Water-Based Travel - Slow Travel and Tourism - page 160

Table 9.1 Typology of water-based travel and compatibility with slow travel

Typology Slow travel compatibility

Ferries • Urban water taxi/ferry Predominantly compatible and

• River crossings considered essential components of

• Linking coastal and island some trips; more ambiguity surrounds

communities car ferries since they facilitate driving

• International sea crossings holidays

Cruises • Large ocean-going cruise vessels Not compatible with slow travel

• Cruises on cargo ships Compatible with slow travel

• Inland waterway cruises Predominantly compatible with slow

• Inshore coastal vessels travel, although high-speed vessels

excluded

Small pleasure craft • Canoes/kayaks Compatible with slow travel

• Yachts
• Speed boats Not compatible with slow travel

experience. Revitalized waterfronts also utilize small-scale ferries to good
effect, and provide great vistas for visiting ships. For example, Boston in the
USA and Buenos Aires have stimulated major interest in waterfront develop-
ment, and this is occurring in some developing countries such as Zanzibar's
Stone Town in Africa (Hoyle, 2002). There is no typology of water-based
travel; however, for the purpose of this topic it has been divided into three
broad areas: ferries, cruises and small pleasure craft (see Table 9.1). These
broad categories can be further subdivided by size or type of craft involved.
The following section explores the slow travel experience offered.

The water-based travel experience
Travel across water is relatively time-consuming and thus provides a platform
for travel-based experiences. All forms of water-based travel have in common
an engagement with water, whether this is the ocean, a lake or a small river.
Given the importance of water to human survival, it is a landscape feature that
evokes a strong response. Recall, for instance, the family trip to the seaside
and the first glimpse of the sea. Inland waterways also add drama to the land-
scape of a journey, and are often significant markers en route, especially where
the grand rivers of the world are crossed by dramatic bridges (e.g. the sus-
pension bridge across the River Humber in the UK, or the Golden Gate Bridge,
San Francisco).
At a more intimate level, Arnould and Price's (1993) seminal paper
explores the extraordinary hedonic experiences of tourists on a white water
rafting trip of several days. They found that the participants did not recall any
negative attributes, such as freezing in wet clothes, but that participants' deep
sense of achievement 'leads to emphatic positive re-evaluation of all the nega-
tives that might otherwise dominate evaluation of the experience' (p26). The
adventure shared with family, old and newly-formed friends leads to stories