There is a surprising lack of understanding of visitors' perspective on the experience of visiting a heritage site. Previous studies used quantitative approaches that did not shed light on visitors' perspectives, terms, and meanings. Drawing upon the tradition ofphenomenology, this exploratory study used qualitative research methods to examine college student visitors' perspectives on heritage sites they had visited. Respondents' experience was multidimensional: they emphasized activities in which they had engaged, their companions, site personnel they had encountered, and information learned during their visits. The results suggest a need for more careful site management (including the physical environment and site personnel) and changes in marketing, advertising, programming, and site missions. Further research on visitor experiences using phenomenological and qualitative approaches is needed.

Women's flat track roller derby consists of two teams vying for points played on an oval track, and wearing quad skates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact participation in roller derby has on body image. An online survey was used to gather data from members of roller derby leagues (n = 1597) in the United States. The survey contained quantitative questions from the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) along with qualitative questions. Based upon the data, a typical respondent was Caucasian, 20 to 40 years of age, heterosexual, married/domestic partnership, and has a post-secondary degree. The null hypothesis was rejected as there was a significant difference when comparing means of the MBSRQ prior to joining and currently. Certain MBSRQ scales indicated a negative correlation with BMI.

Defining a tourist is a difficult proposition, as shown by the use of dissimilar definitions in various books, articles, re search reports, and serials. This article investigated the defi nitions used by research managers at convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs). Distance traveled is used most often to identify the tourist, but the figure used to identify that same tourist fluctuates between 20 and 150 miles. The type of indi vidual from whom CVBs seek information also varies with the number of CVBs that contact these types and the fre quency of the contact. The significance of these data is that the individuals used to describe the tourist and measure tour ist behavior is inconsistent between the various CVBs.

Park and recreation administrators indicated that the skills they desire in entry-level professionals were 'soft skills'; not skills per se, but personality characteristics and traits that seem to reflect professionalism and the ability to meet challenges well. The desirable personality would have strong verbal and written communication skills, a people orientation, and be enthusiastic, patient, and fun. Some basic professional parks and recreation skills such as budgeting and programming appear desirable, but of more interest is a person who can multi-task, solve problems, be flexible, be creative, and be passionate about the job. From the university recreation program's viewpoint, there is a notable gap between skills and competencies identified by this research, and current accreditation and certification standards. Compatibility in standards and partnerships between universities, and park and recreation agencies, can help meet quantity and quality human resource needs. With university and agency partnerships, a more formal feedback loop could be formulated in order to articulate deficiencies in skills of interns. Academia is tasked with training future staff, and mechanisms need to be in place to ensure needed talent is available to agencies.

Ecotourism is a form of tourism which focuses on contributing to the preservation of natural and cultural resources while promoting economic contribution to local communities. Certain factors have been identified in the literature to optimize both preservation and economic contribution, but the strategies to accomplish these factors have not been defined. The purpose of this research was to identify through case analysis how each of the success factors in ecotourism development (i.e. an integrated approach, planning and a slow start, education and training, maximize local benefits, and evaluation and feedback) have been implemented in ecotourism cases. A series of ecotourism cases were analyzed. The success factors were identified and the strategies described under each factor were recorded. The data collected for all cases were pooled for each of the success factors and a matrix of five success factors with the corresponding strategies was created. Strategies that appeared as ‘recommended’ in the cases were not included in the analysis. The results indicated that factors and strategies differed. Within each factor there is no predominant strategy. Success factors should be re-evaluated and factors identified using an ecosystem management approach which puts the health of the environment as the foundation of tourism development. Standards need to be set and then strategies assigned to maintain standards for preservation and economic well-being.