Transport and Tourism: Cycle Tourism – A Model for Sustainable Development?

Whilst the relationship between transport and tourism has been a subject of discussion in the literature, research has focused primarily on an evaluation of transport as a means to an end rather than as a contextual component of the tourism offering, especially at the destination. This paper evaluates the concept of a planned sustainable transport network, the National Cycle Network in the UK, as a potential model for the integration of transport, tourism and recreation. The paper concludes by exploring a number of implications, which may be considered when developing similar tourism transport networks. A model of sustainable transport development is presented.     

Tourism,information technologies and sustainability: an exploratory review

ABSTRACT

Considerable attention has been paid in recent years to the fundamental changes in the global tourism system related to the emergence of information technologies (IT), and, specifically, the rise of social media. Opportunities to search travel-related information, to reserve and book, evaluate and judge; to receive travel advice and to communicate one's mobility patterns have all profoundly changed the practices of performing tourism, with concomitant repercussions for the management and marketing of businesses and destinations. This paper provides a discussion of the implications of these changes for the sustainability of the global tourism system. Based on an exploratory research design, key changes in the tourism system are identified and discussed with regard to their environmental, socio-cultural and psychological, as well as economic significance. The paper concludes that IT affects the tourism system in numerous and complex ways, with mixed outcomes for sustainability: while most changes would currently appear to be ambivalent – and some outright negative – there is considerable potential for IT to support more sustainable tourism. Yet, this would require considerable changes in the tourism system on global, national and individual business' levels, and require tourism academics to probe many new issues.     

Tourism's climate mitigation dilemma: Flying between rich and poor countries

Stronger demand for medium- to long-haul air transport is the main driver of the tourism industry's increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, causing the current development of global tourism to be environmentally unsustainable. Efficiency improvements and biofuel usage are unlikely to maintain pace with the projected growth in transport volume. Therefore, curbing the growing demand for air transport has been suggested as another option for the sustainable development of tourism. However, the political and industry discourse concerning the restriction of air transport tends to label such a restriction as unethical, as such limits would impair the development that tourism brings to poor countries. This paper investigates the possible impacts of air travel restrictions on the least developed countries (LDCs) and non-LDCs by examining global tourism. The impacts on LDCs are found to be ‘neutral’ on average, with both losses and gains in tourist arrivals. The extent of any losses does not appear to be beyond the scope of possible economic compensation.     

Tourism,risk tolerance and competences: Travel organization and tourism hazards

Research on how individual tourists respond to risk has largely focussed on risk perceptions. This paper draws on behavioural economics to analyse the influence of risk tolerance and risk-related competences on how tourists organize their tourism travel, and the importance that they ascribe to specific types of tourism hazards. Whereas most tourism research on risk has been based on small, or highly age-specific surveys, or particular market segments, this paper utilises an innovative, large-scale survey drawn from the range of the UK population. There were significant differences between package tourists and individual ‘drifter’ tourists in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics, general and tourism-specific risk tolerance, and competence – both real and illusory – to manage risk. Age, and tolerance of both general and tourism-specific risks, were associated with the importance of hazards as deterrents to tourist behaviour, but the evidence for competences was mixed.     

The impacts of Australia's departure tax: Tourism versus the economy?

This study estimates the flow and expenditure effects of the recent increase in Australia's Passenger Movement Charge (PMC), as well as the economic impacts on the Australian economy and the tourism industry. After discussing the nature of the PMC, it outlines the types of industry stakeholder concerns as to its effects on tourism both before and after the recent increase. It then presents a framework developed by the authors that can be used to distinguish the effects of the increased PMC on the wider economy and on different tourism markets. A computable general equilibrium model is then used to estimate the economic impacts of the increased charge on different Australian tourism markets – inbound, outbound and domestic. The implications of the modelling results for the validity of the industry criticisms of the PMC are discussed. The results confirm that the tourism industry will suffer, though it also indicates that the Australian economy will gain – thus there is a clash between the industry and wider economic interests. The types of issues addressed in this paper can inform policy making regarding the gainers and losers from departure tax increases in tourism destinations generally.     

Tourism and Transport Relationships: The Suppliers' Perspective in Gateway Destinations in New Zealand

This paper provides a supply-side perspective on how tourism development might be fostered by enhancing the links between tourism and transport. This question is explored by identifying issues raised by tourism suppliers relating to the Cook Strait ferry services between Wellington and Picton (New Zealand) and examining how visitation in these two gateways might be developed so that they have more of a destination function. Five major themes emerged; “the characteristics and products of contrasting places”; “sales and marketing”; “the implications of ferry cancelations”; “fast ferry speed restrictions and environmental impacts”; and “threats and opportunities from the creation of another gateway ferry port in Clifford Bay”. The question of destination development is thus extended by focusing on ferries, a less commonly studied mode of transport, drawing on the perspectives of tourism suppliers, stakeholders whose voice is rarely heard in the transport and tourism literature; and in studying places with multiple nodal functions.     

Tourism: A catalyst for existential authenticity

In studies of the relationship between existential authenticity and tourism, it has been postulated that tourism offers a temporary release from the inauthenticity of everyday life. This paper argues that this portrayal of the role of tourism neglects the promise and potential of tourism to act not simply as a substitute, but as a catalyst, for existential authenticity. The paper draws on Heideggerian phenomenology and Sartrean existentialism to reveal the role played by tourism in prompting the adoption of an authentic attitude. A parallel is drawn between tourism and Heidegger’s Spielraum, which offers a reflective space to consider life choices and to prompt change, if necessary, upon tourists’ return home.     

Tropospheric ozone,air pollution and tourism: a case study of Mallorca

This study explores tourists’ contribution to air pollution through an analysis of tropospheric ozone levels. Although the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere is beneficial, preventing damaging ultraviolet light from reaching the Earth's surface, ozone in the lower atmosphere, known as tropospheric ozone, can damage plant species, both natural materials and manufactured goods, and can damage lung tissues in humans. Additionally, ozone in the upper troposphere exerts a considerable impact on global warming. Using the case study of Mallorca (Spain) – an isolated, intensive tourist destination in the Mediterranean – a daily indicator of tourist numbers is used in order to capture direct and induced pressure on the environment. Models based on daily data are estimated using meteorological, daily tourist numbers and other significant variables, showing how rising tourism activity in Mallorca is associated with rising daily concentrations of tropospheric ozone, created by transport, air conditioning and other activities. The estimated models make different simulations possible, showing the consequences of increasing tourism numbers during different seasons. The concluding section shows the potential to develop the models used here for other destinations.     

Mediation Between Tourism Contribution and Economic Growth in the Greater Mekong Subregion

The objective of this paper is to determine the mediation between tourism contribution and economic growth in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) (i.e. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam). The sample period is semi-annual data from 1995 to 2013 and is also estimated by bootstrap panel cointegration, Panel Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares method and the Sobel test. The results show that the variables are cointegrated as three models; economic growth is running to tourism's total contribution to GDP and international tourism expenditure for passenger transport whereas international tourism expenditure for passenger transport is running to tourism's total contribution to GDP. Therefore, this study finds that international tourism expenditure for passenger transport is a mediator and has partial mediation. The GMS needs to develop every economic sector and improve the potential of the transport sector as a regional integration project which supports the sustainable development of the region.     

Tourism non-places: Bending airports and wildscapes

This paper takes Augé's non-place idea as point of departure to develop a deeper phenomenological understanding of two types of tourism settings: wild spaces and airports. While place and non-place are useful as comparative, polarized concepts addressing materialities and subjective experiences, asking what these particular spaces are like sheds light on both their bendability and boundedness, revealing the potential of intentionality in liberating place experiences. While intentionality has not yet received much attention in industry or scholarly discussions of tourism, it is absolutely crucial to the experience of tourism, as our findings elaborate on the ways travellers accede to and consume (non-) places, as well as negotiate, conquer and extemporise them.     

Tourism and economic development: The beach disease?

This paper analyses empirically the danger of a Dutch Disease Effect in tourism dependent countries in the long run. Data on 134 countries of the world over the period 1970–2007 is used. In a first step the long-run relationship between tourism and economic growth is analysed in a cross-country setting. The results are then checked in a panel data framework on GDP per capita levels that allows to control for reverse causality, non-linearity and interactive effects. It is found that there is no danger of a Beach Disease Effect. On the contrary, tourism dependent countries do not face real exchange rate distortion and deindustrialisation but higher than average economic growth rates. Investment in physical capital, such as for instance transport infrastructure, is complementary to investment in tourism.     

国外大众旅游对海滨环境影响的研究进展

海滨旅游自19世纪开始兴起,兴起之初仅限于旅游地所在国家范围内,而从1950年到21世纪初,滚装渡船与廉价航空运输的引入,导致国际海滨旅游以指数化的方式增长.海滨旅游的发展促进了旅游地的经济发展与社会进步,同时也对旅游地的海滨环境造成了严重的,甚至是不可逆的影响.在广泛查阅相关文献的基础上,本文从6个方面对大众旅游对海滨环境的影响进行了述评:旅游的自我毁灭理论、基础设施的修建导致生境破碎化、游轮引致严重的生态损害、踩踏降低潮间带生物多样性、海滩清洁降低沙质海岸生物多样性和生态旅游的负面影响.     

境外残障旅游与无障碍旅游研究进展与启示

文章围绕残障与旅游、残障旅游市场需求、残障旅游市场供给和无障碍旅游4大研究主题8个研究细类,梳理残障旅游境外研究状况。境外研究总体态势是以残障群体旅游需求为研究重点,围绕残障群体的旅游特点、动机、需求、偏好、决策、体验和出行障碍作诸多有益探索;同时基于残障群体的旅游需求特性,从旅行社、航空运输、住宿、景区4大旅游产业角度,针对性研究解决残障人群出行和旅游参与障碍、提供合理旅游产品和服务的思路和方法。文章最后评述了境外研究的思路、方法与不足,并从研究方法、研究团队构成和近期可以开展的研究领域对国内学者提出建议。     

Tourism,big data,and a crisis of analysis

Efforts to aggregate data comprehensively have prompted a crisis of analysis. Such a crisis presents itself when big data use within the tourism industry increasingly treats individuals and their subjective practices as mere objects. Heightened recognition of tourism as a series of distinctive and creative human actions is counterbalanced by an exuberance for impersonal mass quantification. A crisis of analysis is identified through a qualitative study of tourism-focused trade journal articles that address big data. This type of crisis reflects the rise of a positivistic, business-driven way of knowing that creates tensions within the tourism industry. The position and power of individuals – tourists and practitioners – is steadily undermined and capital accumulation becomes threatened due to big data use.     

A review of research into automation in tourism: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Tourism

Driven by the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and its related technologies, the application of intelligent automation in travel and tourism is expected to increase in the future. This paper unpacks the need to shape an automated future of tourism as a social phenomenon and an economic activity, hence contributes to theory and practice by providing directions for future research in this area. Four research priorities are suggested: designing beneficial AI, facilitating adoption, assessing the impacts of intelligent automation, and creating a sustainable future with artificial intelligence. Research in these areas will allow for a systematic knowledge production that reflects a concerted effort from the scientific community to ensuring the beneficial applications of intelligent automation in tourism. The article also launches the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The Collection contains all past articles published in Annals of Tourism Research on the topic, and continues to grow as new articles are added.     

City Image and Perceived Tourism Impact: Evidence from Port Louis,Mauritius

Research suggests that the images residents hold about their community influence the political support for tourism. Yet, few researchers have investigated the image that local residents have of their own area. Borrowing from the existing literature on place image and residents' perceptions of tourism impacts, a theoretical model incorporating these two lines of research is developed and tested using data collected from residents of the city of Port Louis, Mauritius. It proposes four city image attributes as the independent constructs influencing residents' perceptions toward the overall impact of tourism development. These include social attributes, transport attributes, government services attributes, and shopping attributes. Overall impact of tourism development is considered to be a determinant of the level of support for the industry. Results of the structural equation modeling analysis indicate that residents' perceived levels of shopping attributes, transport attributes, and social attributes of the city influence their level of support for the tourism industry. The hypothesis relating transport attributes to overall impacts of tourism was not supported. The study provides some important considerations for local planners attempting to make tourism more supportive in the city.     

Local Perspectives on the Impact of Tourism on Religious Festivals in Bhutan

The Himalayan nation of Bhutan is known to embrace Gross National Happiness rather than Gross National Product as the measure of its people's well-being. Happiness, spirituality and cultural authenticity are prominent factors in Bhutan's tourism image, and these attributes are most clearly exhibited in the traditional festivals that are among the most popular attractions for many foreign tourists. This paper introduces the cultural practice of religious festivals in Bhutan and investigates how tourism may be affecting these festivals. Within this context, this paper reports on the findings of a survey of Bhutanese monks and lay people, regarding their impressions of the effects of tourists on one particular event – the Tsechu festival. With the Bhutanese government's aim to increase the number of annual tourists more than fourfold to 200,000 by 2018, this research provides a baseline study of the perceived impact of tourism on religious festivals and addresses the issue of whether such an increase in volume of tourists would pose a threat to the integrity and value of these festivals as perceived by Bhutanese people.     

Sustainable Transport,Market Segmentation and Tourism: The Looe Valley Branch Line Railway,Cornwall, UK

This paper uses cluster analysis, a form of a posteriori market segmentation, to understand the attitudes of tourists and the local community towards using the Looe Valley Branch Railway Line. The research revealed five segments of users distinguished by their attitudes towards using the train. Following this, the paper discusses the implications of the survey findings for attracting more people to use the Looe Valley Line. It sets its findings in the context of the sustainable tourism aims of reducing transport congestion and emissions, as well as recent work on assessing the scope for sustainable transport development in the leisure and tourism markets.     

Sustainable Tourism: An Overview of the Concept and its Position in Relation to Conceptualisations of Tourism

Reference to sustainable tourism is now made in most strategic tourism planning documents. Yet, despite its common use, definitional arguments exist over its meaning and subsequent operationalisation. In addition to this, literature on sustainable tourism rarely discusses its development prior to the publication of Our Common Future (World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), 1987) and its relevance to current conceptualisations of tourism. This paper analyses the context within which sustainable tourism was developed and has recently been conceptualised. It does this by assessing the development of sustainable tourism (with an Australian focus) and proposing a model which incorporates the development of sustainable tourism into tourism. The paper argues that sustainable tourism has traditionally given more focus to aspects related to the environment and economic development and that more focus should be given to community involvement.     

Tourism and employment in the Gambia

In addition to providing formal wage labor in hotels, airports, and the service infrastructure, tourism is said to provide possibilities for independent indigenous enterprise in handicrafts, entertainment, transport, through which the Gambians may, in effect, economically “lift themselves up by their bootstraps.” Such is the theory. This paper analyzes the actual employment possibilities in The Gambia provided by its recent tourism investment. From the findings of an economic survey the author concludes that hopes of economic development being catalyzed by tourism are unfounded and misleading. This conclusion is supported by a structural analysis and a characterization of the tourist industry in The Gambia by an investigation into the economic forces at work in the country, and by direct observations made by informants and the author concerning the impact tourism has made in spheres non-economic: the moral, the social, and the family.