Literature Summary: Tourism, A Modern
Synthesis
Chapter 8: Transporting the tourist
Transport is a fundamental component of the tourism industry, it facilitates mobility and the
movement of tourists from their place of origin to their destination and back.
There are three distinct methods of human transport:
Self-propelled modes (walking)
Augmented modes (using technology or tools to amplify our bodily effort such as skiing)
Fuelled modes (especially motorized transport)
The mode of transport is integral to the overall experience of tourism such as cruising or taking a
scenic railway journey.
Land-based transport
The car
The car is still widely neglected in tourism studies because it is now such an accepted part of
everyday life that in impact and use in tourism it is taken for granted and overlooked. The car offers
considerable flexibility in the way people can travel and access tourism resources and sites outside
urban areas. In some cases key tourism and recreational sites where over-use sites and popular
locations which tourists visit. The use of cars has been managed through the provision of alternative
forms of transport. The essential problem posed by the car is that its use is subject to the whim of
the individual and its users cannot be controlled.
Coach and bus transport
These can be classified into:
Express scheduled coach services
Private hire services for group travel
Packaged tours on coaches
Urban and rural bus services to tourist location
Airport taxi and shuttle service
Excursions, day trip, sightseeing tours in urban and rural areas.
The management of bus and coach travel has different market structures, from a public-ownership
model to market-led approaches and major competition.
Cycling
, The cycle is the most sustainable form of tourist transport one can use because, being non-
motorized, it does not require fuel and does not always have a major impact on the built and physical
environment. After walking, cycling is the most important form of transport globally. Tourist cycling is
now a well-established form of tourism in many countries, particularly, where provision has been
made through the development of cycle routeways. Cycle tourism provision can create a vital
attraction for many destinations, but strategic planning in integrating its role and use is essential for
success.
Rail travel
Train transport for tourism takes two forms: combined leisure and business, which is scheduled and
predominantly leisure-based services. For rail transport to operate effectively, a vastly expensive
capital investment in built infrastructure is needed. The market for rail holidays has seen competition
emerge with low-cost airlines although leisure day trips remain a key element of rail travel. Rail travel
is portrayed as a more sustainable mode of travel than the care and its safety record is impressive in
most countries where the infrastructure is well maintained.
Water-based transport
Water-borne transport is frequently overlooked in many studies of tourism since air travel dominates
the word patterns of travel. Within the water-based transport sector, three main forms of transport
can be identified:
Cruising
The cruise product can take many forms: small-scale, specialist ships exist to take niche market
clients, gigantic mass-entertainment ships which are themselves the destination. The market for
cruises is dominated by three global players: Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean and the Star
Cruise Group.
Ferries
Ferries are used to cross water where it constitutes a barrier to travel. One of the busiest waterways
is between Dover an Calais. However in some peripheral locations which have a highly seasonal
tourist market, the ferry services not only operate under a public service grant to subsidize the
operation, but are a vital lifeline for some communities.
Pleasure craft on inland waterways
Within countries which have an industrial heritage based on canals and inland waterways a
significant vacation market has developed based on pleasure boats designed to use the former canal
and waterways that were previously used for transport.
Air transport
Apart from ‘air-taxis’, all civil aviation falls into one of two categories: scheduled and charter traffic.
Scheduled airlines operate to a clearly defined, published timetable, irrespective of whether a flight
is full or not. Chartered airlines are chartered out to a third party: this may be a seat-broker who will
sell smaller blocks of seats to small tour operators or it may be a large tour operator who requires
the whole aircraft for a summer or winter season’s flying. In reality, the large tour operators posses
their own airlines.
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Synthesis
Chapter 8: Transporting the tourist
Transport is a fundamental component of the tourism industry, it facilitates mobility and the
movement of tourists from their place of origin to their destination and back.
There are three distinct methods of human transport:
Self-propelled modes (walking)
Augmented modes (using technology or tools to amplify our bodily effort such as skiing)
Fuelled modes (especially motorized transport)
The mode of transport is integral to the overall experience of tourism such as cruising or taking a
scenic railway journey.
Land-based transport
The car
The car is still widely neglected in tourism studies because it is now such an accepted part of
everyday life that in impact and use in tourism it is taken for granted and overlooked. The car offers
considerable flexibility in the way people can travel and access tourism resources and sites outside
urban areas. In some cases key tourism and recreational sites where over-use sites and popular
locations which tourists visit. The use of cars has been managed through the provision of alternative
forms of transport. The essential problem posed by the car is that its use is subject to the whim of
the individual and its users cannot be controlled.
Coach and bus transport
These can be classified into:
Express scheduled coach services
Private hire services for group travel
Packaged tours on coaches
Urban and rural bus services to tourist location
Airport taxi and shuttle service
Excursions, day trip, sightseeing tours in urban and rural areas.
The management of bus and coach travel has different market structures, from a public-ownership
model to market-led approaches and major competition.
Cycling
, The cycle is the most sustainable form of tourist transport one can use because, being non-
motorized, it does not require fuel and does not always have a major impact on the built and physical
environment. After walking, cycling is the most important form of transport globally. Tourist cycling is
now a well-established form of tourism in many countries, particularly, where provision has been
made through the development of cycle routeways. Cycle tourism provision can create a vital
attraction for many destinations, but strategic planning in integrating its role and use is essential for
success.
Rail travel
Train transport for tourism takes two forms: combined leisure and business, which is scheduled and
predominantly leisure-based services. For rail transport to operate effectively, a vastly expensive
capital investment in built infrastructure is needed. The market for rail holidays has seen competition
emerge with low-cost airlines although leisure day trips remain a key element of rail travel. Rail travel
is portrayed as a more sustainable mode of travel than the care and its safety record is impressive in
most countries where the infrastructure is well maintained.
Water-based transport
Water-borne transport is frequently overlooked in many studies of tourism since air travel dominates
the word patterns of travel. Within the water-based transport sector, three main forms of transport
can be identified:
Cruising
The cruise product can take many forms: small-scale, specialist ships exist to take niche market
clients, gigantic mass-entertainment ships which are themselves the destination. The market for
cruises is dominated by three global players: Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean and the Star
Cruise Group.
Ferries
Ferries are used to cross water where it constitutes a barrier to travel. One of the busiest waterways
is between Dover an Calais. However in some peripheral locations which have a highly seasonal
tourist market, the ferry services not only operate under a public service grant to subsidize the
operation, but are a vital lifeline for some communities.
Pleasure craft on inland waterways
Within countries which have an industrial heritage based on canals and inland waterways a
significant vacation market has developed based on pleasure boats designed to use the former canal
and waterways that were previously used for transport.
Air transport
Apart from ‘air-taxis’, all civil aviation falls into one of two categories: scheduled and charter traffic.
Scheduled airlines operate to a clearly defined, published timetable, irrespective of whether a flight
is full or not. Chartered airlines are chartered out to a third party: this may be a seat-broker who will
sell smaller blocks of seats to small tour operators or it may be a large tour operator who requires
the whole aircraft for a summer or winter season’s flying. In reality, the large tour operators posses
their own airlines.
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
