PROVIDING MOBILITY ACCESS

WITHIN A DESTINATION
WEEK 4
✓ Transport provides the means of travelling in and around the destination after
arriving. Once a tourist lands in a destination, he/ she has to move within the
destination for various reasons. From the airport where a tourist may arrive, transfer
is needed to reach the accommodation center.
✓ Sightseeing and visiting various attractions are the most important activities of a
tourist when he/ she is in the destination. Different attractions may be situated in
different locations. Also, for consuming other products, the tourist needs to travel.
✓ The mobility of a tourist within a destination is thus crucial, as the primary purpose
of the tourist in engaging in tourism is to visit attractions and experience them. It’s
crucial to ensure suitable infrastructure and adequate means of transportation to
facilitate the mobility of tourists.
❑ One of the primary features of tourism is that the
destinations are away from the markets and the consumers
have to travel distances to access the products and consume
them.
❑ This makes the role of transport so crucial in tourism. As
Linking the stated in the beginning, transport plays a vital role in
moving tourists from their place of residence to their final
destination, and connects the markets in tourism
Destination with generating regions to destinations.
❑ Transport provides the means of travel to the destination
Tourism Markets from the tourist’s place of origin and back again.
Destinations need to be linked with different tourist
markets, as tourists, particularly international tourists,
come from different nations located in different parts of the
world.
❑ For a destination, source markets are different countries.
One destination receives tourists from a number of foreign
countries. All these market countries, also referred to as
tourist generating countries/ regions, have to be linked with
destinations, and efficient transport systems have to be
there to make the destination easily accessible.
✓ Some of the attractions require travel options within
them. For instance, an industrial tourist destination
usually requires travel within it so that tourists can
Providing visit different parts of the site.

Mobility ✓ In wildlife tourism, exclusive transport is provided

in many cases to go into the forest and to see wild
Within animals in their habitat.
Tourist ✓ The type of transport in an attraction may vary
based on the type of attraction.
Attractions
✓ Fragile tourist attractions need transport forms
suitable for them, e.g. more eco-friendly. Industrial
sites may have different types of transport.
Providing Recreational Travel Options
✓ Recreational transport is offered in destinations to enhance the tourism
experience. At times, unique transport options are provided along tourist
circuits. There are recreational rail services linking a destination with nearby
cities.
✓ Hop-on, hop-off city tours are common in established destinations around the
world. Bicycle tourism and bike tourism are centered on recreational trips using
simple transport forms to rural destinations.
✓ The Grand Canyon railway in Arizona, the Royal Scotsman, Scotland, Place on
Wheels, India, etc. are some examples of rail services which are unique and
attractive. They play a key role in attracting tourists. Pleasure boats and dhows
are also part of tourism parlance. Different vehicles are used for recreational
safaris as well.
In certain cases, transport is the primary attraction for visitors. Transport can be a main feature
of a tourist trip when the form of transport itself is one of the main reasons for taking the
trip.

The experience of travel has much more significance than the movement of tourist from the
origin to the destination.

The vehicle involved in the travel must be unique, with facilities and services for recreation.
Cruise voyages and the recreation onboard during the course of the journey constitute the
primary attraction for cruise tourists. Here, the role of transport increases and holds the role
of travel facilitation as well as attraction.

Cruise tourism is becoming more popular, with significant growth recorded. Modern cruise
operators are competing with one another on a wide range of onboard services and facilities in
the hyper-competitive cruise tourism market.

Acting as the Primary Attraction

Linking Host Destinations

✓ In addition to linking the origin and destination, transport is required to link different destinations as
well when a tourist is on a multi-center tour. In package tours, this is very common (when the package
consists of more than one
destination).

This phenomenon of visiting more than a single destination gained momentum when long-haul tours
began to evolve. The distance a tourist has to cover to reach a faraway destination may tempt them to
visit neighboring destination( s) as well.

The mode of travel between destinations may vary, unlike the transport between origin and destination
which is dominated by air travel. Road and rail travel also have significant roles to play in inter-
destination travel.
Determinant in Tourist Experience

Transport, being an integral element in the tourism system, provides an experience that is
also a determinant in the overall
tourist experience. Certainly, transport experience is an important element of the tourist
experience.

The nature of tourism transport experience is defined either by a single mode or a

combination of transport modes, it still involves movement from one location to another,
and a degree of attraction or more precisely a satisfaction of wants associated with the
actual process of traveling. The key distinction in transport for tourism tends to offer low
intrinsic value within the overall experience and the tourism transport experience a higher
intrinsic value. (Lumsdon and Page, 2004)
Contributor in Tourist Attractiveness

A destination with good accessibility and high-quality transport

infrastructure can attract tourists. Even if a destination has
attractive tourism resources, transport is necessary to draw
tourists. However, lack of quality transport can deter the growth
of tourism. Moreover, many transport forms themselves can
lure tourists. Availability of recreational transport forms,
accessibility, etc. certainly contribute in the attractiveness of a
destination.
Determinant in Destination Success

✓ Certainly, quality of transport is a crucial element in the

success of a destination. The evolution of the destination is
influenced by the growth of transport as well.

The accessibility, quality of the transport services, diversity of

transport provisions, etc. are factors that determine the
success of a destination.
Transport enables the tourists in spatial interaction,
facilitates cultural exchange, paves the way for developing
understanding between different cultures and societies, and
has other social benefits. Moreover, transport is the major
tourism employer and generates other economic and social
benefits as well.

Major Contributor in Tourism’s Socio-Economic Benefits

Transport: From a Geographical Perspective

✓ Transport primarily deals with time and distance. Travel distance is a factor in the accessibility of a
destination. Transport facilitates the movement with respect to place and location and provides the essential
link. It enables the spatial interaction between different tourist generating regions and destination regions.
This flow of people from generating region to destination is almost impossible without transport. From a
geographic perspective, travel occurs to satisfy human desire for spatial movement and transport facilitates
the process of movement that has economic and budgetary costs.
✓ According to Page (1994), “transport results from a desire for mobility and travel, and the provision of
different modes of transport aims to facilitate the efficient movement of goods and people”. Traditionally,
distance has been a bottleneck in the evolution of tourism in many destinations.
✓ The proximity of tourist generating countries with high travel propensity has been an advantage for
destinations in attracting international tourists. European destinations could enjoy the benefit of proximity
to rich tourist markets.
✓ The transformation in aviation in the post-Second World War era has eased the difficulties in long-haul travel
through speedier and cheaper air transport services. Yet, the cost in covering long-haul destinations is a
determinant in tourist buying behavior. The distance has a geographical perspective. In geography, spatial
differentiation is used to indicate spatial interaction between two places, which is the basis of
transportation.
According to Ullman (1980), there are three major reasons for spatial
interaction and, therefore, transport development. They are:

1. Complementarity
2. Intervening Opportunities
3. Transferability or friction of Distance
In addition to the accessibility aspect of transport for a destination,
there are other aspects to consider. The major roles of transport for a
destination include the following:

1. Basic requirement
2. Catalyst in the growth of tourism
3. Determinant in destination success
4. Component of tourist attractions
5. Value proposition for destination marketing
6. Determinant in tourist experience and satisfaction
7. Recreational Option
8. Special interest tourism option (e.g. for safaris and adventure trips)
9. Business and economic opportunities
An integrated transport network with convenient transfers between
different modes of transport is essential, as are reasonably priced
travel options. Within the destinations, tourists need a choice of
transport to transfer between port of arrival and their
final destination. In most cases, tourism has been developed in areas
where extensive transportation networks were in place and the
potential for further development was available. Tourism demand
has stimulated the rapid development of transportation.
In order to optimize the transport potentials, destinations
essentially have to ensure the following:
In order to optimize the transport potentials, destinations essentially have
to ensure the following:

1. Quality Vehicles
2. Provision of an integrated, efficient multimodal transport system
3. Safety and security
4. Good connectivity
5. Quality transport infrastructure
6. Proficient travel and tourism information services
7. Proper signboards and guidance
8. Efficient and quality taxi system
9. Efficient drivers/ couriers
10. Fair rate system
Multimodal Transport for Tourism

It’s always better to ensure a multimodal transport system aimed at tourists is used in destinations.
Indeed, every destination will have different transport options. Some have a good road network. Rail
transport may also be of a high standard. Airport terminals and seaports may be an option. Public
transport as well as dedicated tourist transport mechanisms are found in most tourist destinations.
However, these varied transport forms and infrastructure may not have been organized enough to
ensure smoother and efficient travel experience for tourists.

An integrated approach to transport encompassing all forms or at least more than one form of travel
can ensure hassle-free travel around a destination. An integrated transport network can enable a tourist
to visit destinations and enjoy tourism with minimum difficulties associated with changing transport
and separate bookings for different transport types. Though different forms of transport may be used,
a single contract or ticket can often be enough to travel the entire journey – making it more
straightforward for the tourist.