellers are having to share Pacific holiday resorts with visitors from throughout the world. But do Australians really need to travel overseas to find the type of paradise so deeply embedded in the western imagination? Australia’s own Great Barrier Reef is fringed by numerous tropical islands. Does this imply that paradise may be experienced without the need for a passport? Do Australians weigh up the prospect of travel to Queensland with its connotation of patriotism and of ‘buying Australian’ against the option of an overseas trip? Might both destinations lose their allure because paradise has become too easily accessible, too prone to excessively hyperbolic promotion and too easy to compare image with reality?

Tourism paradises have been described as ‘the most exploited commonplace in international advertising’ (Giesz 1968:103). European ideas of an earthly paradise predated the discovery of the South Pacific islands by explorers from the Northern Hemisphere. According to Bloch (1959 vol. 2:890) ‘Dante, assuming a spherical form of the earth, even relegated it [paradise] to the antipodes of Jerusalem, into the South Seas’. Another example is the Polynesian Hawaiki referred to by Cohen (1982). Cohen maintains that the idea of paradise was merged into the myth of a South Continent or Terra Australis Incognita. According to Eliade ‘the myth of the Earthly Paradise has survived until today in adopted form as an “Oceanic paradise”’ (Eliade 1952:11–12). Niederland (1957:56) observes that ‘the site of the original Earthly Paradise has often been imagined to be an island’ and Turner and Ash suggest that ‘the most potent images of man’s former idyllic natural state are located on islands: the homelands of the noble savage, the original sites of the Garden of Eden’ (1975:151).

The tropical island embodies the central holiday aspirations of western consumers. The image of tropical islands as carefree, romantic and adventurous places is a result of literary associations supplemented by deliberate tourism marketing through the twentieth century, some of it undertaken by Pacific islands. Children’s novels such as Ballantyne’s Coral Island (1858), Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1883) and Jack London’s South Sea Tales (1911) have influenced impressionable readers by creating an association between adventure, self-discovery and the tropical South Pacific island. Such impressions have been perpetuated into adulthood by literature such as By Reef and Palm (1894), in which Louis Becke flits between various Pacific islands and in the post-war era by Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific (1947) and Return to Paradise (1951). Cohen (1982) has argued that the writings of Mark Twain and Jack London were partly responsible for the opening up of Hawaii to tourism. The visual arts such as Gauguin’s paintings of Tahiti have also played a role in the spread of Pacific imagery, by portraying indigenous people in exotic landscape settings. Michener’s work is perhaps best known in its Rogers and Hammerstein musical version South Pacific which is frequently performed in Australia. The popular British BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs has added an extra musical dimension to the tropical island myth. In that show, well-known interviewees select the eight pieces of music that they would most like to accompany them if they were stranded on a desert island. Advertising has also played its part. A great deal of confectionery and soft drinks advertising is staged in tropical settings. There are examples of references and cross-references to the Pacific tropical island myth throughout the developed world.

Desert island images are not always positive. Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719–20) evokes in its readers, a fear of abandonment in an uninhabited place. In Golding’s Lord of the Flies (1954) the island setting is devoid of the attributes of Western ‘civilisation’, and the group of boys marooned there soon fall victim to rivalry and violence in the absence of conventional social controls. Despite these menacing connotations which often lurk in the subconscious, the positive images have been systematically and selectively built upon by tourism marketeers: promotions of Tahiti frequently refer to the legacy of Gauguin, and promotions for Western Samoa lay claim to Stevenson. The blend of literary and artistic images with recent and more blatantly commercial imagery, has reinforced the view of tropical islands as paradise and has played down negative connotations such as isolation and the absence of metropolitan comforts and of social controls. In the tourism marketing literature, different labels (Gunn 1988a) are ascribed to the two essential types of imagery. Imagery deliberately intended to increase visitation to a destination is described as ‘induced’, whilst the complex array of images which affect people’s impressions of a destination, but are not purposefully commissioned by tourism agencies, are called ‘organic’ images. Information gathering plays a key part in the process of choosing a destination with a significant role being played by word-of-mouth recommendation from friends or relatives. Such recommendations are particularly important for first-time visitors.

A curious element of island resort tourism is that without a powerful dose of what Hall has called ‘boosterism’, it might scarcely exist (1991). The language of exaggeration and excess deployed in advertising, brochures and other promotional material is used frequently to boost all forms of tourism demand. In the case of tropical island resorts, such language is critical to the creation of demand at its most fundamental level. Why are island resort consumers so prone to being seduced by the promised gratifications of boosterism? Firstly, few are aware of the true conditions prevailing in island resorts prior to their departure from home. Repeat visitors—who have some destination knowledge—make up only a small minority of total island resort visitation and consumers rarely have the opportunity to sample the place before making a major financial outlay. It is common practice in other industries—but not in tourism—to allow consumer sampling of a product prior to purchase. The practice is even less common in the case of island resorts. Since most tropical islands are remote, travellers rarely encounter them en route to other main destinations. Applying the typologies developed by Leiper as part of his ‘tourism system’, it is clear that most tropical islands function as destination regions and not as transit regions (Leiper 1990a) and depend on consumers having a strong disposition to travel to that particular destination. Boosterism aside, there is a significant group of consumers who return repeatedly to a particular resort, apparently untroubled by any inconsistency between image and reality.

Consumer perceptions owe more to the mythology of the palm-fringed coral atoll, than to the realities of life in the tropics. In tourism promotions, water is seen as embodying purity, romance, nature and the pleasurable elements, whilst at the same time symbolising luxury through its manipulation by contemporary technology into giant swimming pools, spas, waterfalls and other configurations. Less conveniently for the positive imagery, tropical water is periodically associated with sharks, stonefish, sea wasps, coral cuts and may prompt sunburn. The summer months in tropical resorts usually coincide with the cyclone season when much of the annual rainfall occurs. Despite this, holidaymakers appear willing to surrender themselves to the powerful allure of the tropical island idea. They willingly opt for isolated resorts where, in reality, they are usually compelled to purchase goods and services from a single operator whilst they expect a full range of western style conveniences and facilities to be provided. If poor weather or some other influence leads to disappointment and they choose to depart early, they sacrifice a large part of their investment. In practice few leave early, choosing instead to submit themselves to a suboptimal experience. In some respects, island resort holidaymakers are amongst the most gullible travellers, willingly submitting themselves to the tyranny of the resort corporation, in search of an experience that, they might grudgingly acknowledge, could be an illusion.

Taking the imagery of tropical islands as a point of departure, it is clear that island resorts can be conceptualised as undergoing a process of creation (in the popular imagination) and subsequently of re-creation as more blatantly promotional images come into play. This study compares how two island resort groups have been created and re-created. In addition to the perceptual dimension where images are formulated and subsequently projected onto potential consumers, there is also a physical setting. Resorts and the infrastructure which accompanies them are firstly conceived and built and in many cases, later re-built. In the present study two destination regions are examined—the Whitsunday Islands in North Queensland, Australia and the Mamanucas in Fiji. The destinations are evaluated in relation to a particular source market, namely Australia’s most populous states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria and their state capitals of Sydney and Melbourne in particular.

This study draws upon a variety of disciplines including sociology, history, anthropology, politics, environmental science and marketing. The social, cultural, environmental and political dimensions of island tourism are examined both from the destination perspective and from the perspective of the tourism-generating region. The study examines a particular source market and the methods by which the two regions can make themselves attractive to prospective consumers and travel agents. Poon’s concept of the ‘new tourism’ is examined for its relevance to the holiday visitors who frequent the two destinations (Poon 1993). The study evaluates the social, cultural and environmental context of the resorts, acknowledging the commercial imperative to remain attractive to key source markets. The study is not prescriptive and recognises that different styles of destination will appeal to different consumers. Nevertheless, it is hoped that common issues and experiences will emerge from two regions manifesting these different styles, through the pursuit of issues with potential validity for resort destinations generally.

The selection of one domestic destination (the Whitsundays) and one international destination (the Mamanucas) was deliberate. From the point of view of the generating area, both can be termed ‘short-haul sun, sea and sand’ destinations. By applying this broad categorisation to the two areas, we can compare and contrast them with equivalent destinations throughout the world. As previously stated, each major source market in the developed world may be regarded as having its own ‘pleasure periphery’ of short-haul holiday destinations (Turner and Ash 1975). The selection of one international and one domestic destination offered the prospect of challenging a number of assumptions about the perceived differences between the practice of domestic and international travel. In explaining how resorts are created, we look at how the various attributes of an island resort holiday are packaged into an individual resort concept and then into a regional concept. Understanding various attitudes and perceptions towards resorts was considered particularly important because resorts are fundamentally human ‘creations’, albeit dependent on their natural settings. The question of what constituted the ‘resort experience’ was addressed through an exploration of attitudes and perceptions. These were gathered through surveys undertaken with consumers, travel agents, tour operators, resort managers and destination marketing organisations.

To what extent are decisions about travel to tropical island resorts based on price and the availability of certain facilities? Or are they emotion-laden and driven by imagery, indicating that travel to resorts is an example of hedonic consumption? To what extent are images of the two destinations contrasting, with Australia regarded as a familiar developed country and the South Pacific regarded as ‘undeveloped’ but exotic? To what extent are the two destinations regarded as equivalent, with both offering highly substitutable island holidays in the sun?

In addition to examining perceptions of the destinations in key source markets, the book sets out to profile the type of tourism activity occurring in the islands and the way it is managed. The interviews with resort managers provide insights into the operations of individual properties. They also provide an indication of the level of regional co-operation which has occurred. The relationship between the islands and the mainland which adjoins them is a critical issue here. To what extent is the major decisionmaking concerning management and marketing undertaken on the islands and to what extent on the mainland? The relationship between the Mamanucas and Fiji as a whole, and between the Whitsundays and Queensland as a whole, is also relevant.

Both island groups have been significantly affected by issues of airline regulation. These issues are examined in the context of how the tourism industry is structured. To what extent have the different structures which have applied to domestic and outbound travel in Australia impacted upon the two destinations? Two other regulatory issues worthy of comparative analysis are labour relations and environmental control. To what extent have regulations affected employment structures in the two groups, or is remoteness from the major population centres a more critical issue? Has the imposition of environmental regulation differed between the two regions and has it had an impact upon the management of the resorts?

A number of social and environmental issues are examined. Is the presence (in the case of Fiji) or absence (in the case of the Whitsundays) of an indigenous population in the resort regions, an issue for tourism marketing? Will it become more so in future? To what extent can we regard island resorts as communities in their own right and to what extent are they more likened to large hotels supplemented with certain ancillary facilities and activities? To what extent does the marketing of the two regions give a true perspective of the environmental features of the destinations? Are such issues of concern to consumers currently or are they likely to become so in future? Are the two regions adapting quickly enough to changing market conditions? Are they enhancing their distinctiveness and/or competitiveness through an acknowledgement of regional cultural and environmental dimensions?

Who was responsible for developing tourism and for creating the various resorts? Was it brought about by government activity or by entrepreneurial endeavour? What has been the role of the local communities and landowners in the tourism development process? Is there a distinct identity and cultural heritage in the two regions? If so, is this reflected in the type of tourism activity offered? In an era where the word ecotourism is sometimes regarded as much that is best in tourism, is the natural environment in good hands? Does the fact that Fiji is a developing country and Australia a developed country have any impact on the approach taken? Are Australians interested in the environment as a part of the holiday experience? To what extent is the environment purely a ‘backdrop’ to island and resort locations? This book attempts to answer these questions.

The decision to incorporate consideration of both cultural and natural heritage issues is deliberate. In a South Pacific context, the indigenous population are inextricably linked with concepts of land and environment. Separating cultural and natural heritage is impratical. Most definitions of ecotourism do in fact incorporate a cultural heritage dimension (Ceballos-Lascurain 1991; Ecotourism Association of Australia 1992; Figgis 1992; Young 1992), though the concept of ‘endemic tourism’ (Oelrichs 1992) is probably more emphatic still in outlining the inextricable link between natural and cultural heritage.

WHY A COMPARATIVE STUDY?

The value of comparative tourism studies has been outlined by Douglas Pearce, a New Zealand-based geographer and one of the most frequently cited authors in the tourism field (1993). According to Pearce, comparative studies ‘offer tourism researchers a way forward in a field still largely dominated by descriptive, ideographic work’ (1993:32). Despite the potential value of comparative work, it has been observed that such studies are rare: ‘tourism literature contains few international comparative tourism studies’ (Dieke 1993). Many studies have focused on a particular developing country or on developing countries in general, but most have lacked a comparative framework (Jenkins 1980). Literature comparing developed and developing countries is even scarcer than studies comparing developing countries (Pizam, Milman and King 1994). The latter study was unusual in that it examined specific regions within a developing country (Nadi in Fiji) and a developed country (Central Florida, USA). In his comparative study of tourism in the Gambia and Kenya, Dieke notes that the absence of comparative studies is attributable to logistical, financial and methodological problems: ‘Such studies are difficult to conduct, not only in terms of resources, but in the selection of variables and issues which will be accurately compared’ (1993:2).

Despite his enthusiasm for comparative work, Pearce points out some of the same methodological traps mentioned by Dieke (Pearce 1993). He stresses that effective comparative work should involve ‘more than the mere juxtaposition of case studies, for to be comparative the analysis must at the very least draw out and attempt to account for similarities and differences’ (1993:21). Pearce assesses comparative studies on the basis of whether their results can be generalised and whether they help build and test theories.

A recent study, Keeping Australians at Home: Tourism Import Replacement Analysis published by the Bureau of Tourism Research in Canberra (Haigh 1993), compared the factors determining domestic versus international travel by Australians. The study focused on demand factors and did not compare particular destinations. It identified opportunities and impediments under the following headings: economic factors, travel factors and psychological factors. A number of these are examined in more detail in the present study, using empirical methods. An example is Haigh’s assertion that the travel agent commission rates which apply in Australia are smaller for domestic travel (5 per cent) than for international travel (9 per cent) (1993:42).

Until recently, the most developed forms of tourism have been associated with developed countries, with infrastructural provision justified by the needs of the domestic tourism market. Though many developing countries are now highly dependent on tourism, most of their tourism-specific infrastructure has been built recently, in many cases since 1950. Can the developing countries learn from the experience of the developed countries? In the nineteenth century, industrialising countries such as Germany and the United States learnt some lessons from the earlier industrial revolution experience of Britain and from the associated development and marketing of spas and seaside resorts. In a similar fashion, countries and regions coming comparatively later to tourism development can learn from the experiences of pioneer destinations. In some cases, the more developed destinations may also learn from the emerging destinations. This is particularly the case where regions are competing for similar markets and need to identify an appropriate market positioning, based on their relative strengths. Are destinations in developing countries better able to adapt to changing consumer demands (for example, higher expectations of ‘environmental friendliness’) because of the generally smaller scale of the resorts found there? Conversely, are developed destinations better able to adapt because they have easier access to financial and human resources? These are some of the questions which a comparative study can help answer.

With a view to giving greater precision to the conclusions of this study, the number of variables has been kept to a minimum. This approach also improves the prospect of realising the objectives that Pearce regarded as well served by the comparative approach. Limiting the number of destinations to two and the source market to one (i.e. Australia) allowed the author to achieve greater confidence in the research conclusions and go beyond the exploratory methods used in Haigh’s study. The selection of two spatially compact destinations allowed a more detailed examination of destination development and marketing. At the same time both destinations are competitors for the same potential holidaymakers resident in south-eastern Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), thereby giving the study a dynamic element. The author did give some consideration to adding a third, South-East Asian resort destination to the study. This option was eliminated because of a concern that the direct comparison between domestic and international travel would become blurred. The potential cost of travel to multiple destinations by the author was also a constraint.

The Australian market was selected as a focus of the study for a number of reasons. The author is Melbourne-based and in view of the difficulties in researching a number of distant destinations (referred to by Dieke), it was more convenient and practical to focus on a readily accessible source market. Second, comparable sun, sea and sand destinations active within the selected source market were available. Third, the diversity of latitudes covered by the Australian continent (Australia is the only developed country occupying a whole continent) results in both cooler climate tourism generating regions (for example, the states of Tasmania and Victoria) and tropical/subtropical beach resort destinations (for example, the State of Queensland and the northerly part of Western Australia). As a result, much ‘sunlust’ tourism is domestic, unlike in Europe where mass sunlust tourism is predominantly outbound (Grey 1970) and international in character. This offers the possibility of arriving at an Australian perspective into the...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Figures
• Tables
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• Part I The Islands
• Part II The Industry
• Part III The Raw and the Cooked
• Appendix
• Bibliography