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This research investigated the issues in attempting to make tourist travel more sustainable. It took as its case study Hadrian's Wall: a Roman-built fortication stretching from coast to coast across Northern England. This has created... more
This research investigated the issues in attempting to make tourist travel more sustainable. It took as its case study Hadrian's Wall: a Roman-built fortication stretching from coast to coast across Northern England. This has created a popular linear tourist attraction, now a World Heritage site which has parallel walking, cycling, car, bus and train routes and so provides considerable potential for modal shift towards more sustainable travel. A series of in-depth interviews with the managers of tourist attractions along Hadrian's Wall provided information about the willingness to support more sustainable travel and the perceived barriers against modal shift. The paper reports how the respondents see their influence on modal choice in a rural and uncongested area and how sustainable travel competes with other priorities such as attracting visitors, preserving the archaeology, protecting the environment, invigorating the local economy, educating and enthusing the future guardians of the area's history. The interviews reveal how 'the concept' of Hadrian's Wall has been changed by collaboration and marketing, with attention focussed on local networks as well as terminal facilities. The paper describes how this has altered the way that the area's major generators of tourist travel view their markets and functions. However, the interviews demonstrate how moves towards more sustainable local tourism can be delayed by institutional change within contributing organisations, and local decisions swayed by the policies of national organisations. Local transport is frequently seen as a peripheral issue to organisations exerting considerable influence on the enactment of travel policy and practice in the area. Leisure travel, one of the fastest growing travel sectors, differs from other travel sectors: travellers are often unfamiliar with local transport networks, travel forms part of the activity, not simply providing access to the attraction and it involves different valuations of time. The paper discusses how this case study contributes to our understandings of how leisure travel might become more sustainable and the insights it offers to other transport sectors. For the covering abstract please see ITRD E135207.
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Travel represents tourism’s major source of greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts, with up to three-quarters of the environmental impact of tourism being the result of tourists' journeys to and from holiday... more
Travel represents tourism’s major source of greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts, with up to three-quarters of the environmental impact of tourism being the result of tourists' journeys to and from holiday destinations. The rapid growth in the length of tourist journeys, especially using air travel, during the last century shows little sign of reduction in spite of current environmental concerns, but a reduction in average distances travelled by tourists must be part of tourism's efforts towards becoming a more environmentally friendly sector. Little is known, however, about how tourists themselves view the distance they travel across, and whether these understandings might help reduce tourist travel. Discourse analysis of interviews with Danish tourists about the distances they travel as part of their holiday mobility revealed various understandings and representations of distance and its attractions. This insight into how tourists understand distance offers a number of ways of satisfying tourists' desire for distance, while potentially at the same time reducing the distances travelled by tourists.
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Although tourism can threaten local natural and social habitats, more often it offers a way of funding conservation and of boosting the local economy. This paper describes the potential of small-scale tourism to the English Solway coast... more
Although tourism can threaten local natural and social habitats, more often it offers a way of funding conservation and of boosting the local economy. This paper describes the potential of small-scale tourism to the English Solway coast and how organisations involved in conservation, heritage and commerce claimed a common interest in promoting the local visitor economy. The north west of Cumbria is a little known, but attractive, area of coast and countryside, with a rich heritage including monasteries, fortified farm houses and a method of fishing (Haaf) dating from Viking times. The Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty protects two areas either side of Silloth, a Victorian resort built and planned by developers of the Silloth Carlisle railway line. The area enjoys spectacular views across the estuary and mountains of southern Scotland and is renowned for stunning sunsets as depicted by Turner and other artists. Hadrian’s Wall trails attract walkers and cyclists beginnin...
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Government claims that privatisation of a large number of bus routes and services in Norfolk saved ratepayers considerable amounts in revenue support are reported. Many services previously operated by Eastern Counties Omnibus Company (the... more
Government claims that privatisation of a large number of bus routes and services in Norfolk saved ratepayers considerable amounts in revenue support are reported. Many services previously operated by Eastern Counties Omnibus Company (the local NBC subsidiary) were replaced by private operators under revenue guarantee agreements; i.e., the county council accepted the risk element of the operations. The effect on services, passenger numbers, route mileage and allocation of subsidy is analysed. The efficiency of subsidy is considered in terms of the value of services provided per L1 by Eastern Counties and the independents both before and after privatisation. In 1984-85 the independents' value per L1 subsidy slumped whereas Eastern Counties had improved the fares revenue and its own expenditure per L1 subsidy. (TRRL)
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Cumbria's Solway coast is 'on the edge' of a number of phenomena: the sea, Cumbria, England, the Lake District and commercial viability as a tourist area. The presentation describes how many of its stakeholders have common... more
Cumbria's Solway coast is 'on the edge' of a number of phenomena: the sea, Cumbria, England, the Lake District and commercial viability as a tourist area. The presentation describes how many of its stakeholders have common goals which can be served by tourism, but so far it has not proved possible to unite these and improve the tourism offer and the popularity of the area.
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This report summarises the results from the first 263 bus watch forms that have been analysed. Data were collected (1) on buswatcher profile (age, sex, occupation, home, driving licence, car availability), (2) at the bus stop (facilities,... more
This report summarises the results from the first 263 bus watch forms that have been analysed. Data were collected (1) on buswatcher profile (age, sex, occupation, home, driving licence, car availability), (2) at the bus stop (facilities, punctuality, reliability of services, information), (3) on the bus (bus information, state of vehicle, impression of staff, quality of journey), (4) from press cuttings and letters (fares and minibus). For the covering abstract of the publication see IRRD 811236. (TRRL)
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The role, aims, and organisation of buswatch in monitoring the effects of bus deregulation through passenger and other services, and the results thereof. The deregulation of britain's bus services is being closely monitored by several... more
The role, aims, and organisation of buswatch in monitoring the effects of bus deregulation through passenger and other services, and the results thereof. The deregulation of britain's bus services is being closely monitored by several groups, but buswatch, uniquely, is collecting information from passengers themselves nationally. Buswatch was set up to specifically examine how the changes affect passengers, thereby complementing the data collection elsewhere. Buswatch was established as an umbrella organisation representing a wide range of user and community groups. This paper will mainly focus on the results of our main survey undertaken by regular bus users on attitudes to service provision.(a) for the covering abstract of the seminar see IRRD 816535.
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Tourist destinations experience a number of influences, many out of their control. Being geographically peripheral often confers tourist appeal: being beside the sea, rural or rugged countryside, with fewer people and more space than... more
Tourist destinations experience a number of influences, many out of their control. Being geographically peripheral often confers tourist appeal: being beside the sea, rural or rugged countryside, with fewer people and more space than urban centres, but is associated with being politically peripheral with less influence on local and national policies impacting on the area. To explore the impact of peripherality, this research investigated the forces affecting the tourist fortunes of the Cumbrian Solway coast, a small, remote area on the edge of Northwest England, Cumbria and close to the popular tourist area of the Lake District. Semi-structured interviews with tourism providers in the area helped identify a number of dynamic influences and ‘edges’, including different interpretations of the coast and countryside and political decisions about public spending on tourism. Local organisations supporting tourism to achieve different goals (landscape preservation, habitat conservation, ma...
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Community Ambassadors were employed by Northern Rail to promote off-peak train use amongst hard-to-reach groups, such as ethnic minorities, English language learners, people with disabilities or without employment. Their work involved... more
Community Ambassadors were employed by Northern Rail to promote off-peak train use amongst hard-to-reach groups, such as ethnic minorities, English language learners, people with disabilities or without employment. Their work involved developing trust with ‘gate-keepers’ and client groups and being sensitive to the lack of knowledge of how to use trains amongst many of these groups. This paper discusses theoretical approaches to increasing use of travel modes and similar Ambassador schemes. It describes how the Community Ambassadors worked and the potential criteria to judge their effectiveness, but explains how the scheme was abruptly halted, before evaluation. This raises questions about the vulnerability to outside pressures of such pioneering schemes and the conflicts between short and long-term time horizons. Building up trust and confidence takes time and patience, and is easily undone by decisions made by remote company bosses and politicians. It discusses the benefits to soc...
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Research Interests: Marketing, Economics, Scepticism, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, and 15 moreClimate change policy, Climatology, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Tourism, Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable Tourism Development, Tourism, Agnotology, Climate Change Politics, Climate Change Skepticism, Climate change denial, Denial, Climate Politics, Elsevier, and Commercial Services
Travel, both to the destination area and within the area, accounts for a high proportion of tourism’s emissions. Yet, relatively little attention has been directed at reducing emissions through encouraging visitors to use public rather... more
Travel, both to the destination area and within the area, accounts for a high proportion of tourism’s emissions. Yet, relatively little attention has been directed at reducing emissions through encouraging visitors to use public rather private transport. This paper reports the findings of surveys of bus passengers within British rural tourist areas and demonstrates how they bring extra visitors and spending to attractions, while reducing car use. It discusses the potential of using public transport to enhance the tourism offer and the problems, and some solutions, of funding such services. Recent developments are introduced.
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In book: Sustainable Transportation in Natural and Protected Areas, Publisher: Routledge, Editors: F. Orti
Research Interests: Tourism Studies, Tourism Marketing, Tourism Management, Sustainable Transportation, Tourism Planning and Policy, and 14 moreTransportation Studies, Public Transport, Transport Geography, Transport Planning, Tourism Geography, Cultural Tourism, Transportation, Rural Tourism, Sustainable Tourism, Sustainable Tourism Development, Tourism and Hotel Management, Tourism Planning & Development, Tourism Sustainability, and Travel Tourism
Protected areas are at the centre of nature-based tourism, which is increasingly popular across the world. As visitor numbers increase, so does awareness of the harmful effects that large crowds may have on both natural resources and... more
Protected areas are at the centre of nature-based tourism, which is increasingly popular across the world. As visitor numbers increase, so does awareness of the harmful effects that large crowds may have on both natural resources and individuals’ recreational experience. This volume considers the challenge of transportation to and within natural and protected areas, the improvement of which has already been recognised as having great potential for mitigating the environmental impacts of ecotourism. While several books have focused considerable attention to the management of protected areas in general, little has been said about the specific issue of sustainable transport, an emerging trend that is already reshaping visitation patterns in natural settings. This book provides current knowledge on issues associated with the transportation of visitors in natural and protected areas, and a comprehensive overview of the technical and strategic options available to tackle these issues. It ...
Research Interests: Geography, Tourism Marketing, Tourism Management, Sustainable Transportation, Tourism economics, and 15 moreHeritage Tourism, Tourism Geography, Cultural Tourism, Physical Activity, Rural Tourism, Sustainable Tourism, Health, Public Health, Sociology of Cycling, Sustainable Tourism Development, Tourism, Tourism and Hotel Management, Cycling, Cycle Tourism, and Routledge
This presentation reports the findings of surveys of bus passengers in nine tourist areas of England and Wales. It describes the process of designing an 'off the shelf' survey for areas to use without support and the advantages of... more
This presentation reports the findings of surveys of bus passengers in nine tourist areas of England and Wales. It describes the process of designing an 'off the shelf' survey for areas to use without support and the advantages of generating compatible data from each area. It also presents the results of an experiment conducted by participants in a seminar. Not only did different types of stakeholder express very different priorities, but they often did not consider efficiency in allocating their budgets.
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Research Interests: Marketing, Tourism Studies, Tourism Management, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, and 14 moreClimate change policy, Climatology, Political Science, Sustainable Development, Tourism Geography, Sustainable Tourism, Environmental Sustainability, Skepticism, Tourism, Climate Change Politics, Climate Change Skepticism, Climate change denial, Elsevier, and Commercial Services
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This is a long-overdue sequel to the influ-ential Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts by the same authors, published in 1982. Incorporating much of the earlier material but with updates and additions, Tourism: Change, Impacts... more
This is a long-overdue sequel to the influ-ential Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts by the same authors, published in 1982. Incorporating much of the earlier material but with updates and additions, Tourism: Change, Impacts and Opportunities offers a thorough ...
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Leisure travel accounts for over 40% of distance travelled and over 30% of all personal trips in the UK, most of which are by private car, so it is not surprising that Government policy is beginning to address the impacts of car leisure... more
Leisure travel accounts for over 40% of distance travelled and over 30% of all personal trips in the UK, most of which are by private car, so it is not surprising that Government policy is beginning to address the impacts of car leisure travel. One initiative is to invite tourist attractions to ...
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This is a long-overdue sequel to the influ-ential Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts by the same authors, published in 1982. Incorporating much of the earlier material but with updates and additions, Tourism: Change, Impacts... more
This is a long-overdue sequel to the influ-ential Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts by the same authors, published in 1982. Incorporating much of the earlier material but with updates and additions, Tourism: Change, Impacts and Opportunities offers a thorough ...
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This paper presents the preliminary findings of a survey of over 500 people whose travel was affected. Stranded passengers used various support networks and means of contact. While travel providers were most likely to be able to help,... more
This paper presents the preliminary findings of a survey of over 500 people whose travel was affected. Stranded passengers used various support networks and means of contact. While travel providers were most likely to be able to help, they were less contactable and willing to help than family, friends and employers causing the impacts to ripple through 'home'networks. The findings demonstrate how flying maintains dispersed networks but has 'created distance'by raising expectations and eroding other travel services. The disruption ...
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This paper compares the findings of three projects investigating travel disruption of different kinds: • the suspension of flights in April 2010 because of the volcanic ash cloud, • the loss of road connections for five months between... more
This paper compares the findings of three projects investigating travel disruption of different kinds: • the suspension of flights in April 2010 because of the volcanic ash cloud, • the loss of road connections for five months between both parts of a small town in West Cumbria, UK, when floods in November 2009 damaged and destroyed all the bridges apart from the railway bridge • the extreme winter weather (snow, ice and cold) experienced in the UK in December 2010. In each case, surveys were undertaken and people’s reactions recorded. When travel becomes difficult or impossible, journeys disappear. They are cancelled or delayed, closer destinations are chosen, trips are combined and trip frequency is reduced. Adjustments come not only from travellers, but service and travel providers who can redeploy staff, bring services closer to residential areas, close destinations such as schools and places of employment or cancel or postpone events requiring travel. The evidence is that differ...
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The paper addresses the issue of sustainable travel at a linear tourist destination, Hadrian’s Wall, in the north of England. It reports the findings of depth interviews with managers of visitor attractions on the wall and their lack of... more
The paper addresses the issue of sustainable travel at a linear tourist destination, Hadrian’s Wall, in the north of England. It reports the findings of depth interviews with managers of visitor attractions on the wall and their lack of influence over who visits their sites and how they arrive. They also strongly believe that mode is chosen before destination. This paper reports the findings of research into the opinions and beliefs of the managers and discusses the consequences for planning more sustainable tourist travel. It suggests that methods adopted for making utility travel more environmentally sustainable would have to be modified to be effective for leisure travel.
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Rural bus services are being hit hard by local government spending reductions. Many such services are used partly or primarily for leisure, some are supported by Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Parks or other local... more
Rural bus services are being hit hard by local government spending reductions. Many such services are used partly or primarily for leisure, some are supported by Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Parks or other local authorities and make easy prey for budget cuts. Their supporters would point to their value: providing socially inclusive access to natural areas, promoting health and wellbeing, replacing car journeys, bringing spending to local rural economies and claim they offer exceptional value for money. Yet there is no standardised method of evaluating these benefits against the costs of providing the services. This paper reports on an ESRC funded project to measure the benefits of individual services and the results of surveys in seven pilot areas in the season of 2010. The package developed includes a survey template and a programme to help input the data and produce instant reports on performance. The paper also presents the results of an exercise involving practi...
The closure of all roads links between south and north Workington following the floods of November 2009 produced an unusual travel situation. Provision of a frequent and free train service and the erection of a footbridge brought good... more
The closure of all roads links between south and north Workington following the floods of November 2009 produced an unusual travel situation. Provision of a frequent and free train service and the erection of a footbridge brought good access between both parts of the town by foot, cycle and train, but a heavily congested 18 mile detour by road. This paper describes the findings of a survey of over 400 Workington residents about how they adapted and how that has affected the way they travel now that road connections have been restored. Adaptations included changing mode, time of travel and changing destinations. Many respondents report personal hardships, including loss of job, health impacts, reduced family visits to relations and the stress caused by extra travelling time. The paper also describes adaptations by organisations and authorities such as providing feeder bus services, opening a temporary supermarket and offering different worksites or changed hours to help their employe...
In April 2010 European flights were grounded by the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull. The ensuing ‘chaos’ was widely reported in the media along with heroic tales of people struggling to get home. The Institute of... more
In April 2010 European flights were grounded by the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull. The ensuing ‘chaos’ was widely reported in the media along with heroic tales of people struggling to get home. The Institute of Transport and Tourism launched an on-line survey on the fifth day of the crisis, which attracted over 500 responses. It not only gives a picture of people’s priorities and the difficulty of dealing with uncertainties to make alternative travel, or non-travel, decisions, it provides a snapshot of the way aviation is sustaining international business, friendship and kinship networks. The survey findings and particularly the comments provided by the respondents illustrate the ‘glocal’ nature of life for many professionals and other travellers, where global and local networks and roles become intertwined. The use of mobile technologies facilitated the involvement of home networks in providing advice, research and material support for stranded passengers as...
The severity and suddenness of disruption to European air travel caused by the volcanic ash cloud in April exposed the current reliance on air travel for maintaining social, family and business networks. This paper presents the results of... more
The severity and suddenness of disruption to European air travel caused by the volcanic ash cloud in April exposed the current reliance on air travel for maintaining social, family and business networks. This paper presents the results of an on-line survey of those affected, conducted during and just after the event. It shows how ICTs were used to inform choices, but sometimes failed because service providers were overwhelmed and people away from home could not access them. The impact of the disruption 'rippled'through the ...
This final response to the two climate change denial papers by Shani and Arad further highlights the inaccuracies, misinformation and errors in their commentaries. The obfuscation of scientific research and the consensus on anthropogenic... more
This final response to the two climate change denial papers by Shani and Arad further highlights the inaccuracies, misinformation and errors in their commentaries. The obfuscation of scientific research and the consensus on anthropogenic climate change may have significant long-term negative consequences for better understanding the implications of climate change and climate policy for tourism and create confusion and delay in developing and implementing tourism sector responses.
Keywords: Climate change; Global warming; Skepticism; Denial; Agnotology
Keywords: Climate change; Global warming; Skepticism; Denial; Agnotology