Technological change has dramatically affected the character of transit regions. Faster aircraft and cars have reduced the amount of time required in the transit phase, thereby increasing the size of transit regions by making long-haul travel more feasible and comfortable. New aircraft models such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner promise to radically reshape the transit experience for travellers as well as airports, although their introduction has not been problem-free. Not all major airports have strong or long enough runways, or properly configured gates, to accommodate the giant Airbus A380. The option of lounges and extra personal space in all classes, moreover, means that fuel savings from increased efficiency may be largely offset by lower passenger capacity. Electrical and fuel leak problems, meanwhile, have plagued the introduction of the Dreamliner (Mail Online 2013).
Such aircraft also no longer require as many refuelling stops on long-haul flights, resulting in further reconfigurations to transit hubs and regions. Figure 2.5 shows that a flight from Sydney or Auckland to a North American port of entry prior to the 1980s required transit stops in Fiji (Nadi airport) and Hawaii (Honolulu). By the 1980s only one stopover landing was required — Hawaii on the flight to North America and Fiji on the return journey. By the mid-1990s such flights could be undertaken without any stopovers. The overall effect has been the marginalisation of many former stopover points, a process that in some cases has had negative implications for their develop- ment as final destinations.
A similar marginalisation effect has resulted from the construction of limited access expressways in countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia. By diverting traffic from the old main highways, these expressways have forced the closure of many roadside motels that depended on travellers in transit. In the place of the tradi- tional motel strip, clusters of large motels, usually dominated by major chains (such as Holiday Inn, Motel 6 and Comfort Inn) have emerged at strategic intersections readily accessible to the expressway. These clusters contribute to suburban sprawl by attracting affiliated services such as petrol stations and fast-food outlets.
Origin Transit region Destination
1960s and 1970s
1980s
2000s
Nadi Honolulu
Pre-eminent route
Los Angeles San Francisco
Vancouver Sydney
Auckland
Older, existing connections FIgURE 2.5 The evolution of the trans-Pacific travel system
In broad terms, the latter half of the twentieth century was the era in which the car and the aeroplane became pre-eminent, at the expense of the passenger ship and the passenger train (see chapter 3). Places that relied on the ship and the train, accordingly, have declined in importance as transit and destination regions (e.g. train stations and some ports), if they were unwilling or unable to compensate by developing their road or air access, or by catering to niche nostalgia-motivated markets. Contemporary con- cerns about climate change, however, may lead to renewed interest in ships and trains as transit carriers due to their lower greenhouse gas emissions (Becken & Hay 2012).
D E S T I N AT I O N R E g I O N
The destination region is the geographical component of the tourism system that has received by far the greatest scrutiny from researchers, planners and managers. During the era of the advocacy platform, this attention focused on the destination-based tourism industry. Researchers were at that time concerned largely with determining how the industry could effectively attract and satisfy a profit-generating clientele. During the period of the cautionary and adaptancy platforms, the research emphasis shifted towards the identification of host community impacts and strategies for ensuring that these were more positive than negative. More of a balance between industry and com- munity is apparent in the present knowledge-based platform, based on a growing realisation that the interests of the two components are not mutually exclusive.
The distribution of destination regions changed dramatically during the latter half of the twentieth century, and is constantly being reconfigured, vertically as well as hori- zontally, through technological change and consumer interest. In the vertical recon- figuration, space tourism is now a reality since the American multimillionaire Dennis Tito went into space aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule in 2001 as a tourist (Reddy, Nica & Wilkes 2012). Relatively large numbers of space tourists have already signed up for or taken much less expensive ‘parabolic flights’ in which zero-gravity con- ditions are maintained briefly prior to descent (see Technology and tourism: Rocketing into space? Not so fast!). At the other end of the vertical spectrum, several underwater hotels have been proposed, though none had yet been constructed as of 2013.
ROCKETINg INTO SPACE? NOT SO FAST . . .
Technology often expands beyond the ability of humans to cope effectively with the impacts of its expansion, and this ‘reality check’ is currently being faced in the burgeoning field of space tourism.
With the European Space Agency declaring ‘cautious interest and informed support’ for space tourism, and commercial opportunities becoming more viable, as many as 13 000 seats could become
available once commercial space vehicles are operational.
According to Grenon et al. (2012), tourists who take advantage of suborbital flights and other space tourism experiences face potential medical problems. For those with existing conditions, there are concerns about appropriate parameters of participation; for example, for someone with a recent knee replacement, how long should they wait before going on such a trip, and what should be the maximum time spent in a suborbital environment? Is there an optimal minimum and maximum age? The experience of astronauts and cosmonauts is not especially helpful since their screening ensures participation of only the extremely healthy and fit. Even for potential space travellers with no serious medical conditions, clinical research has revealed that such travel poses higher risks of kidney stones, heart arrhythmias, osteoporosis and muscle atrophy upon the return to earth, and even of some kinds of cancer due to increased exposure to radiation and immunosuppression (Grenon et al. 2012). Space tourists would also be vulnerable to other impacts common to air travel — for example, motion sickness, appetite loss, fatigue, insomnia, dehydration and back pain. This indicates the importance of risk management for providers as well as potential customers and healthcare practitioners. Likely outcomes include the disqualification of individuals with high-risk conditions, but also the development of medical technologies to lower these risks. A new organisation, the Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation, is developing ‘medical acceptance guidelines’ for spaceflight participants (COE CST 2012). The ongoing articulation of such standards will be an important facilitator of future commercial and consumer entry into space tourism, thereby lowering the risks of litigation for all parties.
Change in the configuration of destination regions is the result of internal factors such as active promotional efforts and decisions to upgrade infrastructure, but also external factors associated with the broader tourism system and external environ- ments. An example is the emergence of consumer demand for 3S (i.e. sea, sand, sun) tourism after World War II, which led to the large-scale tourism development of hitherto isolated tropical islands in the Caribbean, South Pacific and Indian Ocean (see chapter 4). Concurrently, the opening of these islands to mass tourism could not
have taken place without radical developments in aircraft technology. One implication of this external dependency, and of systems theory in general, is that destinations can effectively manage and control only a very small proportion of the forces and variables that affect their tourism sectors. Even effectively managed destinations and businesses can be severely impacted by the negative intervention of forces over which they have no control (see the case study at the end of this chapter).