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MSc Thesis AMS Institute - Youth participation in tourism policy: A case study in Amsterdam City Centre

MADE Student Project

Young people are an under-researched topic in tourism studies nowadays, especially in their role as residents of the host community. As this group is susceptible to the effects of tourism in their environment, knowledge is needed about their perceptions and actions related to tourism. Their perspectives, ideas and knowledge can be of use to shape the future of tourism as they are the future of cities. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the relationship between the current arrangement of tourism policy and the engagement of young people. Through the lens of the Policy Arrangement Approach which focuses on the actors, resources, rules and discourse in a policy domain, a qualitative study is carried out in the context of the centre of Amsterdam. Interviews are conducted with eight stakeholders and eleven young people (15-30 years) living in the city centre. Via a qualitative content analysis, the aforementioned relationship is studied.

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This MSc thesis shows that youth participation is almost non-existent in this policy domain. The actors have incidental contact with young people, even though it is desired by them. Also, it comes to the fore that similar ideas about relevant knowledge and skills exist among the active stakeholders and young people. Furthermore, there is a high unfamiliarity about both the rules that focus on the content of tourism policy as on those that focus on the process of participation. Lastly, their view on tourism is, contrary to the actors in the policy-making process, very acceptive of the situation.

The conclusion is that no direct relation exists between the current arrangement of tourism policy and the engagement of youth in Amsterdam. This means that the actors, resources, rules and discourse are not directly connected to actual participation. It seems that the current arrangement of tourism policy sustains an environment in which young people are not made aware of the possibility to participate or the urgency of the challenge of tourism and their participation. Indirect connections, however, exist between the four dimensions and youth participation. These connections are about the unawareness, unfamiliarity or contradicting ideas of youth on the four dimensions of tourism policy. This MSc thesis contributes to existing literature as it studies the topic of participation from a policy perspective by focusing on four dimensions instead of a personal point of view, such as attitudes and perceptions, which is often chosen by researchers. Also, it aims attention at the role of young people which is a group that remains understudied -for already 30 years- in tourism studies. A few implications exist, such as missing an important stakeholder, a rather monotonous group of youngsters in terms of age and the fact that this thesis does not include personal factors that also affect youth participation. These can be included in further research to gain a better and more comprehensive understanding of youth participation in tourism policy.

Author: Carmen Kistenmaker 

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