Tourism and Destination Sustainability

Running Head: TOURISM AND DESTINATION SUSTAINABILITY
Topic- Factions and Enclaves: Small Towns and Socially Unsustainable Tourism Development-
a case study
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2TOURISM AND DESTINATION SUSTAINABILITY
Identification of the Impacts
Tourism is no doubt an important tool of economic development in rural America. The
small American towns see it as a positive and interim form of development (Davis & Morais,
2004). Rapid and increased pace of urbanization has created problems in agricultural and
extractive industrial progresses. As a result, the rural and other small towns in America are trying
to be a part of the emerging tourism industry and are trying to acquire share on tourism sectors
(Davis & Morais, 2004). Economic diversification is the underlying aim of such community
decisions. Development also emphasis benefits such as new job creations, increased revenues
collected from taxation and also a positive communal spirit (Amir et al., 2015). But tourism may
have negative social impacts on rural communities because of lack of well-developed
infrastructure, improper planning and often for the gap in developmental decisions. In this case
study, the region Williams, Arizona is considered for study to find the impacts of tourism on
society and development of the people there. It is examined whether the theoretical support of
models of community adaptation and social carrying capacity support social construction or are
the reasons of social disruption (Andergassen & Candela, 2013). For this the case of Grand
Canyon is considered. The introduction of the Grand Canyon Railways was initially a welcoming
news for the people of Williams, Arizona (Davis & Morais, 2004). They, themselves, convinced
the owner of the railways, Max Beigert, to transform it into a major attraction for tourist
destination of the area. However, the situation changed soon and the control over the pace of
development is overlooked and this developed some major unwanted issues (Davis & Morais,
2004). Among them development sustainability, community support and socio-cultural aspects
of the Arizona people remained out of consideration. For better understanding of the case, the
impacts are divided into a number of capitals. The study aims to evaluate how Boom-town style
tourism development can be counted as a failure based on inability of the towns to adopt at a
rapid pace and also for its negative socio-cultural well-being impacts (Apostolopoulos, Leivadi
& Yiannakis, 2013). And study show that Williams is a case where increased pace of tourism is
having negative impacts on community attitude and popularity of tourism is declining over time.
Table 1, provides a summary of all positive and negative impacts resulting from the
introduction of Grand Canyon railways in Williams, Arizona. Examples are provided to each
capital support to increase level of understanding.

3TOURISM AND DESTINATION SUSTAINABILITY
Table 1: positive and negative impacts on community well-being capitals
Well-being capitals Positive impacts Negative impacts
Built-capital (physical
infrastructure)
Reformation and development of
an old existing railway line along
with its associated infrastructural
development.
48 new business development
during the time line of 1987-
1998.
19 new hotel openings.
A new stop at Williams for train
services.
Creation of a new airline at
Farwest.
The creation of the enclave
tourist attraction causes
pathway blockage in the
direct interaction between
Williams and railways.
Financial capital (monetary
assets’ support)
Around 200 new and direct jobs
were created in railways.
The assessed value of the
properties doubled in 1990 which
is a good aspect for property
owners.
Within a year the Government’s
general funds increased by $1.9
million.
Between 1991 to 1998 tax
revenue increased by $ 2,35,000.
There is revenue-offset due to
increased cost of living. Also,
high rents, high cost of foods
and minimum wage issues
were prominent.
There is a job gap in between
what is estimated and what
actually been created and
there are around 600 job
deficits as per statistics.

4TOURISM AND DESTINATION SUSTAINABILITY
Also, tourist spending increased.
Social capital (relationship
building and networking)
Initially there was positive
support and collaboration for the
tourism development by the
people of Arizona.
Later on, the decision-making
process give rise to conflicts
among merchants, town
government and Chamber of
Commerce.
The townspeople reduced
communication and
cooperation with railways and
their trust also reduced
significantly.
Political capital (decisional
influences)
Higher initial communication
and community involvement by
the means of consultation among
railway officials, town
government and common people.
The approval gaining
processes is slowed down due
to conflict of interest among
railways, chamber of
commerce and common
people. decision-making
process suffered.
Cultural capital (influence of
arts, customs, traditions and
rituals)
Performances such as brass
bands and gunfights by the locals
help in increased tourist
attraction.
The introduction of the Old
West has affected the town’s
theme and it has been
disjointed.