Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
they stayed in touch with afterwards; others strengthened their ties with
fellow travellers (often members of the extended family); others still made
more intensive use of the support options offered by social organisations. In
each of these cases, the social tourism beneficiaries increased the 'stock of
good will created through shared norms and a sense of common membership
upon which individuals may draw in their efforts to achieve collective or
personal objectives' (Furstenberg & Kaplan, 2007: 221).
Above, it was highlighted that participation in tourism (balance family
leisure patterns) may lead to the development of adaptive skills and the
ability to learn and change
(Zabriskie & McCormick, 2001). The potential
of social tourism to encourage behaviour change that outlasts the duration
of the holiday was a particular research theme of Minnaert
et al
.'s (2009)
study. Coleman (1998: 98) describes social capital as 'productive, making
possible the achievement of certain ends that in its absence would not be
possible'. If this is indeed the case, then an increase in social capital could
have a transformative effect. Minnaert
et al
.
(2009) found that the holiday
had given many respondents the time to reflect on their lives and identify
areas where a change was desirable. With the help of their new social
networks and the support of the social support organisation, some of the
respondents were able to make positive changes to their families' lives. The
research findings made clear that this benefit did not develop immediately
after the holiday - at first, the escape from routine is often seen as one of the
most important benefits of the holiday. Being able to leave the worries and
financial problems at home and concentrate on more positive things offered
many participants an opportunity to change their perspective.
A second round of fieldwork, involving 30 of the original 40 respon dents,
highlighted the impacts of social tourism six months after the tourism
experience. A number of respondents showed more marked behaviour
change. Social support organisations often play a vital role in facilitating
this behaviour change. However, it is the holiday that is seen as the key
motivational factor behind it. Most support opportunities the organisa-
tions offer, for example, were already available before the holiday, but the
participants did not take them up until after their holiday. Several social
tourism bene ficiaries, for instance, reported enrolling on courses (often
related to parenting or childcare) or seeking individual counselling. The two
respondents in work in the study both changed jobs after the holiday. Three
respondents changed their views on debt and financial management and
started budgeting better. Their support worker stated:
I know [she] had terrible trouble the year before last at Christmas time,
she had no money, she was depressed. But this year seems to have been
a complete turn-around, they have budgeted, it wasn't huge amounts,
but budgeting for the holiday has started the ball rolling with them.
(Minnaert
et al
., 2009: 329)
