Unpacking business tourism mobilities in sub-Saharan Africa

As considerable numbers of people in emergent world tourism regions engage in independent business travel, meeting, incentives, conferences and exhibitions tourism or practices of informal business tourism the theme of business mobilities merits greater attention in the evolving tourism scholarship of these regions. This article interrogates existing scholarship and research issues pertaining to understanding evolving tourism mobilities specifically in the emerging tourism region of sub-Saharan Africa, where, arguably, more than in any other region of the global tourism economy, the topic of business mobilities merits high priority attention. For sub-Saharan Africa as a whole a growing weight of evidence suggests that business tourism flows – domestic and intraregional – account for a larger share of tourism movements than leisure tourism. In interpreting the complex flows of business mobilities in the African continent it is necessary to go beyond dominant Northern conceptions of what constitutes a business tourist and in particular to understand the activities of the informal-sector business tourist. A useful start point for unpacking business tourism mobilities is to differentiate and apply a typology of international formal-sector tourism, international informal-sector tourism, domestic formal-sector tourism and domestic informal-sector tourism.     

Mobilising tourism research in emerging world regions: contributions and advances

This commentary reflects on the empirical richness and theoretical possibilities of tourism research from the emerging world. In ‘A mobilities approach to tourism from emerging world regions' Cohen and Cohen [2014. Current Issues in Tourism. doi:10.1080/13683500.2014.898617] spare no effort in sketching a comprehensive portrait of non-Western tourism from and within Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Using a modified mobilities approach to interpret the extant literature, the authors enrich our understanding of tourism mobilities and the fundamental differences between Western and non-Western forms of travel, as well as variations from within the non-Western world. This commentary critiques Cohen and Cohen's contributions and explores how knowledge on emerging world tourism might be better advanced through the mobilities paradigm and its modified form as proposed by the authors.     

Holiday travel discourses and climate change

Current analyses highlight the relatively high contribution of holiday travel to greenhouse gas emissions. One response has been a growing ‘slow travel’ movement. Slow travel is an emerging concept which can be explained as an alternative to air and car travel where people travel to destinations more slowly overland and travel less distance. At first glance, slow travel might seem to preclude much international tourism, however, as an adaptation strategy, slow travel has the potential to reduce tourism’s overall carbon footprint. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with 15 UK participants before and after a holiday to another European country. The analysis explores the discourses used by both slow and non-slow travellers to justify modal choice in relation to climate change. Then, using a social practices model, the paper explores how holiday travel is constrained by both individual agency to act and the structures that exist within the travel and tourism industry. The paper concludes with some recommendations for the development of slow travel as a tourism adaptation strategy for a lower carbon future.     

A narrative review of Asian female travellers: looking into the future through the past

Following the rise of tourism in Asia, a growing female travel market has been observed in the region. Nevertheless, limited research has considered the travel experience of Asian women. In response to the dearth of research on Asian female travellers, this study employs a narrative synthesis approach through a postcolonial feminist lens to review the extant literature on Asian female travellers, with the aim to contribute to a cultural understanding of the historical and contemporary travel practices of Asian women. Based on this review, it is evident that Asian women’s travel behaviour is influenced by cultural identities and gender stereotypes. However, existing literature has also demonstrated the agency of Asian women in resisting discriminatory gender practices in tourism, which is represented in the transformation of the identity of Asian female travellers. Accordingly, an agenda for future research is proposed and some implications for the industry are discussed. This study addresses the western-centric and androcentric criticisms in tourism field and provides an alternative reading of women’s travel behaviour from an Asian perspective. This study has contributed to the critical tourism scholarship in Asia and has built an important foundation for future research on Asian female travellers, an area that is not well investigated.     

International Mobility Biographies: A Means to Capture the Institutionalisation of Long-distance Travel?

An important aspect of current international travel and tourism is the degree to which they are becoming embedded as regularised and prescribed parts of the lives of individuals, families, and various organisations. At the individual and family levels, patterns of regularised international mobility often only manifest themselves on a time scale that far exceeds that of the reference periods normally used in long-distance travel surveys. Other methods are thus needed to address these issues. This paper discusses a particular method used in ongoing research into the international mobility of young Swedes. Students in the last year of upper secondary school are asked to formulate their international mobility biographies, i.e. all international trips conducted during their childhood and adolescence. The paper discusses the potential of such a ‘biographical approach’ to gathering information about various forms of the regularisation or institutionalisation of international mobility. The approach suggested is contextualised through a review of relevant biographically oriented concepts and approaches in the fields of mobility and tourism research. Methodological challenges involved in collecting information on travel behaviour retrospectively are then discussed, with reference to initial experience gained from research concerning the international mobility of young Swedes.     

Tourism-induced mobilities and transformation of indigenous cultures: where is the Vedda community in Sri Lanka heading to?*

ABSTRACT

Mobilities that encapsulate global- and local-level movement of people, capital, information, material and intangible heritage across boundaries influence distant socio-cultural structures and processes linking them to evolving global networks. Indigenous cultural tourism is a catalyst of mobilities that expose the habitats of distant spaces. This paper examines the Vedda community’s concurrent context and indigenous tourism-informed mobilities’ contributions to transforming their cultural character through anthropological approaches. Data were collected through a series of interviews, overt observation and review of documents. Findings indicate that the Vedda are susceptible to the influence of mobilities within and without the indigenous tourism practices. Enforced restructuring and governance push Vedda towards novel livelihoods, while automobilities, image, communication and geopolitical mobilities challenge Vedda heritage and temporalities. Vedda lead a hybrid life; real one being modern and the other being pseudo attributed for tourist attraction. Indigenous cultural tourism causes losing the inherited meaning of their cultural values. The Vedda, with their anatomically proven Mesolithic inheritance, have drawn world’s attention to preserving and recognizing them before their unique culture is subsumed by the modern world. Findings indicate that tourism planners should realize the significance of distinctive Vedda heritage parallel to commercial gains of tourism.     

Business connectivity,air transport and the urban hierarchy: A case study in East Asia

This paper explores the effect of business connectivity between cities on their air traffic connections, and in turn on their place in a region's urban hierarchy. Its focus of attention is East Asia, where economic development is underpinned by a complex set of international flows of trade and investment. Business connectivity is a key part of these flows. The research incorporates a measure of business connections in a regression model that previously relied on GDP per head, population and distance to account for international air links. Results confirm that business connectivity is a more important influence on the level of international air links within East Asia, and plays a major role in explaining the changes in city rank over time. The paper concludes with suggestions that possible incorporation of domestic air travel (itself larger than the intra-regional flows in this region) could enrich the insight of this approach.     

Tourism and the Southeast Asian Crises of 1997 and 1998: A View from Singapore

Singapore has historically stood out as an economic anomaly among countries in the developing world.Its per capita income was higher than most industrialised countries, its government was relatively uncorrupt, and despite the economic difficulties experienced throughout Asia starting in 1997,it was still rated as one of the safest places in the world for investments. Starting in 1997 and extending through 1998, Singapore was hit by three major crises: the currency turmoil affecting its neighbours (especially Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia); the El Niño-driven forest fires on Borneo and Sumatra that filled Singapore’s air with brown smoke; and the political and social crises in Malaysia and Indonesia. These three crises brought international, intra-regional and domestic tourism in Southeast Asia to a near stand still. Singapore received some benefits from these problems as currency from neighbouring countries flew into Singapore in search of a safe haven, thereby supporting the Singapore dollar, and ethnic Chinese and others flew to Singapore to escape both the choking smoke from forest fires and the political unrest in Indonesia, and filled Singapore’s hotels. Singapore weathered the varied crises quite well, and ultimately Singapore may emerge in an even stronger position as the economic powerhouse of Southeast Asia.     

An emerging Korean youth culture,Rail-ro: the application of cultural consensus analysis to domestic rail travel experiences

This study deals with an emerging domestic rail travel phenomenon among Korean youth, known as Rail-ro (Railo), which has influenced aspects of youth culture and domestic tourism in Korea since 2007. The purpose of this study is to determine whether Railo experiences exist as a coherent culture among Railers based on cultural consensus analysis. The result indicates Railers’ strong agreement about Railo experiences, which reinforces the view that a particular rail pass could be instrumental in forming a distinct youth travel subculture. This study demonstrates how travel culture driven by the seasonal rail pass supports domestic tourism and inbound tourism.     

On the mobility of tourism mobilities

Tourism mobilities are increasing over time and over space. However, while overall growth is clearly of significance, there is a need for a greater interrogation of some of the underlying assumptions made with respect to the nature of tourism mobility in the highly North American and Eurocentric English language tourism literature. Therefore, closer examination of mobilities in the so-called emerging economies that are becoming of growing importance with respect to aggregate tourism consumption and production may shed significant light on our understandings of tourism and associated mobilities.     

More than medical tourism: lessons from Indonesia and Malaysia on South–South intra-regional medical travel

While scholars increasingly acknowledge that most contemporary international medical travel comprises South–South flows, these have gone curiously unexamined. Rather, policy, scholarly and media attention focuses predominantly on North–South flows of ‘medical tourists’. However, this focus diverts attention from the actual and potential impacts of South–South intra-regional medical travel flows on both their source and receiving contexts. As such, we present findings from a study examining South–South intra-regional medical travellers' motivations, preparations and practices to better understand the social, economic and political situations that condition them and their effects on the destinations that receive them. Our study of Indonesian medical travellers pursuing health care in Malaysia draws on 35 semi-structured interviews with Indonesian patients, their companions, medical staff and agents in both countries. From this, we suggest that South–South medical travellers' diverse socio-economic conditions shape decision-making and spending behaviour relative to treatment, accommodation and transport choices as well as length of stay. We identify ways in which informal economies and social care networks sustain the formal medical travel industry. Finally, we observe how medical travel increasingly serves as a means through which chronic and everyday health needs are met through temporary, visa-free intra-regional movement.     

Tourism and the smartphone app: capabilities,emerging practice and scope in the travel domain

Based on its advanced computing capabilities and ubiquity, the smartphone has rapidly been adopted as a tourism travel tool. With a growing number of users and a wide variety of applications emerging, the smartphone is fundamentally altering our current use and understanding of the transport network and tourism travel. Based on a review of smartphone apps, this article evaluates the current functionalities used in the domestic tourism travel domain and highlights where the next major developments lie. Then, at a more conceptual level, the article analyses how the smartphone mediates tourism travel and the role it might play in more collaborative and dynamic travel decisions to facilitate sustainable travel. Some emerging research challenges are discussed.     

Tourism as connectedness

Late modernity in developed nations is characterized by changing social and psychological conditions, including individualization, processes of competition and loneliness. Remaining socially connected is becoming increasingly important. In this situation, travel provides meaning through physical encounters, inclusion in traveller Gemeinschaft based on shared norms, beliefs and interests, and social status in societies increasingly defined by mobilities. As relationships are forged and found in mobility, travel is no longer an option, rather a necessity for sociality, identity construction, affirmation or alteration. Social contexts and the underlying motivations for tourism have changed fundamentally in late modernity: non-tourism has become a threat to self-conceptions. By integrating social and psychological perspectives, this paper expands and deepens existing travel and mobilities discussions to advance the understanding of tourism as a mechanism of social connectedness, and points to implications for future tourism research.     

Interdependent,imagined, and embodied mobilities in mobile social space: Disruptions in ‘normality’, ‘habit’ and ‘routine’

This article draws on ethnographic research of everyday mobilities to further understanding of interdependent mobilities practices in relation to normality, habit and routine. The contention here is that a rethinking of ‘normality’, ‘habit’ and ‘routine’ reveals how mobilities are interdependent, imagined and embodied. We draw from Lefebvre's (1991) notions of social space and rhythmanalysis to illustrate the relationality of these aspects of mobility. In doing so, we build on recent theorisations of habit in the field of mobilities, which have opened this concept as a key site for interrogating body–society relationships arguing that both ‘routine’ and ‘normality’ have similar potential in revealing the regulation and control of everyday spaces. We consider everyday embodied engagements with mobile space and how these become normalised, habitualised and routinised. This paper draws from a Research Council UK Energy Programme funded project, ‘Disruption, the raw material for carbon change’, which uses ‘disruption’ as a lens through which to reveal potential for changes in mobility practices that result in carbon reduction. Our exploration of interdependent, imagined and embodied mobilities concurs with existing scholarship in the mobilities field that argues for a rethinking of individualised conceptions of ‘normality’, ‘habit’ and ‘routine’ in seeking an understanding of mobilities that are socially, culturally and materially contingent.     

Imagining the Scottish nation: tourism and homeland nationalism in Scotland

Genealogical tourism is one of the fastest growing sub-segments of heritage tourism. The travel motivation for genealogical visit stems from the search for familiarisation and identification with ‘the native other’ through which tourists seek to reaffirm their cultural affinity and commonness. The purpose of this article is to see how renewed cultural affinity with the homeland constructs a form of nationalism. Qualitative data collected through field surveys, interviews and questionnaires with genealogical tourists showed that such travel bestows a renewed sense of self-identity, enhances cultural affinity to their ‘homeland’ nation and plays a role in articulating ‘homeland’ nationalism. The article contributes in understanding the articulation of root, identity and ancestral belonging in the context of genealogical tourism and the way it can be linked with the ‘Nationalist’ sentiment in Scotland.     

How do monetary operations impact tourism demand? The case of Turkey

All monetary operations such as revaluation and devaluation have some degree of impact on tourism demand at different significance levels. The purpose of this study was to explain how devaluation and revaluation affect tourism demand (domestic and international) and what the government should do to obtain the greatest benefits from them. Turkey has one of the fastest growing tourism industries in the world, and has been experiencing high inflation at a very significant level since the 1970s. The Turkish Government sometimes makes value adjustments on the Turkish national currency, the ‘Lira’, and these adjustments have influenced domestic and international tourism demand in Turkey. The case of Turkey is discussed specifically. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Towards an understanding of international city break travel

This paper explores city break tourism and, in particular, the distinctive characteristics of this form of travel. The city break is examined and compared with other types of trips. The research follows a sequential mixed methods approach involving both a visitor survey and in‐depth interviews. The findings show the international city break trip to have a number of distinctive characteristics. These are summarised into five main areas (5 Ds) — duration, distance, date flexibility, discretionary nature and destination travel party. These distinguishing features provide a useful insight into one of the most important yet least examined travel segments in tourism research. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An examination of the role of domestic destinations in satisfying holiday demands

The role of domestic destinations in satisfying demand for holidays has received less attention than research which outlines the challenges associated with long haul travel, particularly within the United Kingdom context. This paper examines the role of domestic holidays in satisfying demand in relation to international holidays, in the context of providing a better understanding of the environmental impacts of tourism. This is achieved through analysis of a household survey and a series of interviews with family groups of holiday-makers. The data was collected in the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom. Most respondents prefer domestic holidays in attractive coastal and rural destinations; they often take place in the summer and for shorter periods than overseas trips. Yet once at the destination there is commonality between tourism practices in domestic and international destinations. Socio-cultural aspects, life stage and financial considerations prove much more influential than environmental concerns in influencing choice. In response, the main policy recommendation would be to raise the relative cost of travelling abroad. The primary research recommendation would be to deepen the understanding of how substitution between destinations can occur.     

Post-colonial Politics and Resurgent Heritage: The Development of Kyrgyzstan's Heritage Tourism Product

In 1991 the Kyrgyz Republic secured its political autonomy from the USSR and set out on the road to cultural and economic independence. Tourism was high on the development agenda, not least because of the country's abundance of natural assets, its experience with health and recreational tourism during the Soviet period and its lack of viable alternatives. During the post-colonial period, tourist activity has been based mainly on the country's mountains and lakes. More recently attempts to develop a heritage tourism product have mirrored the resurgence of ethnic Kyrgyz nationalism and Turkic culture throughout Central Asia. The paper identifies ethnic diversity and nationalist revivalism as potential constraints to the development of heritage tourism in Kyrgyzstan. Moreover, the issue of dissonant interest groups in the protection of the heritage of Kyrgyzstan is addressed. Much of the international interest in Kyrgyz heritage has been directed at the epos of the nomads of the Steppes and it is their protection, rather than that of tangible heritage sites, that has attracted sponsorship from UNESCO and other bodies. Additionally, the tangible heritage sites that have been proposed by the Kyrgyz government for World Heritage status are of domestic and regional, rather than international interest. Implications for the strategic development of Kyrgyzstan's heritage tourism product are discussed, with specific reference to world heritage.