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on Tourism Economics |
| By: | Agita Slara |
| Abstract: | The article describes advantages and disadvantages in tourism planning, using the river basins as background territory and borders. Tourism development planning is taking place according administrative territorial borders till nowadays in Latvia and in other tourism destinations in abroad. According tourist and visitor needs and environmental friendly approach it is more appropriate to use river basins in tourism planning. Tourists are not interested in administrative borders, but in qualitative tourism products and services. Tourism industry is integrated sector including: traffic, communication, accommodation, energy, public catering, attractions, travel and destination organizers and institutional support to industry. Tourism planning in administrative borders supports fractioned human, nature and financial resources, which finally gives weak and unpopular tourism products. The author has selected as case study for tourism planning Daugava river basin, exactly Ogre – Daugava’s right side tributary - basin. Daugava river basin is in 15th place in ecoregion “Baltic Province” and in 5th place in ecoregion “Baltic Sea” according Water structure directive EEC 2000/60/EC; 11 annex. In year 2003 there is finished project “Daugava basin area management plan” which focuses on planning issues according river basins (Daugava project Latvia Sweden, 2003). The author has selected tributary Ogre basin (area 1730km2), it is 3rd largest river in Latvia (188km) and one of the most attractive rivers for water tourists. It is crucial to develop and strengthen tourism services along the Ogre river, if local enterprises want to receive profit from water tourism. One legal accommodation and two places for tents are situated in Ogre riverbanks. In the course of tourism planning at least primary problems must be solved: lack of toilets, collection of waste, types of water transport. The article prepared using practical observation of the Ogre river basin, interviews with local enterprisers and water tourists in the area. The main conclusions are lack of understanding role of river basin in sustainable way and administrative obstacles for common cooperation. Tourism planning according river basins approach gives preconditions for elaboration sustainable tourism development services and tourism products. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p778&r=tur |
| By: | Francesco Capone; Rafael Boix |
| Abstract: | At the end of the XIX Century, Marshall described the existence of some concentrations of small and medium enterprises specialised in a specific production activity in certain districts of some industrial English cities. Starting from his contribute, Italian scholars have paid particular attention to this local system of production coined by Marshall under the term “industrial district”. In other countries, different but related territorial models have played a central role as the “milieu” or the “geographical industrial clusters”. Recently, these models have been extended to non-industrial fields like culture, rural activities and tourism. In this text, we explore the extension of these territorial models to the study of tourist activities in Italy, using a framework that can be easily applied to other countries or regions. The paper is divided in five sections. In the first one, we propose a review of the territorial models applied to tourism industry. In the second part, we construct a tourist filiere and we apply a methodology for the identification of local systems through GIS tools. Thus, taxonomy of the Italian Tourist Local Systems is presented. In the third part, we discuss about the sources of competitiveness of these Tourist Local Systems. In the forth section, we test a spatial econometrics model regarding different kinds of Italian Tourist Local Systems (rural systems, arts cities, tourist districts) in order to measure external economies and territorial networks. Finally, conclusions and policy implications are exposed. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p695&r=tur |
| By: | Rossana Galdini |
| Abstract: | The paper analyzes the role and the significance of tourism, as one particular set of industries that are of great significance in contemporary western societies, namely consumer services and especially tourist- related services. Particular emphasis is given to the impact of tourism on host communities, the changing role of tourism in the European economy, the relationship between tourism and environment, and its place in urban regeneration. Tourism is one of the most significant social forces in the world today. It also has enormous international economic and geopolitical importance. The economic, social environmental and cultural implications of such developments can be seen in a lot of cities. Tourism constructs, rearranges, and inhabits geographic, social and cultural spaces globally. This paper tries to better understand in a systematic way the spatial relationships, tourism systems and environments.The focus is on consumption and culture as drivers of urban policy. The main theme is that of tourism as a totalizing social construction of places and identities. The strong connections between society, time and space implies that the concept of 'society', the nature of 'locality', the significance of 'economic restructuring', and the concept of the 'rural', are to be examined in relationship to place. The paper then considers how places have been transformed by the development of service occupations and industries. Attention is then devoted to the ways in which places are consumed, the visual character of such consumption and its implications for place and people. The implications for nature and the environment are also explored . Places are constructed for tourism consumption through the promotion of certain images that have implications for the built environment. Tourist consumption is a place- creating and a place-altering act. The production and expansion of tourist spaces has consequences for the build environment, and so the promotion of a certain images can impact on the authenticity of environments. The paper tries to provide a critical approach of how places of cultural significance are trasformed into places of consumption by investigating the relationship between culture as a resorce for identity and social meaning and culture as an important economic resource for post-industrial cities. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p234&r=tur |
| By: | J. A. Cadima Ribeiro; Laurentina Cruz Vareiro; Carmen Padin Fabeiro; Xulio Pardellas de Blas |
| Abstract: | Tourism has an enormous potential while instrument of regional development. However, the opportunities are not the same for each territory and it is easy to understand that, considering the resources available, not every region has the choice to base its development strategy in the touristic industry. Taking this in consideration, the mission of classifying, evaluating and compare, from a consistent and realistic point a view, several groups of tourist resources became a necessary task and a precondition to define the touristic vocation of a region. This approach allows to select the best alternative to tourism development. The paper attempts to catalogue the tourist resources of the selected territory and to evaluate the different sort of resources available, using several classification approaches, aiming to calculate its index of touristic potential. We believe that the before mention methodology might be a valuable instrument to identify the strongnesses and weaknesses of the Minho-Lima sub-region (Portugal) in what refers to its touristic development, as well as the degree of integration of the tourism sector in the local productive system. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p113&r=tur |
| By: | Gianluigi Coppola; Teresa Vanacore |
| Abstract: | Tourism is very important in Italy. In this article we will discuss about the Economy of the Italian Local Labour Markets specialized in Tourism. We will try to explain, through statistical analysis applied to an Econometrical model, the differences existing among them. The result of our research is that the dichotomy of the Italian economy – North vs. South – is also present in the Tourism industry. Nevertheless, there are significant differences among the Tourism Local Markets in Southern Italy. This implies that a policy on local development may help the region to grow. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p759&r=tur |
| By: | Harry Coccossis; Mary Constantoglou |
| Abstract: | Greek tourism has been developed since the 70’s. Main scope of this development was the economic support of areas with rich natural and cultural capital. This process has created a number of effects (positive and negative ones) at the destination areas mainly because of the lack of integrated planning. The necessity for tourism planning in local, regional and national scale is obvious, especially when the main objective is the preservation and the competitiveness of the destination areas. Tourism development is differentiated from place to place and tourism policy must reflect that. A spatial typology for tourism development is necessary in order to develop sharper policy measures. In this paper we will examine a spatial typology that has been created for the Greek coasts for policy making. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p693&r=tur |
| By: | Isabel Cortés-Jiménez; Manuel Artís |
| Abstract: | Tourism is one of the most important sectors in the world economy, and it is now considered as an efficient tool for promoting economic growth. In this respect, the experience of the Spanish economy is well known, and might be used to illustrate the benefits of the development of the tourism sector in lagging economies. Actually, there is wide consensus in the idea of its role in enhancing the Spanish industrialisation process. The foreign currency receipts from tourism contributed to finance the expansion of manufacturing by financing imports of capital goods. Moreover, the expansion of tourism in the last three decades has been unstoppable and beneficial for the economy in different aspects. The main purpose of this paper is to assess the real role of the tourism sector in the Spanish economy during the last three decades, paying especial attention to its contribution to the industrialisation of some of the less developed regions. Policy issues that are derived from the results for the Spanish experience should be useful for other developing countries in similar situations, and reveal how the tourist activity in those economies can benefit the overall economy, helping growth in other sectors. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p488&r=tur |
| By: | Ebru Kerimoglu; Hale Ciraci |
| Abstract: | It is s common fact that tourism is a leading sector in progress of under-developed and developing regions. Consistent with the policies to ensure tourism variety and spreading tourism activities throught out the country in to the four seasons, efforts to find and develope natural, historical, archeological and cultural resources in different regions of Turkey are continuing. In spite of the various tourism potentials of the cities that are developed in urban scale and socio-economic progress, their tourism development levels are not as required. In this study, the tourism policies followed in Turkey since 1970’s and influence of those policies on the investment distrubition and space are investigated and the socio-cultural and socio-economic reasons underlying the failure of Turkey’s developed cities to reach the required level in the tourism development are stated. Depending on the time, the touristic development levels and socio-economic development levels of Turkish provinces are designated and the relation between them are evaluated. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p580&r=tur |
| By: | Antonio Russo |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces the main findings of the CULTURAL GATEWAYS project caried out during 2004-2005 by the author wiht a eserach fellowship at Universitat Autonoma, Barcelona. The aim of the project is the development of a sustainable urban-rural relationship in the organisation of tourist regions around main urban destination. The projects analyses existing visitation models and cognitive processes of visitors in main destinations, as well as existing organisations that produce culture in peripheral areas, elaborating strategies to promote and diffuse these less-known assets. A key motive is to build on the existing tourist potential, developing “gateways” (both physical and virtual) that reconnect the cultural heritage of peripheral communities to existing value chains. The departure point is that the preservation of cultural heritage through responsible tourism is the key to generating both wealth and well being in host communities. Experience demonstrates that host communities are better able to cope with existing problems and new challenges, when all concerned parties jointly attempt to find a balanced solution through mutual consultation, business-to-business co-operation and public-private partnerships. The main challenge to that respect is that many local communities do not realise the interest value that features of their local community may have to the outside world. It is believed that the “metropolitan” or “regional” dimension of tourism governance, and thus necessarily of cultural strategies, is the key to a more sustainable use of the heritage and cultural assets for community development. A restructured core-periphery visitation pattern benefits the communities involved, in terms of lower pressure levels and crowding of central destinations, of enhanced entrepreneurial capacity in rural areas, and of a more articulated visitor mobility on the territory, rebalancing the costs and revenues generated by tourism and boosting the spin-off potential of tourism in areas with a weak economic basis but rich in culture. On this account, ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) are seen as a promising tool that achieves a number of desirable outcomes: o global access to local cultural knowledge, o interactivity between the local cultural and foreign audiences with the establishment of “cultural empathy” between hosts and guests, o integration of the peripheral tourist areas in the distribution channels of core products, o empowerment and training for entrepreneurs in the cultural industries. The effects of global-urban-rural partnership through e-Strategies are tested in a number of pilot destination regions, including the Catalan and the Galician Communities in Spain and the Veneto Region in Italy. The project will analyse how the introduction of ICT tools for tourism and cultural marketing has changed (or is likely to change) visitors’ attitudes and community involvement for a more sustainable tourism. An attempt will be made at generalising the results providing guidelines for regional managers. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p268&r=tur |
| By: | Igor Stokoviæ |
| Abstract: | Croatia has a significant comparative advantage in tourism sector in terms of unspoilt nature, a unique geographic landscape with more than 1,000 islands, high quality and clarity of sea and friendliness of the local people. But after the deep fall in international arrivals and overnights during the war period, Croatia has achieved some before-war figures. During the period of the war, the main Croatia’s competitor evolved to meet changing consumer demands, investing in new infrastructure, diversifying their tourism products and strengthening their presence in markets were once Croatia’s main international sources. Croatia offers significant potential for development tourism in different segments like rural, wine, sport tourism, but also can meet the sophisticated demand of small elite group of tourist. In spite of a great potential, Croatia’s attractiveness to foreign direct investment was not very high. During the last ten years, tourism sector in Croatia has attracted about 3 per cent of total FDI. In this paper would be analyze the operating system and results of companies before and after FDI. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p790&r=tur |
| By: | Jie Zhang; Camilla Jensen |
| Abstract: | The purpose of the paper is to relate the tourism demand model with the traditional theories that explain international trade flows. In the existing tourism literature, tourism flows and tourism demand forecasts are typically explained by the demand-side variables. But in the traditional trade theories, international trade flows are explained from the supply-side variables, i.e. the comparative advantage of the exporting countries. A model is proposed in the paper, trying to explain in a modern and global economy, the factors that from a supply-side perspective can decide the comparative advantage of countries in a certain type of service activity. The preliminary results render a strong support for the relevance of certain supply-side factors in explaining international tourism flows such as both natural endowments and created assets associated with foreign investments, hotel capacity and level of development. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p183&r=tur |
| By: | Christos Liouris; Alex Deffner |
| Abstract: | In our days it is a fact that what is projected as the ‘image’ of a city, can be more important than the reality of the city itself, in shaping visitors’, investors’, and even its own inhabitants’ opinion of it. Marketing techniques are often used to help a city’s transformation into a post-industrial centre of tourism, culture and redevelopment. In addition, urban tourism is playing an increasingly important role in deciding economic development strategies by the local governance authorities. In the current framework of the globalised economy, competition for attracting tourists is even greater. On this matter, the role of city marketing is crucial. This paper examines the importance of city marketing in urban governance decisions. It also investigates the relation of city marketing to urban tourism planning, given the relatively new trend for urban tourism quality management, and to sustainability. Finally, the paper looks at the relation of city marketing procedures to city time planning, participatory planning and urban regeneration, concluding with an acknowledgment of the significance of city marketing in urban planning in general. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p395&r=tur |
| By: | Vittorio Ruggiero; Luigi Scrofani |
| Abstract: | The Italian new law (n.135/2001) about the re-organization of touristic activities of Regions has contributed to re-think all the resources related to touristic valorisation in a systemic view point. In fact according to the new approach, the Local Touristic System (STL in Italian law) regards not only the naturalistic and the cultural resources and the hotels but also the economic and services activities that can related to tourism. Although Sicilian Region has not instituted its official STL, in our paper we will try to define the STL in Sicily in a particular point of view. In fact we will consider not only the touristic areas but also the areas less developed, because the systemic approach allows us to use the touristic activities as a factor of territorial re-balance instead of territorial polarization. We also will consider the principal touristic port related to the STL, according the point of view of an integration among ports and its surrounding areas. So the ports become a door to the inner areas full of naturalistic and cultural resources. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p304&r=tur |
| By: | Heisz, Andrew; Schellenberg, Grant |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the likelihood of immigrants and the Canadian-born to use public transit. It also discusses implications for public transit services. It uses data from the 1996 and 2001 censuses of Canada. |
| Keywords: | Service industries, Travel and tourism, Population and demography, Transportation services, Commuting, Citizenship |
| Date: | 2004–05–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stc:stcp3e:2004224e&r=tur |
| By: | Dimitrios Economou; Maria Vrassida |
| Abstract: | Traditionally coastal cities had a role as trading ports or gates of entry connecting the hinterland other parts of the world or the country, and acting as points of departure or arrival for goods and people. Trade and industry, were the spine of the economy for many years and a network was created between ports and coastal cities in order to move people (workforce), goods, and materials. Tourism is a dynamic spontaneous phenomenon, which creates opportunities for many coastal cities to participate in a different network of exchange. Tourism is considered an activity that does not create networks in the traditional sense but as mobility increases information and familiarity could pose as a new kind of connection between coastal cities. This paper aims to explore the structure and dynamics of such a network at an inter-intra regional level. The focus is on coastal cities since they are very popular tourism destinations and they account for the majority of visits in Europe. Reference will be made to the Greek middle size coastal cities since many of their traditional activities are degrading, they already attract a large number of visitors and they provide the opportunity for regeneration through tourism. The paper will be based on a questionnaire survey of visitors conducted during the summer months (June-August 2003) in Volos a middle size coastal city in Greece. The questionnaire is part of a broader survey of tourism in Volos aiming to explore tourism characteristics, flows and to evaluate the tourism product of the city. This network relationship will be examined in terms of complementary and competition and the impacts on city-region relations. Finally the policy implications and the potential for expanding and planning this network in order to contribute and promote sustainable development of coastal cities will be explored. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p674&r=tur |
| By: | Ulrike Beuck |
| Abstract: | The paper describes the development, application and validation of a quantitative spatial model for leisure day trips from Berlin into the surrounding regions. Leisure activities can contribute substantially to the economies of rural regions like the surroundings of Berlin, but these activities are also often very sensitive to environmental quality, which is usually negatively affected by the traffic caused by the leisure travelers...A model of the spatial distribution of leisure day trips can help to develop planning and management strategies in order to reduce these potential conflicts. Existing studies estimate the number of day trips from Berlin to the region of Brandenburg at about 36 Mio per year and provide some general information on activities, mode choice and destinations. In this paper, these demand-oriented figures are combined with attraction-related datasets and mode dependent travel time information of all potential destinations in order to develop a GIS-based spatial distribution model of leisure day trips. This model is then calibrated and validated using independent datasets, e.g. traffic census data. The results produced by the model are in good accordance with the validation data and clearly show the close relationship of accessibility by different means of transport and relative attractiveness of the destinations. By combining the model output with other datasets (e.g. about overnight tourism), regions of potential can be identified. The model could easily be adopted to evaluate the effects of future infrastructure and management measures. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p293&r=tur |
| By: | Marcio José Vargas Cruz; Cássio Frederico Camargo Rolim |
| Abstract: | This research had like general goal to identify the determinants of the international tourism flow, seeking diagnostic the main restrictions to the expansion of this sector in the countries in development, utilizing a comparative analysis for the regions of the South America, Africa and South of the Asia. To be specified the determinants of the international tourism flow, was applied the econometrics instrumental, aiming to establish its empirical evidence. In the analysis was utilized the panel model because it´s shown adequate to the objective of identify the prominent factors of generalized form. Furthermore, this paper discuss the performance of the countries of the South America, Africa and South of Asia in the international tourism, with base in the determinant specified, seeking identify the empirical coherence of these general determinants in case of these countries and comparing the specificities and homogeneity between these regions, constituted by countries in development. The result of the study aims that the income is a fundamental determinant for explain the emission of tourists and there are indications of an elevated elasticity, what is translated in empirical coherence. Referring to the tourism attractive, we found the relevant paper of the risk related to the security and of the development of the country, identified through of the Human Development Index - HDI. The comparative analysis between the regions of the South America, Africa and South of the Asia, showed that the performance of these countries show consistency with the general determinants, in function of their conditions, for example, their geographic distance from the rich countries. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p714&r=tur |
| By: | Rossana Galdini |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the process of Urban Regeneration in Europe and examines the factors influencing this process as well as its implementation. Foundamental changes in the economy, technology, demography and politics are reshaping the environment for cities in Europe. These changes have induced a logic of competion in a dynamic and complex context. In the attempt to become and remain an attractive place for inhabitants, city users, businessmen and visitors, cities invent their own strategies, discovering that the policies of local governments need to be more marked-oriented with an eye to the city’s weaknesses and strenghts. Many historic cities in recent decades experienced redevelopment for new “postindustrial uses” often related to culture, tourism, technology. Such uses may offer the potential for creating more sustainable and liveable cities. Especially in old industrial areas, new politics, strategies and funds have been used for re-utilization of old industrial sites. Clear examples for this is Italian case studies like Genoa. In Genoa a programme for restructuring the old harbour areas, the waterfront and the historic centre has been set up. Genoa approaches functional specialisation as a more general element in its strategy for increasing economic competitiveness. The development of transport systems, services, infrastructures, promises considerable renovation of the urban functions with a significant growth in the economy linked to cultural activities and tourism. Regeneration programmes for de-industrialised areas have promoted the location and relocation of business investments as well as actions to improve a productive diversification. At present Genoa after a deep crisis, has regained a new identity and its role in the Italian economic and social system. This paper integrates three issues. First it describes some of the main features of pattern of urban development and the increase of competition, setting the scene for a more strategic action. Second analyzes the case study Genoa, an example of integrated urban development approach. Third attention is drawn on the way in which cities “create” their own image management, using actions that shown and reveal hidden resources. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p426&r=tur |
| By: | Alex Deffner; Theodore Metaxas |
| Abstract: | European regions and cities have been, especially during the last twenty years, characterized by a plurality of efforts to define their vision, to construct their identity and to shape their images, in order to become more attractive and, consequently, competitive, and also to increase their market share in a globalized economy. Following this option, places have been elaborating and implementing particular competitive policies and strategic plans in order to attract the potential target markets (new investments, tourists, new residents etc). Shaping the vision concerns the identification of the sustainable development objectives that each place sets up in a long-term horizon. Furthermore, the vision is the first step of strategic planning implementation that a place has to follow in order to construct its identity and to produce its image as a ‘final provided good’. This paper investigates the relationship between vision, local identity and image, focusing on culture and tourism. The international bibliography shows several cases, mainly of European places, that support their competitiveness through cultural and tourism development. In addition, the majority of the implemented place marketing policies relate with culture and tourism. The primary aim of the paper is to present the ways with which the cultural image of a place as a ‘final provided good’, could be produced, supported and promoted effectively to the external environment. The secondary aim is to show under what conditions the promotion of this image could induce anticipated profits for a place in a long-term base. The data for this paper are provided by the INTERREG IIIc CultMark project (Cultural Heritage, Local Identity and Place Marketing for Sustainable Development, an project) that has been in operation in five European places during the last year: Nea Ionia/Magnesia/Greece, Paphos/Cyprus, Chester/UK, Rostock-Wismar/Germany and Kainuu/Finland – it has to be noted that the last four places relate directly with water. The main aim of the project is to create a final successful image for each place and for the study area as a whole. The paper presents a structural analysis of the project methodology and uses the available data in order to produce the ‘final provided good’ of each place. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p696&r=tur |
| By: | Juan Peña; Andreu Bonet; Juan Bellot; Juan Rafael Sánchez |
| Abstract: | The analysis of changes in land cover and land use over time as sources of information and geographical diagnosis at a regional scale, is primary to improving knowledge of land cover and land use modelling in Mediterranean environments. The study area is located in the Marina Baixa (MB) county and catchment (680 km2; Alicante, Spain). It comprises 18 municipalities which for the period under study present a landscape mosaic, Benidorm is the capital city of the county. In its turn, this region has undergone great socio-economic changes over recent decades, which can be attributed to tourism development and agricultural intensification. The main driving forces of landscape change are economic and social (tourism development, agriculture) but urban planning is also a key element to take into account in the land use model. The main change attractors can be described as coastal proximity and water availability factors, that are responsible for the transformation from traditional land uses to new land uses with higher water demand and sea-shore zones highly urbanized. Analysis of aerial photographs for the years 1956, 1978 and 2000 in MB revealed an increment of artificial surfaces mostly near the shoreline; an augment of irrigated crops surface; and a significant decline in traditional dry crops due to the abandonment because of their low productivity, therefore it is a growth of natural areas. We have studied the evolution of land cover and land use in MB catchment through time (1956-1978-2000). However, in this study we test the hypothesis that landscape changes in Marina Baixa in 2000 could be predicted from 1956-1978 land use changes. In order to generate land use and land cover map of 2000, we use a combined Cellular Automata, Markov Chain and Multi-Criteria land cover prediction procedure. The application of multiple models is powerful to represent the spatial contiguity as well as knowledge of the likely spatial distribution of transitions to Markov chain analysis. The span between two studied periods is 22 years. The goal is to calibrate the model to predict, as well as possible, the land use changes in 2000, with the purpose to predict the long-term changes beyond. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p713&r=tur |
| By: | Juana Aznar (Universidad Miguel Hernández); Rosella Nicolini (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at developing a theoretical and empirical analysis of the factors affecting the demand of the tourist sector in the Comunidad Valenciana. We develop a study in line with the approach of the economic geography theory. Firms belonging to the tourist sector concentrate around natural resources and make spontaneous agglomerations arise. The activities sponsored by the Agencia de Turismo allow firms to improve the quality of the touristic offer and generate competitive advantages for the firms themselves. The econometric results suggest that the elasticity of the touristic demand is positive and very significant with respect to the quality of the touristic offer. Moreover, as one can expect, transport costs and other barriers smooth the touristic demand. En este estudio nos proponemos, utilizando un modelo de economía geográfica, ofrecer un análisis teórico y empírico de los elementos que afectan a la demanda turística en la Comunidad Valenciana, siendo este un sector en el que las empresas se distribuyen de manera polarizada alrededor de los recursos naturales. Las actividades patrocinadas por la Agencia Valenciana de Turismo han permitido incrementar la calidad de los servicios ofrecidos, sobre todo para las empresas que forman parte de una aglomeración, puesto que esta circunstancia les permite disfrutar de ventajas competitivas. Además, del análisis empírico se obtiene que la elasticidad de la demanda turística (pernoctaciones en hoteles) con respecto a los servicios ofrecidos es positiva y altamente significativa, mientras que no resulta afectada por el número de restaurantes. Por otra parte, y como cabría esperar, los costes de transporte parecen ser una restricción importante para los turistas extranjeros. Algunas consideraciones de política económica concluyen este estudio. |
| Keywords: | Aglomeraciones geográficas, externalidades, competitividad, sector turístico Agglomerations, externalities, competitiveness, tourist sector |
| JEL: | R12 R22 D21 L8 |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasec:2005-18&r=tur |
| By: | Juan Luis Nicolau (Universidad de Alicante) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study consists of proposing a sequential and hierarchical decision-making process of tourists divided into four stages: 1) going on holiday (or not); 2) choosing a national of international trip; 3) choosing a specific geographical area; and 4) choosing a type of trip –multidestination vs. single-destination- on this area. This analysis allows us to examine the sundry stages that a tourist follows until s/he chooses a type of trip on a destination, as well as to observe the determining factor in each stage. The empirical application is carried out on a sample of 3,781 individuals, by estimating a Random Parameter Logit Model by applying Bayesian procedures. The results obtained reveal a nested non-independent character of the aforementioned decisions, which confirms the proposed four-stage sequential and hierarchical decisionmaking process. El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en proponer un proceso de decisión secuencial y jerárquico que siguen los turistas vacacionales en cuatro etapas: 1) salir (o no) de vacaciones; 2) elección de un viaje nacional vs. internacional; 3) elección de determinadas áreas geográficas; y 4) elección de la modalidad del viaje -multidestino o de destino fijo- en estas áreas. Este análisis permite examinar las distintas fases que sigue un turista hasta seleccionar una determinada modalidad de viaje en un zona geográfica concreta, así como observar los factores que influyen en cada etapa. La aplicación empírica se realiza sobre una muestra de 3.781 individuos, y estima, mediante procedimientos bayesianos, un Modelo Logit de Coeficientes Aleatorios. Los resultados obtenidos revelan el carácter anidado y no independiente de las decisiones anteriores, lo que confirma el proceso secuencial y jerárquico propuesto. |
| Keywords: | Decisiones anidadas, modelización estocástica, marketing turístico Nested decisions, stochastic modelling, tourism marketing |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasec:2005-17&r=tur |
| By: | Chryssanthi Balomenou; Panagyiotis Arsenos; Dimitris Lagos |
| Abstract: | The main purpose of our paper is to examine the financing framework of the Greek tourist enterprises. More specifically, in the first part of this paper we analyze the sector of the Greek tourism market in order to be able to define its operational framework. Then, we examine the structural problems of the sector and analyze the relevant Institutional financing framework. In the second part we work out a critical assessment of the tourist enterprises existing financial framework, focussing on the financial difficulties that they face. In the last part of our paper, we set out our proposals concerning the adoption of the appropriate tourism policy that will contribute to the supporting of the aforementioned firms and especially to their access to finance (through Developmental Laws, E.U’s programs, financial Institutions like Credit Guarantee Fund for Small and Very Small Enterprises, etc). The most important conclusions that come out of the whole analysis of our paper, show that the majority of Greek Tourist Industry are small enterprises that they have the same structural characteristics (e.g: seasonal bussiness, mainly situated in insular regions, stayed behind large companies in terms of productivity, technological experience, financial and other areas. Particularly, they often lack creditworthiness and have trouble securing funds needed for their business activities). Furthermore, tourist enterprises, like most small companies have only limited capital resources. So, they have to rely on banks and other financial institutions for their funds. Banks require sufficient collateral or a well-established surety for their debtors to secure a loan. The lack of such assets or appropriate surety makes it difficult for many small tourist business to obtain loans from financial houses. Thus, it is obvious that the pin pointing of the financial problems that the tourist enterprises face, facilitates the planing of the appropriate mix of tourism policy measures, that can lead to a more effective running of tourist enterprises and also contribute to the reinforcement of local entrepreneurship. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p104&r=tur |
| By: | Nick Bogiazides; Eftychia Kotsiou; Manos Vougioukas |
| Abstract: | Dotted across Europe can be found a large number of heritage railways and museums, the remnants of former elaborate railway networks bypassed by industrial and economic change. In the past, upon such railways depended industrial development and the economy’s secondary sector. Today, having lost their primary transportation function, they represent for many a remote area a key tourist attraction, the mainstay of the local tertiary sector. Most lie in regions that have undergone significant change in their productive profile, with wide de-industrialisation and its concomitant population loss explaining the original network’s demise. As they are visited by a total of around 20 million people a year, almost twice the annual visitor intake of Disneyland Paris, they merit some attention in terms of their impact on regional development.This paper attempts to present a methodology for assessing the quantifiable impacts of heritage railways and museums on local economies and the findings of a research project in which it has been applied and tested. Issues, such as investment on the railway and in allied sectors, income and employment generation, the dissemination and (often) re-appropriation by local communities of traditional skills, the social function of heritage railways as providers of state-assisted youth training scheme job opportunities, etc., are examined in the light of their repercussions on regional development. It also endeavours to gauge the significance of non-quantifiable elements, such as the sense of pride accruing to a local community in touch with the relics of its industrial and transport past, the advantageous ‘local distinctiveness’ characterising localities possessing a heritage railway, and perhaps, for some, the mystique of old trains, the symbolic power of steam, still mesmerising ‘The Railway Children’. The paper shows that heritage railways can perform most potently in their role as tourist attraction if their offer to visitors is combined with that of other local tourist assets, such as industrial archaeology sites, natural beauty spots, etc., in the provision of an integrated visitor package. Their immersion in communities, both as local heritage and present-day specialist, traditional skills, employer, further ensures the sustainable character of their contribution to regional development. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p407&r=tur |
| By: | Ellen Moons; Bert Saveyn; Stef Proost; Martin Hermy |
| Abstract: | In this paper we develop a methodology to select a combination of forest sites that maximizes net social benefits taking into account restrictions on the total surface/size of new forest land. We use GIS technology to estimate for each site the major cost and benefit elements including lost agricultural output, timber and hunting values, carbon sequestration, non-use and recreation benefits. Special emphasis is placed on the recreational value of a potential site as this raises two issues. First, the recreation benefits of a base site estimated via the travel cost method need to be transferred to all potential sites. Second, the recreation benefit of each potential site depends on the existing sites and on the other sites that are in the selection. We show that the same ‘amount’ of afforestation (i.e. the same total surface divided into multiple sites at varying locations) creates a wide range of potential net social benefits due to the role of a varying set of recreation substitutes.We show that the net social benefit of new forest combinations respecting the area constraints may differ up to a factor 21. The substitution effect between forests, both new and existing, turned out to be the dominant factor in the benefit estimation. Compared to the existing literature, our paper improves the methodology by working with realistically feasible sites rather than grid sites, by including the complex recreation substitution effects between potential sites and by including all costs and benefits of afforestation bringing the analysis closer to a real cost benefit analysis. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p58&r=tur |
| By: | Ludger Gailing |
| Abstract: | Urban agglomerations all over Europe are growing at the expense of the surrounding landscapes. Given the enormous growth of built-up land for settlement and transport use within recent decades in Western and Southern Europe and, more recently, comparable trends within Central and Eastern European EU accession states landscape and open space policy in urban regions is an emerging core issue and action field for targeted sustainable spatial development (Office for Publications of the European Communities 1999). For European urban regions strategies and instruments to secure and improve open spaces play an important role because quality of life, the image of the region as well as international competitive capacity are tightly linked with the existence of valuable open space structures. Although Germany has a comparatively well-developed system of landscape protection (e.g. landscape planning, nature protection) and inclusion of landscape issues in the political instruments of town and regional planning, every day 105 ha of open space is transformed into sealed land. Conflicts between ecological and socio-economic aspects tend to obstruct the implementation of traditional landscape policy instruments, which frequently ignore the multifunctionality of urban landscapes (Apolinarski/Gailing/Röhring 2004). For these reasons in some urban regions protagonists involved in landscape policy have recognized that metropolitan open space depends not only on the top-down approach of public landscape protection, but also on active landscape management and development. They have established Regional parks in order to enhance the value of open spaces by means of project-oriented regional management. Improving living conditions and mobilising urban landscape is to be achieved by the collaborative implementation of local projects and by overcoming problems of institutional interplay (Young 2002) between fields such as local recreation, sustainable agriculture, nature protection, protection of cultural heritage or landscape architecture. In the sense of multifunctional landscape management individual open space interests are integrated and the status of open space is strengthened in a holistic approach. Former “residual space” can thus acquire a lobby in formal planning processes. Case studies of the “Berlin-Brandenburger Regionalparks”, the “Regionalpark RheinMain” and the “Emscher Landschaftspark” demonstrate that Regional parks are an innovative form of regional governance in agglomerations and urban surroundings (Gailing 2004). Despite problems like the underestimation of agricultural land use or the dependence on public finances, Regional parks can be identified as efficient tools to strengthen the status of the landscape in urban and regional policies. By bridging the gap between conception and implementation they are complementary to existing formal planning processes. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p100&r=tur |
| By: | Mogens Fosgerau |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a semiparametric methodology for the evaluation of the distribution of the value of travel time savings (VTTS) from binary choice data. Fosgerau (2004) deals with the case of just one time component. This paper extends to the case of several time components. The methodology is applied to a recent large dataset of about 2200 car drivers who undertook a series of stated choice experiments. The VTTS is a fundamental concept in transport economics, being the main yardstick against which transport investments are measured. However, the methodology presented is generally applicable to evaluation of willingness to pay from binary choice data. Current standard-of-practice methodology applies a mixing distribution to a binary choice model in order to take account of individual heterogeneity. While this is definitely progress, there remains the problem of deciding which mixing distribution to apply. This problem is avoided here by using a nonparametric distribution. For prediction of choices, the choice of mixing distribution may matter less but it is absolutely crucial for evaluating willingness to pay. Even so, it is rare to see a justification for the choice of mixing distribution. The paper tests a range of parametric distributions against the semiparametric alternative. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p77&r=tur |
| By: | Andrés J. Marchante; Bienvenido Ortega; Ricardo Pagán |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyse the regional determinants of hard-to-fill vacancies and skills shortages in the hospitality sector. The data source for this study was generated in the year 2000 and includes information on 181 hotels and 121 restaurants in Andalusia. The results of the estimations show that hourly net wages are the main instrument firms use to reduce hard-to-fill vacancies and skills shortages. However, there are several factors affecting the conditions of local labour markets — such as unemployment rates, the level of business activity, real estate prices and the location of the firm in relation to the main regional tourism destinations — that have a significant effect on the probability of having hard-to-fill vacancies and skills shortages. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p21&r=tur |
| By: | Dick Ettema; Olu Ashiru; John Polak; Fabian Bastin |
| Abstract: | The recent growth of interest in activity-based methods has focused particular attention on travellers’ decision making regarding the timing and duration of their participation in activities. However, to date these two dimensions of activity participation have been largely treated separately. It is clear, however, that in general, the benefit that an individual derives from participating in an activity will depend inter alia both upon the time at which the activity is undertaken and the amount of time devoted to the activity. Moreover, it is also clear that this benefit will also depend on a wide range of other factors such as the quality of the activity opportunities available at particular destinations and the intensity with which activities are undertaken. Since these factors are inherently difficult or impossible to completely characterise or measure via conventional travel or time use data sources, it is likely that such decisions will also be characterised by significant unobserved heterogeneity. Based on earlier theoretical work by the authors, this paper proposes a model for the simultaneous choice of the timing and duration of activities and associated travel and uses data from a stated preference experiment to estimate the parameters of this model. The first section of the paper provides a brief review of the existing literature on activity timing and duration choice. The second section introduces the theoretical approach, which assume that the marginal utility derived from activities encompasses two distinct components; one derived from the duration of activity involvement and the other derived from activity participation at a particular time-of-day. A number of alternative additive and multiplicative specifications are introduced and their properties are explored. The third section briefly describes the stated preference data, which was collected in a survey undertaken in London in which respondents were presented with a number of scenarios in which they were asked to choose between alternative tours involving a single destination activity. The timing and duration both of the destination activity and the associated travel varied across scenarios. The fourth section discusses the empirical specification and estimation of the model and presents the estimation results. This uses an error-components formulation of the mixed multinomial logit model to account both for unobserved heterogeneity in tastes and for heteroskedascity and complex substitution patterns amongst activity alternatives. Particular attention is given to the use of advanced optimisation techniques needed to estimate the non-linear utility function expressing individuals’ timing and duration preferences.The fifth section discusses the significance of the results and their potential application to a number of practical transport planning problems including the prediction of user response to travel demand management policies and accessibility planning. The paper closes with some overall conclusions and a discussion of future research directions. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p439&r=tur |
| By: | Milenko Vrtic; Christian Schiller; Dieter Lohse; KW Axhausen |
| Abstract: | The Swiss federal government has asked the IVT, ETH Zürich in collaboration with the TU Dresden and Emch+Berger, Zürich to estimate origin-destination matrices by mode and purpose for the year 2000. The zoning system employing about 3’000 zones of very uneven size required a solution algorithm which is fast, but also able to model generation, distribution and mode choice simultaneously, while addressing the different data availability for traffic within, destined for and passing through the country. The EVA algorithm developed by Lohse (1997) was adapted for this purpose. The key proper-ties of the algorithm are its disaggregate description of demand, its use of appropriate logit-type models for the demand distribution, while maintaining the known marginal distributions of the matrices generated. This last point is of particular importance in a large scale planning applica-tion such as the one at hand. The algorithm calculates trip production and attractions by zone using activity pairs. The 17 ac-tivity pairs distinguished are the combinations of two activities, such as home-work or work-leisure. The relevant daily rates are derived for each of the 17 activity pairs from the 2000 Swiss National Travel Survey (Bundesamt für Statistik and Bundesamt für Raumentwicklung, 2001). The zonal attractivity is defined separately for each trip purpose. In addition to the common variables, such as employment or population, detailed descriptions of education places, shop-ping or leisure facilities, overnight accommodations, shopping centres etc. are employed (see Tschopp, Keller and Axhausen, 2003 for the data). The combined destination and mode choice models estimated for the different traveller types and activity pairs are based on the Swiss National Travel survey (RP data), but incorporates re-sults from a prior SP study on mode and route choice (Vrtic and Axhausen, 2004). The different zone sizes and the different levels of data available required the formulation of new additional models for the transit traffic passing through Switzerland and the traffic originat-ing outside, respectively leaving the country The matching network models for public transport and road traffic were implemented using VISUM 9.0 of PTV AG, Karlsruhe. The timetable based assignment considers all scheduled train services plus the relevant interurban bus services, in particular in rural areas. The paper has three main parts: the first main part derives and describes for the first time the EVA algorithm in English, including the solution method used. The second part summarizes the results of choice model estimation using the generalised cost elasticities of demand by purpose and traveller type. The third part assesses the quality of the results. These assessments are based on two independently derived matrices, which are available for rail-travel from on board - counts and for commuters from the 2000 national census. In addition, we compare the assign-ment results with the available cross section counts. The conclusions discuss computing times, accuracy and issues for further research. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p110&r=tur |
| By: | Veronique Van Acker; Frank Witlox |
| Abstract: | Theories on the reciprocal relationship between land-use and transport address changes in locational decisions and travel behavior of private actors (households and firms) due to alternations in the transport system, respectively land-use system. Although the impact of land-use system on travel behaviour (transport system) has been the subject of much research (for reviews, see, e.g. Handy, 2002; Stead and Marshall, 2001; Crane, 2000; Wegener and Fürst, 1999), there is still no consensus about the strength of this relationship. This may be caused by different types of variables whether or not included in the research. Initially only land-use variables were taken into account, but nowadays socio-economical variables are also incorporated. Still, within ‘homogeneous groups’, there may be attitudes, lifestyles, perceptions, and preferences which can have an impact on land-use and/or travel behaviour. Academic literature on the latter remains scarce and the main focus of the existing behavioural literature is the impact of residential location on travel choices, especially modal choice. However, little work has thus far been done on other dimensions of travel choices (e.g., distance, time) and other location types (e.g., commercial, industrial, recreational). Less is known about the reverse relationship, e.g. the impact of the transport system on location decisions of households and firms (land-use system). A difference in time-scale can be the reason for this. Transformations in land-use occur much slower (years) compared to transformations in travel behaviour (days, weeks, months). In this paper we explore several possibilities to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge on the land-use/transport system. Understanding the two-way interaction between land-use and travel behaviour involves having (i) data on land-use patterns, socio-economic background of individuals and their attitudes, perceptions and preferences towards land-use and travel; and (ii) a methodology, dealing with potential multiple directions of causality. The first issue can be achieved by combining empirical, revealed and stated preference research. The second methodological question can be solved using structural equation modelling (SEM). This is a modelling technique which can handle a large number of endogenous and exogenous variables. Because of the multiple directions of causality that can be explored, SEM can help us to define the relationship between revealed preference data and stated preference data. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p601&r=tur |
| By: | Eric Koomen; Jasper Dekkers; Mark Koetse; Piet Rietveld; Henk Scholten |
| Abstract: | The metropolitan landscape consists of green, open areas adjacent to and enclosed by the urban environment. Changes in this landscape are a delicate matter, because they affect sustainability, the environment and the scenic quality, as we see in processes like urban sprawl, intensive outdoor recreation, city expansion and additional investments in infrastructure. More precisely, changes in the supply of open space, both in absolute terms (acreage) and its accessibility are a major concern around metropolitan areas. The lack of a clear monetary value makes green, open areas vulnerable to construction activities and infrastructure. Such use of open space entails the imposition of externalities of certain actors on others, but since the market value of open space does not fully reflect the societal value of open space, these externalities are market failures that call for corrective measures by the public sector in the form of land use interventions or pricing measures. However, as it turns out, failure of the governmental correction impedes effective market co-ordination. Unfortunately, attempts to value open space are virtually non-existent to date. Partly because the valuation of severance and visual intrusion is hampered by many complications, especially difficulties in objective quantification, uncertainties on the impacts on human and ecological communities, and collinearity with other pressures on the metropolitan open space (for example noise disturbance from infrastructure). The development of a research method for the valuation of open space will therefore be an important objective of the project. Incorporation of the public interest in open space in metropolitan planning requires quantitative valuation of this asset. The difficulty with such a valuation is of course that environmental and general societal values are normally not traded on real world markets, and hence no market prices can be observed that would reflect or approximate marginal costs or benefits. An environmental-economic framework will be used to quantify the ecological, economic and societal values of open space in a coherent way. Two complementary methods will be used: revealed preference and stated preference valuation. As it will not be possible to estimate economic values for all different dimensions of open space, the program focuses on those aspects that can be related to the appreciation of individual residents of the metropolitan landscape. These are the so-called ‘use values’ that humans attach to open space on the basis of their own, direct interest. This focus means that for instance so-called ‘intrinsic’ environmental values (referring for example to habitat fragmentation and indirectly biodiversity) will be postponed to future research. The program will more specifically concentrate on the added value of the availability of open space on residential property and the valuation of cultural and recreational characteristics of open space by potential visitors. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p599&r=tur |
| By: | Margarita Tejera Gil; Santiago Rodriguez Feijoó; Alejandro Rodriguez Caro; Delia Davila Quintana |
| Abstract: | When the first studies related to consumer satisfaction began to appear in the sixties, nobody could imagine protagonism that it would reach with the course of the time. Nowadays not only private sector companies dedicate part from their resources to the study of the degree of satisfaction of their clients, but satisfaction studies are more and more increasing preoccupation in the state sector, therefore works related to the satisfaction of the patients, the contributors or with the tourist destiny can be found. Firstly, a revision of the different models that have been used to explain customer satisfaction level is presented, using the cognitive and the affective-cognitive models. In the first case, human being is looking as a rational being that can process information about the different attributes of the services to form his personal satisfaction. The most useful model within this category is the expectation disconfirmation model. These kind of models explain satisfaction as a function of the degree and direction of the discrepancy between expectation and perceptions. It has evolved all over time resulting in a lot of different approaches. We have also studied the equity model, in which consumer does a benefit-cost analysis not only its owns but from the rest of people who take part in the transaction. Finally, in the affective-cognitive models, human being is seeing like a complex being that is not solely an information processor but experiences feelings and emotions that also influence in their judgments of satisfaction. Secondly, it has been realized an empirical application in which we have used the main variables in the expectation disconfirmation model: perceptions, expectations and discrepancies to estimate some logit models. The tourists who visit Tenerife are classified as satisfied or unsatisfied. Then, we model the probability of each characteristic using tourist’s scores on some destination attributes. Two samples have been used. The first one was obtained at the time of arriving; the second one has been made when leaving the island. Since tourists are not necessary the same in both samples, a statistic inference process has been made to use all the information available. The best model is obtained when expectations and perceptions are used at the same time, so we obtain a 75% of right classification. To sum up, we have found that perceptions are the main subject for the tourist’s satisfaction, although we can’t forget the importance of expectations to complete the model. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p565&r=tur |
| By: | Christy Collins; Arianne De Blaeij |
| Abstract: | Data collected over recent years indicates that there has been an increase in the average distance of trips made, in the Netherlands (e.g. in 1985 the average trip made was 8.7 km, in 2000 the average trip length was 10.6 km (Harms, 2003)). This paper uses a multi-level approach to look at the micro and macro level factors that affect the travel behaviour of individuals for commuting and leisure in the Netherlands over the last 10 years. A strong influence on the travel behaviour of an individual comes from the context of the household they belong to, the household operates with the context of the residential area in which they live, and all our behaviour is affected by our temporal location. The behaviour of individuals can be considered as dependent on context, and these contextual influences can be envisaged as nested. The multi-level approach allows us to simultaneously consider the impact of individual factors (such as gender), household factors (such as household income), and municipality level factors (such as local population density) and at the same time look at trends across time in commuting and leisure travel behaviour. The advantage of the multi-level approach is that it allows a wholistic approach, where not only aggregate or individual data is used to explain travel behaviour but both levels’ explanatory contributions are included in analyses conducted. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p615&r=tur |
| By: | Arie Romein |
| Abstract: | The urban landscape in advanced economies transforms from monocentric cities to polycentric urban networks on regional scale. The growing amount of research that is being devoted to this transformation sticks to classic activity systems like residential development, economic production and employment and commuting. Synchronous to this transformation, a 'new' activity system, outdoor leisure and entertainment, increasingly leaves its stamp on the economic performance and spatial organisation of urban areas in general. Due to tremendous dynamics of consumption, production, and urban politics with regard to this activity system, it is subject of a composite of spatial pressures for centralisation in inner-cites, de-concentration away form central cities and (re-)concentration in suburbs and exurban places. Notwithstanding this composite spatial dynamics, leisure and entertainment are not part of the research agenda on regional polycentric urban networks. Based on brief overviews of literature on both polycentric urban development and the dynamics of leisure and entertainment in urban areas, this paper presents a few basic research questions in order to initiate the research agenda on the contribution of the leisure activity system to the development of polycentric urban networks on regional scale. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p249&r=tur |