Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
holidays are domestic (Bigano et al, 2004). Given this contextualization of
tourism, then, the time and cost critique of slow travel is subject to scrutiny,
as most tourists do not actually travel far. Most short-haul international slow
travel is actually fast relative to air travel (e.g. European inter-city high-speed
trains can easily outperform air travel, given significantly reduced check-in
times).
There is also the question of the need to travel. Much tourism travel to
exotic locations is desired but not necessarily needed. Stradling and Anable
(2008) suggest three forces that drive leisure travel decisions: obligations,
opportunities and inclinations. While obligations to see friends and family
might generate some distant tourism travel (Urry, 2007), much is driven by
the opportunity afforded through reduced time and cost, and tourist inclina-
tion. This inclination to travel could be redirected to less distant destinations,
providing a greater opportunity to engage with slow travel. While a shift of
this kind might be negative for some remote destinations relying on distant vis-
itors, many destinations would adjust to markets closer to home.
The criticism of the cost of slow travel is also debatable. The reduced cost
of air travel has opened up travel on a global scale to many more people.
However, long-haul air travel is, on a global scale, still the preserve of the
wealthy few. In a European context (and in other global contexts) the arrival
of low-cost airlines has generated additional demand due to falling costs of
flights (Civil Aviation Authority, 2006; Dennis, 2007). It is currently the case
that flights can cost correspondingly less than rail travel; however, flights are
rarely advertised, or sold, at their true cost, additional fees being levied for
check-in, luggage and airport taxes. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult for
consumers to make accurate cost comparisons. A similar criticism has been
made of the real cost of car travel, with high annual running costs hidden on
a day-to-day basis (van Goeverden, 2007). At the same time, one of a variety
of institutional barriers to slow travel (see Chapter 3) is the difficulty of
searching for and booking the cheapest train fares, given the complicated fare
systems (van Goeverden, 2007). There is a pervasive discourse that flights are
cheap and the alternatives expensive. Such a discourse is a strong behavioural
barrier, as many people fail to explore the alternatives to flying, having made
the assumption that it is the quickest and cheapest option.
Long-distance train travel can also seem much less competitive than car
travel where there is more than one person travelling (Larsen et al, 2006; van
Goeverden, 2009), especially as hidden car ownership costs are often
excluded. Where a car is available to a household, it reduces train use by
between 55 per cent for single travellers and 70 per cent for several people
travelling together (van Goeverden, 2009). However, in Europe, the Thalys
high-speed train has successfully created a new market, mainly due to shorter
travel times and increasing the train's status (van Goeverden, 2007). On long-
distance routes, speed is important but frequency is not. However, van
Goeverden's analysis (2007) suggests the need to make transfers and seat
reservations reduces the train's competitiveness.
Slow travel has much potential as both a climate change mitigation strat-
egy (to reduce the impact of tourism on climate change) and as an adaptation
