Nancy Gard McGehee, Ph.D. Associate Professor Hospitality and Tourism Management Virginia Tech

1. Cows, Critters, and Kiwis: Building a research agenda that won't bore you to tears or drive you crazy Nancy Gard McGehee, Ph.D. Associate Professor Hospitality and Tourism Management Virginia Tech

2. Grew up on a farm along the Ohio River • BS in Sports Management, Marshall University • Health Club Mgt., Sports Medicine Clinic, and Pro Baseball, West Palm Beach, FL • MS in PRTM, North Carolina State University • ATRDC, Athens, WV • MS and PhD in Sociology, Virginia Tech • PRTM NCSU faculty 1999-2001 • HTM VT faculty since 2001 Who Am I?

3. ATRDC

4. I am a Rural Sociologist, interested in many forms of Sustainable Tourism, particularly through the eyes of the Resident/Host. • I believe that truly Sustainable Tourism must include a Socio-Cultural component. • My ontological perspective: I am a Critical Theorist, but love applying a variety of sociological theories to tourism. • My methodological bent: mixed-methods, but my belongs to Qualitative Methods. • Currently, I am particularly interested in Social Capital as it pertains to Sustainability in a variety of forms of tourism. • Forms of tourism that are currently capturing my interest: Volunteer Tourism and Locally-Driven Rural Tourism. Who Am I?

5. Sustainable Rural Tourism Development Volunteer Tourism • Craft Marketing Cooperatives • Agri-tourism motivation & cooperation • Rural resident attitudes • DMO’s & social capital • Parkway Sustainable Tourism Project • Rural tourism in the tropics & social capital • VT & social movement participation • VT and resident attitudes • VT expectations • Critical Theory & VT • VT & social capital Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism

6. McGehee, N.G. and K. Kim (2004). “Motivation for Agri-tourism Entrepreneurship.” Journal of Travel Research, 43:2 161-170. • N.G. McGehee K. Kim and G. Jennings (2007). “Gender and Motivation for Agri-tourism Entrepreneurship.” Tourism Management, 28:1 (280-289). • N.G. McGehee (2007). “An Agri-Tourism Systems Model: A Weberian Perspective.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 15:2, 111-124. Virginia Agri-tourism (Cows)

7. VA farm families (survey, 412 of 987, 42%) • Weber’s formal and substantive rationality as framework for motivation • Formal (primarily economic) • Substantive (primarily socio-cultural) • Most were motivated by a formal-substantive mix of motivations • Additional income • Fully utilize our resources • Educate consumers • A family-oriented hobby • Motivations were most influenced by acres owned, dependence on farming, and household income Agri-tourism Entrepreneurship

8. Again, VA farm families • Chiappe and Flora’s alternative agricultural paradigm • Past research in A. A. focused on men and then was generalized for all; Chiappe and Flora focused on women. • A.A. Paradigm includes: harmony with nature, independence, contribution to community, diversity of product. Could this perspective of A.A. also apply to agri-tourism? • Paradigm based differences were not found, BUT women in this study reported to be more highly motivated to develop agri-tourism as a source of entrepreneurial enterprise than their male counter-parts. Gender, Motivation, and Agri-tourism Entrepreneurship

9. Back to Weber’s rationality! • Research unearthed problems, the big picture • Lack of communication between agri-tourism providers, DMO’s, and agri-tourists • Lack of understanding across the three groups creates obstacles to strong relationships • Weber’s formal-substantive rationality could contextualize the relationships Agri-tourism Systems Model

10. Figure 1 An Agri-Tourism Systems Model

11. Development of a sustainable tourism centerpiece project and regional sustainable tourism plan for the Rocky Knob region of the Blue Ridge Parkway • Research framework that included • Community asset and resource inventory • Community and stakeholder input • Survey of current visitors • Land use suitability and tourism scenario development • Survey of potential visitors • Economic impact analysis of recommended scenarios Rocky Knob BRP NPS Project

12. Slingin’ concrete • McGehee, N.G. (2002). “Alternative Tourism and Social Movement Participation.” Annals of Tourism Research, 29:1, 124-143. • McGehee, N.G. and W.C. Norman (2002). “Alternative Tourism as Impetus for Consciousness-Raising.” Tourism Analysis, 6:3/4, 239-251. • McGehee, N.G. and C. Santos (2005). “Social Change, Discourse, and Volunteer Tourism.” Annals of Tourism Research, 32:3, 760-779. • McGehee, N.G. and Andereck, K. (2008) “’Pettin’ the Critters’: Exploring the complex relationship between volunteers and the voluntoured in McDowell County, WV, USA and Tijuana, Mexico” in S. Wearing and K. Lyons (eds) Journeys of Discovery in Volunteer Tourism: International Case Study Perspectives. CABI, Oxfordshire, UK. •  McGehee, N.G. and Andereck, K. (2009). Volunteer Tourism and the “Voluntoured”: The case of Tijuana, Mexico.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17:1 (39-54). • Andereck, K., McGehee, N.G., Lee, S. and Clemmons D. (in press). “Experience expectations of prospective volunteer tourists.” Journal of Travel Research. • McGehee, N.G. (accepted with revisions). “Oppression, emancipation, and volunteer tourism,” Annals of Tourism Research. Resident Attitudes and Voluntourism (Critters)

13. Comparative case study of the relationship between voluntourists and the voluntoured in Tijuana, Mexico and McDowell Co., WV • Mixed methods • Interviews (formal and informal) • Questionnaires • Web site content analysis • Participant observation • Two major themes emerged • Dependency • The role of organized religion • And one great story emerged • Pettin’ the critters Pettin’ the Critters

14. Application of critical theory and social movement theory to volunteer tourism • Recognizing the contradictions of volunteer tourism through research propositions • oppressor-emancipator? • dependency perpetuator or self-efficacy empowerer? • resource abuser or resource mobilizer? • network creator or agitator? • stereotype perpetuator or consciousness-raiser? • The ultimate question: how can we find ways to use volunteer tourism to further social change? Oppression, emancipation, and volunteer tourism

15. Dominant Hegemony (current systems of power and status quo) Volunteer tourism discourse The Social Construction of Volunteer Tourism Level of volunteer tourism organization’s actions working to equalize power inequalities between hosts and guests (economic, social, environmental) and therefore facilitate emancipation of the “voluntoured” Level of human emancipation included as part of a volunteer tourism organization’s goals Actual degree of equality between the local community and volunteers (economic ,social, environmental) environmental) The Voluntourism Critical Theory Model Opportunities for Human emancipation of the voluntourist (working and middle class, the proletariat) Level of Human emancipation

16. Self-Efficacy Network Facilitation between volunteers and the voluntoured Social Movement Participation Resource Mobilization Volunteer Tourism Participation Network Facilitation amongst volunteers Volunteer Tourism Participation Social Change Social Change The Voluntourism Social Movement Theory Model Consciousness-raising experience Personal as Political

17. A slightly different direction, but the same purpose • Cultivating community capital through volunteer tourism • Project with Anne Zahra, Waikato Mgt. School, Hamilton, NZ, targeting volunteer tourism in the Philippines • Examining the potential for volunteer tourism to form a framework for the introduction of bridging social capital as well as create opportunities for internal bonding social capital within the volunteer tourism host community and subsequently exploring how these bridging and bonding social capital networks exert an influence on other forms of capital: financial, natural, political, cultural, built, and human, within the host community. • Exploring the use of appreciative inquiry as a method NZ Project (Kiwis)

18. Virginia and North Carolina Legislature’s Opinions of Tourism • “The Quiet Good” (CSR and the Lodging Industry) • Creation of a Statewide Tourism Development Plan for Virginia Some projects don’t always fit…or do they?

19. Inspire both you and others • Be something you feel passionate about but still pays the bills • Pass the “elevator speech” test • Be flexible • Be trackable and tangible (think key words) • Find its way into your teaching and service activities • Be the foundation for a career that you can be proud of • NOT be stagnant…consistent doesn’t mean boring! • Encourage you to become a “bricoleur” A great research agenda needs to…

20. Other Strategies and Suggestions?