Encounters in the Fields – Tourism to the Battlefields of the Western Front

The First World War is now slipping beyond the realm of lived experience, yet it continues to wield a profound fascination over the British modern imagination. The Western Front in France and Belgium, which was the decisive theatre of operations for the Allied troops, has fashioned its own mythology and imagery and has secured a firm place in modern memory. Although the unremarkable topography of the region now visually betrays little of the momentous nature of the battles fought across its expanses, thousands of British visitors travel to the area throughout the year. This paper explores the ways in which tourists embarking on commercial coach tours engage with the battlefield landscape by examining contemporary tourist performance. It also considers the role of the tour guide in setting and directing the tourist encounter.     

Assessing the ‘value’ of new transport initiatives in deprived neighbourhoods in the UK

In the context of growing policy awareness in the UK of the links between transport and social exclusion, this paper describes case-study research of four different transport projects funded under the UK Department for Transport's Urban Bus Challenge Fund (UBC) with the specific aim of facilitating social inclusion in the areas they serve. Through surveys and interviews with end-users, the study qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated the value of these new services to local residents in terms of their increased economic opportunities and other quality of life benefits. It also aimed to identify their wider contribution to the renewal and regeneration of the deprived areas they serve through depth interviews with professional local stakeholders.     

Aviation and the environment in the context of the EU–US Open Skies agreement

We examine the impacts of the EU–US Open Skies agreement on the environment on emissions from the aviation sector. We use the Hamburg Tourism Model of domestic and international tourist numbers and flows, to estimate these impacts. The Open Aviation Area will result in increased competition between carriers and falls in the cost of transatlantic flights. This will not only have implications for the size and structure of the industry but also for climate policy. The paper assesses what effects the expected increases in passenger numbers will have on CO₂ emissions and tests whether this increase in travel will result in a corresponding rise in emissions. Simulations show that passenger numbers arriving from the US to the EU will increase by between 1% and 14% depending on the magnitude of the price reductions because of substitution between destinations, the percentage increase in global emissions is much smaller (max. 1%) than the increase in cross-Atlantic traffic.     

Borders in tourism: the transformation of the Swedish–Finnish border landscape

Permeability in the European internal borders has increased, challenging state-centric tourism development in the border regions. The aim of this article is to examine the development of the Finnish–Swedish border, which has been one of the European Union's internal borders since 1995, as a tourist attraction. An examination of the path of tourism development in this border region shows that the differentiative meaning of the border that has been characteristic for state-centric tourism development has diminished and some of the excitement of crossing the old east–west border has vanished. At present the significance of the border for local tourism development can be seen in the new cross-border enterprise and commercialisation of tourist attractions. Such development can have a wide-ranging influence for the reorganisation of border landscape and dissolution of mental boundaries in the region. This study contributes to an understanding of the transition in the European Union's internal border regions from the perspective of tourism.     

Same city—different options: An analysis of the work trips of married couples in the metropolitan area of Oslo

The question raised in this paper is in which ways the urban structure interacts with or creates different conditions for activities made by men and women. To explore this question the paper focuses on the travel to work of married couples in an urban context, how they adapt time use and deal with the spatial choices of work places and the allocation of transport resources. The empirical analyses are based on a personal travel study from the Oslo-region in 1990/91. Women work closer to their homes than the husbands, and have less choice on the geographical labour market. In families with one car, the husband has the first choice. Women have more often tasks on the way to and from work related to household responsibilities.     

Where does flygskam come from? The role of citizens’ lack of knowledge of the environmental impact of air transport in explaining the development of flight shame

A growing number of citizens are concerned about the environmental impact of air transport, and aviation has become synonymous with high carbon emissions and global warming, which has led to the development of flygskam (or flight shame) in Europe. While its impact on air traffic remains unclear, flight shame has forced the airline industry to react and better understand its origin. In this research, building on the growing literature on industry and organizational stigma, we assume that flight shame can be partly explained by a distorted public perception of the environmental impact of air transport. Accordingly, we investigate the level of knowledge of the environmental footprint of air transport. Based on a sample of 1018 French respondents, we reveal that more than 90% of respondents overestimate the share of air transport in global carbon emissions. We also show that 98% of the respondents underestimate the reduction in carbon emissions per passenger. Finally, we investigate the awareness of the measures taken by the industry to curb its carbon emissions and highlight, for instance, that 70% of respondents overestimate the fuel consumption of the newest generations of aircraft. Based on these results, we draw lessons for airlines and for the air transport industry to help cope with flight shame in Europe.     

Why Huddersfield? Media representations of a festival of contemporary music in the ‘unlikeliest’ of places

A festival of contemporary music was established in 1978 in Huddersfield, an industrial town in northern England. The event acquired an international reputation, enjoyed to the present day. Yet the news media continued to report as ‘surprising’ the successful juxtaposition of avant-garde art with an industrial town. An explanation is constructed via an analytic discussion of fashionability, the avant-garde, and the nature of continuing news. This discussion is further set within the context of the generic urban transition from the industrial to the post-industrial, and the movement known as cultural regeneration. The work of Simmel, Nietzsche, and Bourdieu are deployed in these analyses. The concluding argument is that the news media are relating, simultaneously, three stories: that of the success of a festival; that of the cultural regeneration of urban centres seeking a role in a new economy; and a generic rags-to-riches narrative. The news reporting of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival is thus a multiple metaphor for a continuing cultural change.     

Knowledge dynamics in setting sustainable standards in tourism – the case of ‘Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa’

The development of standards and certification programmes in global tourism has gained importance in the production-consumption-nexus. This paper deals with the ‘Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa’ standard, one of the first innovative service standards with a focus on the social dimension of sustainability. Until now, there has been little detailed exploration in the evolutionary trajectories of sustainable tourism standards from a knowledge-based perspective. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of standard creation in global–local interaction processes over time and its impacts on the micro level of firms. Conceptually, it builds on two scientific debates: the neo-institutional approaches in organisational theory focusing on institution building and the research on innovation and knowledge dynamics. Empirically, it is based on 32 interviews conducted with different actor groups.     

For the young and old alike – An analysis of the determinants of seniors’ satisfaction with the true door-to-door DRT system EcoBus in rural Germany

Mobility and transportation service requirements change with growing age. Also in a car-based society like Germany many seniors need to give up driving the car and are dependent on relatives or public transport. Especially in rural areas, the accessibility of public transport is often limited. Demand responsive transportation has occasionally been proposed by researchers as a viable alternative to stop-, route- and time-based public transportation to address such problems. This case study analyses passenger data from the true DRT system EcoBus to identify distinct drivers of old passengers’ satisfaction compared to other passengers. Contrary to existing literature, older people stated to be even more satisfied with the service then younger travellers did. Moreover, older travellers tend to travel alone, but showed slightly higher satisfaction when travelling in groups. The results suggest that older people might be more open-minded and positive regarding flexible public transport schemes than expected.     

How can the quality of rail services in Tokyo be further improved?

This study aims to examine the preconditions that affect quality of railway services in Tokyo and its policy implications. Objective evaluation of quality of services makes it clear that further investment to improve them is necessary in the future, and that passengers are willing to pay for it. However, some classic features of railways in Tokyo hinder improvement. Particularly, their organisational structure, characterised as territorial fragmentation, makes it difficult to internalise the external ‘network’ effect and maximise user benefits on a metropolitan scale. Therefore, transport policy needs to transform railway organisations such that they make further investments efficiently from a social cost/benefit point of view. Further, it is also essential to devise new methodologies to stimulate service promotion of railways as a private business, including financial support for investment and organisational transformation.     

A dissonant heritage site revisited – the case of Nowa Huta in Krakow

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to portray, through the performative lens, the network of social relations associated with the so-called ‘Crazy Tours’ in Nowa Huta, a former socialist (the easternmost and the most populous district of Krakow, built predominantly in the socialist–realist style) district of Krakow. Such initiatives have been emerging in the last few years in different places across Central and Eastern Europe, evidencing the trend to exploit the communist heritage in a commercial way. The project, which methodologically draws on discourse analysis, participant observations and semi-structured interviews, was to characterize the main features of the process of change in the perception of dissonant heritage as well as the revitalization of Nowa Huta as a tourist site.     

Rail track charges in Great Britain—the issue of charging for capacity

Separation of infrastructure from operations in rail transport raises the issue of what should be the structure and level of charges for infrastructure use. This paper outlines the solution adopted in Britain, and how it has developed. It concludes that the principle defect in the current system is the lack of any charge to reflect scarce capacity. A way of measuring the capacity requirements of different types of train and of identifying their opportunity cost is put forward, but it is recognised that reflecting this in the charges would be complex.     

Alliance or acquisition? Strategies for growth in the container shipping industry,the case of CP ships

The global shipping industry is undergoing a transformation through the establishment of strategic alliances involving nearly all the major carriers. The near universality of the phenomenon would lead one to believe that being part of a global alliance is the only means of survival today. The case of CP Ships, the maritime arm of Canadian Pacific, provides a radically different model. CP Ships began as a small market player, but through direct acquisition has grown in size to be comparable with many of the large global carriers. It has remained focused as a niche player, venturing to confront the mainline carriers only peripherally. This paper explores the bases for CP Ship's success, highlighting the fact that alliances need not be the only path to survival in a global industry.     

Testing the accuracy of collected geoinformation in the Norwegian Personal Travel Survey––experiences from a pilot study

This paper presents results from a pilot study to the Norwegian Personal Travel Survey 2001 designed to test the quality of geographical information in travel surveys. The use of travel surveys to produce input data for transport modelling requires respondents to provide adequate geographical information on their trips. Data from a telephone survey of 1500 respondents are analysed, and it is shown that people in general are capable of recalling street addresses of places they have been to or give alternative geographical information to help locate trips at a set level. However, the accuracy of location recall varies with respect to place of residence, trip purpose and transport mode.     

Visitors’ diversified motivations and behavior – the case of the pilgrimage center in Krakow (Poland)

The article presents the visitors’ motivations and behavior at the pilgrimage center in Krakow (Poland). Here, the relation between these elements, i.e. whether their motivations have a correlation with what buildings they visit, is emphasized for the first time. The most important motivations for visits were religious and tourist ones, often rated equally high by the same respondents. They visited religious, cultural and tourist buildings and facilities. The stay of visitors with religious motivations was not limited to religious practices, but was extended by tourist behavior. Similarly, visitors with tourist motivations visited religious buildings and participated in religious practices. However, they visit tourist and cultural facilities more often. Additionally, the three groups of respondents were categorized and, on the basis of importance of the religious and tourist motivations, three types were distinguished, i.e. pilgrims, religious tourists and tourists. Their characteristic has been expanded by the analysis of their behavior. Nowadays, visitors’ motivations and behavior at pilgrimage centers include those typical for pilgrims and tourists in the traditional meaning. In addition to their religious function, these sites offer cultural and tourist facilities. The article highlights the dedifferentiation approach to visitors’ motivations and behavior, and in respect of the spatial organization of pilgrimage centers.     

Methodological approach for assessing the potential of a rural tourism destination: An application in the province of Cáceres (Spain)

Evaluating the resources in a tourism destination is one of the previous tasks in the development of its comprehensive planning. There are many criteria to use in order to evaluate tourism resources; but, independently on the number of attributes considered the fact is that not every criterion is equally important in the process of evaluation and ranking of the tourism potential of a destination's resources. In contrast to other well-known methodologies, the aim of this paper is to propose a methodology to weight qualitative and hierarchical evaluation attributes by estimating a discrimination parameter. In this research, an item response theory (IRT) model is used, the graded response model, to estimate each attribute's discrimination coefficient. This parameter will be the basis to propose a weighting system for the entire set of attributes. Graded response model (GRM) will also allow establishing a hierarchy of resources by constructing a continuous latent scale, where it will be possible to position every analysed resource in the tourism destination. The applicability and robustness of the IRT methodology will be tested using data from rural tourism resources in the Spanish province of Cáceres.     

Top down or bottom up? Issues in the development of sub-national tourism satellite accounts

It is well known that tourism makes extensive use of national identities to help build brand images, and that such use can result in significant negative impacts to peoples and their cultures. Until recent times, the dominant themes for much of Australia’s international tourism advertising campaigns have been based upon male character types, Indigenous culture and landscape. The 2006 ‘Australian Invitation’ campaign which featured a young female model and use of the term ‘bloody hell’ created a media controversy. The research reported in this paper found that the majority of respondents liked and approved of the campaign, but a cluster analysis distinguished a group of approximately one third of the respondents who held negative attitudes towards it.     

The tourist with a hidden agenda? Shifting roles in the field of tourism research

This article focuses on the way tourism researchers have to shift between different roles when in the field. The complex reality of the tourism arena with its multidisciplinary character requires a certain flexibility when it comes to the approach and perspective used by the researcher when interacting with the actors in the field. This role switching and flexibility has certain consequences when it comes to the position of the researcher. Furthermore, contemporary developments in the world (such as globalisation, technological developments and increased human mobility) have altered the practice of ethnographic research. The article explores and reflects upon some of the (methodological) issues that tourism researcher are confronted with when conducting ethnographic research, by discussing a number of empirical examples from different researchers in the field. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.