Doctoral Dissertation Research in DRMS: Decision-Making Processes for Resilient Tourism-Based Economic Development

自21世纪之交以来，由于世界日益相互联系的性质和旅行的相对便利，旅游业经历了指数级的增长。根据联合国世界旅游组织的数据，旅游业现在是世界上增长最快的行业之一。自从旅游业研究开始以来，大多数研究都集中在旅游业的积极经济效益上，而忽视了广泛存在的负面经济、社会和环境影响。同样，研究往往从发达国家消费者的角度来关注旅游业。以发展中国家的接待目的地为重点的旅游研究很少，而且通常也仅限于接待居民的看法和态度。研究还没有集中在目的地利益攸关方的决策过程上。在全球范围内，旅游业水平高的地区的家庭，特别是那些投资于农村地区以旅游为基础的生计战略的家庭，正在迅速使其生计多样化，转向以旅游为基础的谋生方式。这项研究将调查影响他们这样做的决定的社会、文化、经济、环境和制度因素。本研究借鉴复杂性与公地理论的理论框架，并结合已有的旅游文献，探讨利益相关者的生计与管理决策。这项研究将在尼泊尔上野马的喜马拉雅地区进行，该地区尤其相关，因为该地区的基础设施发生了戏剧性的变化，最近于1992年向旅游业开放。2018年和2019年在该地区的试点工作表明，家庭正在迅速实现生计多样化，导致自2007年以来旅游活动呈指数级增长。通过调查、半结构化访谈和参与者观察，本研究将首先调查当地居民关于是否以及如何从事以旅游业为基础的生计的决策过程。其次，这项研究将使民选官员了解他们在发展和管理旅游业方面的决策过程。这项研究有助于在更广泛的跨学科学术范围内过渡和重新构建旅游研究--该学科将旅游业视为一系列对人们开放的选择，以及与其他社会、文化和环境结果相联系的其他生计和管理选择。此外，这项研究具有实时的实际、制度、政策和管理影响的潜力，这将对研究地区的旅游业以及面临困难的制度和治理决策的其他旅游目的地的有效管理具有价值。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Since the turn of the 21st century, tourism has experienced exponential growth due to the increasingly interconnected nature of the world and the relative ease of travel. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, tourism is now one of the world’s fastest growing industries. Since the inception of tourism studies, a majority of research has focused on the positive economic benefits of the industry, overlooking the widespread negative economic, social, and environmental impacts. Similarly, studies have often focused on tourism from the perspective of consumers in developed countries. Tourism research that does focus on host destinations in developing countries are rare and also typically limited to the perception and attitudes of hosting residents. Research has not been focused on the decision-making processes of destination stakeholders. Globally, households in regions with high levels of tourism, particularly those invested in tourism-based livelihood strategies in rural areas, are rapidly diversifying their livelihoods to tourism-based ones. This research will investigate the social, cultural, economic, environmental, and institutional factors influencing their decisions to do so. This research project explores the livelihood and management decisions of stakeholders by drawing from the theoretical frameworks of complexity and commons theory and integrating this thinking with existing tourism literature. The research will be carried out in the Himalayan region of Upper Mustang, Nepal, a region particularly relevant because of dramatic infrastructural changes and its recently being opened to tourism in 1992. Pilot work in the area in 2018 and 2019 suggests that households are rapidly diversifying their livelihoods, resulting in an exponential increase in tourism activities since 2007. Using surveys, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation, this research will first investigate local inhabitants’ decision-making processes, regarding whether and how to engage in tourism-based livelihoods. Second, the research will engage elected officials to understand their decision-making processes in developing and managing tourism. This research contributes to transitioning and reframing tourism studies within broader interdisciplinary scholarship - one which considers tourism to be a set of choices open to people among other livelihood and management options linked to other social, cultural, and environmental outcomes. In addition, this research has the potential for real-time practical, institutional, policy, and managerial impacts, which will be valuable for effective management of tourism in the study region, as well as other tourist destinations facing difficult institutional and governance decisions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.