Employing resilience as the theoretical and methodological framework and focusing on governance, this long-term anthropological study analyzes the socio-ecological system of a small indigenous community, with community-based tourism development. After 10 years of ethnographic and participatory work with the Lacandon Maya of Nahá, Mexico, our anthropological research explores the complexities of community governance and its role in protecting the socio-ecological system. The processes of land restitution initiated by the Mexican government and the arrival of migrants from different ethnic groups in the surrounding areas have resulted in significant socio-ecological adjustments being made at the community level. A self-regulated governance system is evaluated to understand the drivers and variables that generated vulnerabilities in the system, as well as the factors that fostered resilience in the establishment of the Nahá’s Natural Protected Area of Flora and Fauna. Our results show that although the current Lacandon political organization is fairly recent, pressures from neighboring communities have fostered resilience responses. To protect their space from such pressures, the Lacandon, convinced of their ethnic legitimacy as guardians of the Lacandon Jungle, have internalized the official political-environmentalist discourse. This role has had critical implications for the birth and development of the Indigenous tourism system.

This research analyzes an innovative process employed by Indigenous entrepreneurs and employees to design new and imaginative products closely related to their cultural, social and natural heritage, values and resources. In the State of Chiapas, with over one million Indigenous inhabitants, where poverty has persisted for decades, government and international agencies have promoted the development of many Indigenous tourism initiatives. However, the employment of top-down strategies focused predominantly towards the provision of tourist facilities failed to recognize the crucial role of tourism products and activities, thus sustaining and promoting stereotyped ideas of Indigenous peoples. This paper focuses on the benefits of collaborative research and knowledge dialogue between scientific and traditional wisdom to overcome some of these limitations through the application of an Indigenous Tourism Product Development Model. Using Participatory Action Research processes, university researchers worked with the management and staff of four Indigenous (Lacandon) owned and operated companies located in the communities of Lacanjá Chansayab and Nahá (Lacandon Jungle) in Mexico, to create a series of new cultural and heritage-related products. The paper explores the capacity of this process to revitalize culture while fostering feelings of accomplishment, participation, cultural pride and creative confidence among the co-researchers.

The research presents the results of a quantitative survey of senior managers’ evaluation of proficiency of employees’ social skills completed in 2019 within the framework of the Next Tourism Generation Alliance, a European Commission funded project. The current and future levels of proficiency, social skills gaps and training are assessed. The sample includes 1404 respondents from organisations across eight countries in Europe in five tourism and hospitality sectors (hospitality, food & beverage, tour-operators, visitor attractions and DMOs). Results show significant country-based differences and variations according to the type of organisation, operational sector and organisation size. The required future levels of the social skills are strongly related to their current levels. Two clusters are identified based on the management perceptions of employees’ social skills gaps. Respondents in the first cluster (N=871) see only small gaps between the current and required future proficiency levels of social skills in their organisations while respondents in the second cluster (N=533) perceive much larger gaps. The findings indicate a need to develop holistic social skill training and education which supports quality customer experiences and sustainable tourism criteria.

Extant demand-perspective social tourism studies have generally focused on children, families and the disabled whilst older people remain an under-researched group in relation to the personal and social benefits of social tourism initiatives. This study discusses the lack of research on social tourism and older people and takes a demand-side perspective to examine one of the world’s most developed and large-scale social tourism schemes for older people, the Spanish Government’s IMSERSO programme. A qualitative approach explores the nature of older people’s engagement with the scheme and its impact on their wellbeing, through individual in-depth interviews with twenty-seven IMSERSO participants in Benidorm, Spain – a popular IMSERSO destination. The thematic analysis is structured around five themes: social connectivity, the impact of caring responsibilities, a new beginning, escape and practical support. The findings for these IMSERSO participants suggest that, as factors such as caring obligations and hardship experienced in early life are reduced in later life, they have the capacity for increased holiday-taking and social activity and consequently for participation in the IMSERSO scheme. The scheme is found to have a positive impact on their wellbeing by providing opportunities for meeting and interacting with new people, acting as a distraction from ill-health and thus reducing stress, depression and anxiety. However, the article raises questions over the ability of those without strong social networks, including no partner, and those with ongoing caring responsibilities (those who, it could be argued, are most in need of a holiday) to participate in the scheme.

En los últimos años, las comunidades europeas de pescadores han sufrido cambios estructurales importantes derivados de las distintas reformas de la Política de Pesca Común (PPC). Los instrumentos aplicados han provocado una transformación en este sector, afectando de manera significativa a las pequeñas poblaciones de pescadores. En este contexto, el estudio antropológico se presenta como una herramienta de gran valor para comprender las respuestas de individuos y comunidades a los nuevos retos. El presente trabajo, basado en información primaria y secundaria recogida en la Región de Murcia en la última década, explora algunas de estas respuestas. Los testimonios de los diferentes informantes muestran el debilitamiento de esta profesión como consecuencia de las herramientas políticas implementadas. La disminución del número de embarcaciones y de trabajadores independientes, unido a la falta de relevo generacional pone en riesgo el conocimiento tradicional de la pesca artesanal. Para reflexionar sobre el presente y el futuro de estas prácticas ancestrales, se exponen una serie de experiencias donde se presenta al pescador como intermediador o agente transmisor de conocimiento, vinculando el legado patrimonial a distintos sectores de la sociedad contemporánea. In recent years, European fishing communities have undergone major structural changes resulting from the different reforms of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The instruments implemented have led to a transformation in this sector, affecting small fishing stocks. In this context, we present an anthropological study as a tool of great value to understand the responses of individuals and communities to new challenges. This work, based on primary and secondary information collected in the last decade in the Region of Murcia (Spain), explores some of these responses. The testimonies of the different informants show the weakening of this profession as a result of the political tools implemented. Decreasing number of boats and self-employed workers, coupled with a lack of generational replacement puts at risk traditional knowledge of artisanal fishing. To reflect on the present and future of these ancestral practices, a series of experiences are presented where the fisherman is revealed as an intermediator or transmitting agent of knowledge, linking the heritage legacy to different sectors of contemporary society.