A mobilities approach to tourism from emerging world regions

Increasing numbers of people from the emerging world regions, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East engage in tourism practices at domestic, intra-regional and long-haul international scales. In this article, we deploy an innovative application of the mobilities approach, which we argue moves beyond the Eurocentrism implicit in modernist tourism studies, in a comparative analysis of tourism in and from these regions and those in the ‘West’. Our analysis opens up the systematic study of tourism in emerging world regions in terms of the mobilities paradigm, and concludes: one, travel had a multiplicity of origins in societies in the emerging regions, but most did not possess an equivalent emic term to ‘tourism'. Two, tourism at domestic and intra-regional levels tends to be entangled with other discretionary mobilities, whereas the long-haul level is more differentiated. Three, the development of domestic discretionary travel in emerging regions can be represented by four overlapping ‘mobility constellations’. Four, there are significant historical differences between the regions in their long-haul mobility constellations, although their kinetic hierarchies are all still steep. Five, forms of movement and associated practices of discretionary travellers from the emerging regions and Western countries became increasingly similar under the impact of socio-technological, economic and cultural globalisation. Six, differences between the emerging regions, particularly Asia, and the West are most salient on the emic level of representations of international travel: the specific cultural motive forces for tourism do not centre on authenticity-seeking, but are instead bound up with prestige and markers of modernity.     

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.     

Tourism flows between India and Singapore

The tourism industry has become increasingly important as a source of revenue and employment for countries in Southeast Asia. Within the Southeast Asian region, intraregional travel has also seen an upsurge since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997. More attention is also being paid to attract other Asian tourists from China, India, Japan and South Korea to the region. Competition to be tourism hubs in the region has seen countries such as Singapore developing an array of incentives to entice inbound foreign tourists to its shores. The aim of this paper is to examine the growing importance of India as a source of inbound tourists for countries in Southeast Asia and in particular Singapore. India is an apt case study because of its long historical and cultural links with the region. Another main motivation for examining inbound tourists from India is India's engagement with the Southeast Asian region through its ‘Look East’ policy. Following from its economic reforms and liberalisation of 1991, India has sought to strengthen economic links with ASEAN member states through a range of economic sectors including tourism. The 1991 Indian economic liberalisation has also created an upsurge of Indian business travellers who are exploring investment and business opportunities in the Southeast Asian region. With India's economic liberalisation of 1991, an expanding middle class has come to view foreign travel as a necessity. In turn, ASEAN member states, such as Singapore in particular, which is heavily dependent on its services sector, including tourism, for revenue, have chosen to regionalise its tourism operations by collaborating and investing in projects in India to woo more Indian tourists. Competition in the tourism sector among ASEAN countries has increased the urgency for Singapore to reinvent itself to attract foreign tourists and implement a number of initiatives to maintain its share of the tourism market. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Components of cultural tourists’ experiences in destinations

Destinations provide a combination of products and services. Using these resources, tourists create their own experiences. Providing a pleasing tourist experience is crucial for destinations’ long-term success. Although travellers’ experiences have been subject to extensive research, various segments might perceive them differently based on their motivations. Despite the fact that cultural tourism is considered as an important segment for most urban destinations, factors affecting cultural travel experiences have not been clarified in the literature so far. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study is to determine the factors affecting cultural tourists’ overall travel experiences. In order to achieve this study's goals, we chose Istanbul as a research context. After interviewing 21 tourists and analysis of transcribed data, 64 items were merged under 5 dimensions emerging as the key constructs affecting cultural tourist experiences in a destination, namely social interaction, local authentic clues, service, culture/heritage and challenge. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.     

Workplace sexual harassment: exploring the experience of tour leaders in an Asian context

Sexual harassment is a prominent issue in the workplace; it presents a particular challenge with regard to this sensitive area in the Asian context due to the Asian cultural value. Tour leaders are one of the main components of the tourism industry workforce and are expensive to train in terms of both time/experience accumulation and financial investment. The potential risk of sexual harassment in the hospitality and tourism workplace remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate tour leaders’ experiences of sexual harassment at work and their awareness of the organizational polices/regulations relating to sexual harassment in the workplace. A survey was conducted on the tour leaders in Taiwan and results of the study suggested that gender sexual harassment and seductive harassment behaviour were found to occur more frequently than sexual bribery, sexual coercion and sexual assault. Asian tours leaders tend to adopt extremely passive coping strategies in dealing with sexual harassment incidents. More than half of the tour leaders in the current study were ‘unsure’ whether their affiliated travel agencies had a sexual harassment policy.     

Inter-regional and inter-temporal analysis of travel behaviour for Asian metropolitan cities: Case studies of Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Nagoya

The unprecedented demand for travel experienced in Asia, in conjunction with the economic development of the1980s, has resulted in a number of detrimental effects on urban systems. Economic development has certainly intensified per capita income enhancing personal mobility. In Asia, private vehicle ownership and usage have continued to be recognised as an obligatory element of travel for many. Undoubtedly there is a direct relationship between vehicle ownership and public transport usage. Inter-regional and inter-temporal investigations of travel behaviour in Asian cities are therefore necessary to develop an understanding of the future transportation system including suitability and the role of public transport. Since travel data are scarce in Asian countries, inter-regional or inter-temporal travel behaviour investigations do not exist to date. Several travel demand models are developed using discrete choice modelling techniques and Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Nagoya as case studies. Estimation results of the mode choice models are successfully incorporated to compare travel behaviour trends in selected cities in Asia. The developed models are tested for spatial and temporal transferability.     

Travel guidebooks and the construction of tourist identity

Tourist identity is an important component of the postmodern identity. This review paper unveils the role of travel guidebooks as identity construction agents at a time when tourism has become an important postmodern phenomenon. The review offers a processual look at roles played by guidebooks in tourist information gathering and formation of cultural tastes and preferences, and portrays the influence of guidebooks on social change. The review points especially to the lack of a broad theoretical perspective in the research of the role of guidebooks in tourist identity formation as well as tourist motivation and consumer behaviour formation. Consequently, the paper suggests that future studies of tourist identity should adopt a socio-historical and cultural interdisciplinary approach focusing on travel guidebooks, using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Based on this proposed framework, the article suggests several further research directions for the study of social construction of tourist identity within a spatio-temporal context.     

Profiling Sport Tourists: The Case of Super 12 Rugby Union in the Australian Capital Territory,Australia

The concept of sport related tourism has become more prominent in the last few years as both an academic field of study and an increasingly popular tourism product (Gibson, 1998). Sport tourism includes travel to participate in a passive (e.g. sports events and museums) or active sport holiday (e.g. scuba diving and cycling), and it may involve instances where sport or tourism itself is the dominant activity or reason for travel. However, little research has been undertaken to examine the profile of sport tourist market segments in an attempt to understand these segments and their potential as tourism markets. This paper will examine one such attempt to profile sport tourist spectators through surveying sport tourists attending Super 12 Rugby Union matches at Bruce Stadium, Canberra in April/May 2000. The paper discusses the preliminary results of this exploratory study, and examines the sporting behaviour and travel behaviour of spectators. The paper will then discuss differences between spectator characteristics with an emphasis on examining high yield segments based on sport and travel behaviour, and will conclude with a discussion of future research possibilities.     

A preliminary examination of the relationship between consumer attitude towards space travel and the development of innovative space tourism technology

With increasing global competition in service sectors, innovative technologies have radically changed the tourism industry, and to be successful innovative products/services must have clear, significant points of difference that are related to needs in the market place. Furthermore, changes in consumer perceptions that emanate from an innovation are central to its effective product and service design. Although for most of us space travel is still a faraway dream, it is in fact a future probability that will increasingly attract travellers who seek new vacation experiences, and as a result, sustain academic interest. Thus, in initiating space tourism for the purposes of recreation, leisure and knowledge enhancement, a preliminary estimation of potential global demand characteristics that are specific to consumer innovators for space travel needs to be undertaken prior to promotion of research and development. In this context, this paper investigates both consumer attitudes towards space travel by analysing the components of motivated consumer innovativeness and the interest that potential consumers have in developing space tourism technology innovations within Taiwan. Consumer innovativeness is complex and comprised four innovativeness types, namely, social, functional, hedonic and cognitive. As product/service innovation development has been relatively unexplored in the mature industry of tourism, many business managers would welcome an understanding of which vacation travellers are most likely to be the earliest buyers of such an exciting new product. With data collected from a sample of 354 Taiwanese, this research uses mediated regression to examine the influence of the four types of consumer innovativeness on consumer's attitudes and acceptance of a space tourism technology innovation, and the mediating role perceived novelty plays in the relationship. The findings indicate that only hedonic and social innovativeness are associated with improved consumer attitude and that novelty partially mediates the relationship for those two types of consumer innovativeness. The implications for theory and practice are discussed. Limitations and directions for future research are also addressed.     

Landscape,Fairies and Identity: Experience on the Backstage of the Fairy Tale Route

Although rarely considered a touristic phenomenon, themed touristic routes are a growing. Since 1975, numerous cities and villages between Hanau and Bremen have joined the working group ‘Deutsche Märchenstrasse.’ Unlike other themed auto routes in Germany, the Fairy Tale Route focuses not on architectural or agricultural aspects of the cultural landscape, but rather invites travellers to ‘the homeland of fairies and princes’ and to a romantic landscape experience on the traces of the Brothers Grimm. Based on a summary of the extant literature on the history of touristic longings for landscapes, this study explores the practices and experiences of individuals engaged in creating the ‘aura’ of the Fairy Tale Route. By analysing the landscape performance and biographical background of ‘Dietrich the Knight’, this article characterises the conditions for a successful, socio-culturally sustainable form of the cultural marketing of regions. The article concludes with one of the current conflicts played out between the extant fairy tale tourism imaginary and a new touristic foil that is being promoted by a new, supraregional tourism director in order to point to the frailness of the Fairy Tale Route's potential sustainability model.     

Perceived travel risks: the traveller perspective and manageability

Although a large number of studies both in and out of the tourism literature have examined perceived risk, the risk categories utilized are often too broad and are not generated from the perspective of current and potential travellers. This deficiency in the travel research is addressed in this study by asking more than 2,000 respondents to identify their concerns when travelling. All respondent concerns were content analyzed to derive ten travel‐specific risks and the relationship of the identified risks with demographic characteristics of the respondents was examined. The identification of these potential and actual traveller‐driven travel‐risks allows tourism officials to better understand how to respond to alleviate traveller concerns and encourage travel. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tourism Perspectives of the Asian Financial Crisis: Lessons for the Future

This paper reviews the causes of the Asian financial crisis,the implications for tourism, and identifies salient lessons that may be employed in dealing with future crises. Written just after the conclusion of the financial crisis, the paper finds that the crisis did not have as great an impact on tourism in East Asia as first feared and observes that tourism may be more resilient to crises than previously anticipated. The paper also notes that the tourism literature has been largely silent on the impact of the crisis and discusses the need for greater analysis of economic issues.     

An explorative study of corporate travellers’ perception at a German airport

The modern working environment is changing at a fast pace due to factors such as globalisation, digitalisation, and demographic trends. Taking an exploratory approach, this study examines how prevailing factors shaping the working world may influence the perception of business air travellers. Relevant factors are identified through a literature review, which results are confirmed by expert interviews (N = 11). Business travellers are surveyed (N = 67) at Munich Airport regarding their personal experiences and their evaluations of these identified factors. Their perceptions concerning the psychological and physical experience, digitalisation, age, and gender are examined in detail.Findings provide insights into the development of business air travel, with a focus on German business travellers. Despite the influence of advanced information and communications technology, survey results reveal that air travel might stay an essential part of the working world, as face-to-face meetings are not fully replaceable. Increasing multi-partner project work and flexible work structures could even lead into an increase of air travel. The study also delineates recommendations and research potential, such as the extension of the study in the light of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The question of how trends within the working world influence the perception of business related air travel is rarely studied. This study contributes to this gap in the scientific community.     

Towards an understanding of older adult educational tourism through the development of a three-phase integrated framework

As a direct consequence of global ageing patterns, older travellers have become a significant proportion of annual total holiday spending. In addition, this has also brought with it a shift in the types of travel experiences that older travellers are now choosing. Educational and cultural touristic experiences are now becoming popular options for many older individuals, as they provide greater opportunities for meaningful engagement as well as tapping into their renewed interest for history and nostalgia. At the same time, older travellers are placing a greater value on lifelong learning that may help to enrich their life. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the educational travel experiences of older adults through the development of an integrated framework that links the three stages of educational travel: pre-travel, participation, and post-travel. It is envisaged that this framework will contribute to the development of a conceptual model for successful ageing that acknowledges the significant impact that educational travel experiences will have on the well-being of older tourists.     

Women's travel writing and the legacy of Romanticism

Women's travel writing reveals how literary and artistic discourses influence the way we read and write about journeys. This paper considers the way women's travel writing has adapted to, and adopted, the discourse of Romanticism, from its beginnings as a philosophy of political and sexual revolution, individual freedom and escape, to a more diffuse sense which has infiltrated modern attitudes to travel. We consider a classic travel text from the Romantic period, and discuss its legacy. Adopting Buzard's argument [(1993). The Beaten track: European tourism, literature and the ways to ‘Culture’ 1800–1918. Oxford: OUP], we consider how travel changed through the long nineteenth century. We discuss how the twentieth-century Romantic attraction of travel is marketed through the tourist industry as one of the main reasons to get away from it all and discover the ‘authentic’: this desire is reflected in travel texts. Recent writing reflects the influence of Romanticism by celebrating the individual as a wandering free spirit on a self-quest, whose writing is ‘authentic’, spontaneous and confessional: that is, the legacy of sensibility. We conclude that Romanticism has left a dual legacy for travellers, of political commitment and inner journey. Authors discussed include Mary Wollstonecraft, Gertrude Bell, Isabella Bird and Sara Wheeler.     

The Evolution of Gay Travel Research

This paper explores literature relating to the gay travel market. It argues that the current discourse in this area has largely concentrated on the demand‐led approaches such as the motivations and demographic profiles of gay travellers and the use of gay space. However, in light of societal change as well as the increasing role of technology, there is a need to revisit the demographic, motivational and behavioural characteristics of gay travellers, particularly in the context of their use of gay space. With this in mind, this paper highlights a number of significant opportunities for future research into the gay travel market. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The growth of Arabian airlines from a German perspective – A study of the impacts of new air services to Asia

Airlines from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman have gained significant market shares in international air transport. Traditionally travellers have chosen hubs like Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London or Paris as transfer points for trips to Asia. With the inauguration of non-stop services to places like Abu Dhabi, Doha or Dubai, new choices for air travellers have emerged. We analyse data derived from German air transport statistics on the effects of passenger flows between the airports of Düsseldorf and Hamburg to Asian destinations. They suggest that services introduced by Emirates stimulated passenger demand for Asian destinations, while incumbent hubs do not lose transfer passengers. Regarding travel times and connection quality of routings between secondary airports in Germany and Asian destinations, comparing routings of Emirates Airlines and Lufthansa suggests that due to geographic and scheduling constraints, services via Arabia do not constitute a perfect substitute for time-sensitive passengers.     

Transport mode choice in South East Asia: Investigating the relationship between transport users’ perception and travel behaviour in Johor Bahru,Malaysia

The worldwide increase in private car dependency poses a set of significant environmental, economic and social sustainability challenges that continue to undermine the urban quality of life. Rapid motorisation, particularly in South East Asia (SEA), has emerged as a global concern given the region’s cumulative population, rate of industrialisation, and large-scale urbanisation. Thus, there is a compelling need to enhance our understanding of the underlying dynamics of how people perceive and use transportation such that transport planning is better placed to address the current, unsustainable travel patterns in SEA. Despite this need, there has been relatively limited SEA-based research that has endeavoured to examine travel perceptions and transport mode choice from a non-instrumental perspective. This research redresses this deficit by investigating the relationship between transport users’ perceptions and travel behaviours within SEA, with a particular focus on psychosocial drivers of transport mode choice interfaced with more traditional instrumental measures.Spatially stratified survey data have been collected in a case study area, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, comprising users from different transport user groups. Employing regression modelling, drivers of individual’s travel behaviour are examined. Results highlight the merit in recognising the role of non-instrumental motives alongside instrumental motives to explain transport mode choice. We conclude by highlighting that transport mode choices are motivated by a range of locational, socio-demographic, psychological and cultural determinants. The current research has contributed to a better understanding of transport mode choice in Johor Bahru and provides a foundation for future SEA-based travel behaviour research. Studies in this area can inform more sustainable travel behaviour in the SEA region.     

In the family home: roots tourism among Greek second generation in Italy

This paper attempts to make a contribution to the niche area of roots tourism and the broader nexus of tourism and migration, in particular to the literature on roots tourism among second generation, which has only recently attracted scholarly attention. Despite a gradual increase in scientific contributions on roots tourism, most of the literature has focused on the experiences of the first, second and later generations as a single phenomenon. The principal originality of this work lies in the analysis on roots tourism in an under-explored geographical/ethnic context, that is Greek second generation in Italy. The purpose of this study, which is based on an analysis method that combines structured questionnaire data with life stories collected through in-depth interviews, is to analyse the relationship between second-generation Greek migrants’ attachment to the birth-country of their parents and their homeland travel. Specifically, frequency and reasons for their travelling, self-perception during their stay in Greece and their definition of ‘home’ are investigated. The results of the study show that frequent journeys to Greece are crammed with a much deeper meaning as they are transnational practices aimed at visiting relatives and friends, the desire to find cultural roots and relocating cultural identity.     

Institutions,research and development: tourism and the Asian financial crisis

This report examines the repercussions of the Asian financial crisis on regional institutions and on tourism research and development. It is concluded that the importance of regional institutions for the provision of quality information, research and development will continue to grow. In the short term the crisis has lessened the commitment of key intraregional and national institutions to tourism research and development activity, although some useful collaboration between countries within the region has been evident. Asia should re‐emerge as the world's fastest growing tourism region, provided that the countries most affected by the Asian financial crisis do not impose restrictions on tourist movements or turn away from their long‐term commitment to strategies underpinned by research and development. The move by Pacific Asia Travel Association from San Francisco to Bangkok is identified as an important symbol of the role that regional institutions will continue to play in tourism research and development. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.