Developing a conceptual framework for slow travel: a grounded theory approach

This paper discusses the sociocultural phenomenon of slow travel and explores and clarifies definitional issues. The 30-year-plus antecedents of slow travel are examined. A literature review shows a concentration on four key features: slowness and the value of time; locality and activities at the destination; mode of transport and travel experience;and environmental consciousness. Links to the slow food and slow city movements are discussed, and evidence that slow travel is an important emergent form of tourism in Europe, accounting for 10% of the holiday market, is provided. A grounded theory approach continues the exploration, involving 23 in-depth interviews with practitioners and academics, which revealed that their core requirements for slow travel centred on slowness, the travel experience and environmental consciousness. There was a lack of consensus about the eligibility of car travel and high-speed rail. Slow travel is seen as a group of associated ideas rather than as a watertight definition; it is a mindset about travel rather than a tangible product and concentrates on lack of speed rather than slowness per se. The conclusion shows it to be a growing part of the sustainable tourism paradigm and proposes a working definition of slow travel

Visitor Expenditure: The Case of Cycle Recreation and Tourism

The paper seeks to contribute to our understanding of the economic impact of sports tourism using the case study of a cycle network in the North East of England, UK, used for tourism, recreation and utility purposes. It explores the foundations of economic impacts of such a network and focuses on underlying behavioural responses of cyclists and their spending. The paper develops a model of expenditure on the basis of 383 travel diaries. The findings confirm that incomes, group sizes and durations of activity are integrally linked determinants of expenditure. The expenditures and durations of cycle trips are linked to preferences for longer journeys. This has implications for planners of routes to attract all types of cyclists from the most casual leisure trip to racing cyclists. Furthermore, the research findings infer that as extra-network and intra-network tourism groups cycling on the network do not behave differently they therefore should both be targeted by sports and tourism agencies

The future of walking in Europe: a Delphi project to identify expert opinion on future walking scenarios

There is increasing recognition of the importance of walking to the sustainability of cities, set against a continuing decline in everyday walking. This paper reports on a research project, which predicts trends in walking in Europe by 2010 by seeking opinion of experts who are knowledgeable about non-motorised transport. There is a consensus that there will be more walking for leisure and health, but less everyday walking. This will happen despite walking being seen as more important and there being more facilities, infrastructure, information and funding for walking.

Do buses help meet tourism objectives? The contribution and potential of scheduled buses in rural destination areas.

A review of tourism policy documents reveals three key objectives: environmental, social and economic sustainability. This paper examines the role of scheduled buses in meeting these objectives, using data from a large survey of bus passengers in rural tourist destinations. It finds that buses achieve modest modal shift from cars, allow access to the countryside for people without cars and generate spending in local economies. It suggests how these functions could be improved by market-segmentation, better publicity and service delivery and questions why many such services struggle for funding each year