Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
just eco-tourists, but also increasing numbers of business people, convention-goers and
seniors—the NCC must support the development of new Capital services and
infrastructure' (NCC 2000a:9). In addition, the NCC has developed a series of parkways
in the Ottawa region that have an historic role as recreational and leisure corridors for
motorists and cyclists. The parkways also link into the transitway system and act as
'gateways' to the NCR which remain 'influencing the perception of visitors and to
communicating the image and landscape of the Capital' (NCC 1998:52).
THE URBAN TOURISM MARKET: DATA SOURCES
Identifying the scale, volume and different markets for urban tourism remains a perennial
problem for researchers. Urban tourism is a major economic activity in many of Europe's
capital cities but identifying the tourism markets in each area is problematic. Page
(1995a) provides a detailed assessment of the principal international data sources on
urban tourism, reviewing published statistics by the World Tourism Organisation and the
OECD. Such data sources commonly employ the domestic and international tourist use of
accommodation as one measure of the scale of tourism activity. In the context of urban
tourism, it requires researchers to have an understanding of spatial distribution of tourist
accommodation in each country to identify the scale and distribution of tourist visits. In
countries where the majority of accommodation is urban based, such statistics may
provide preliminary sources of data for research. While this may be relevant for certain
categories of tourist (e.g. business travellers and holiday-makers), those visitors staying
with friends and relatives within an urban environment would not be included in the
statistics. Among the most useful studies which examines the availability of data on
urban tourism is Cockerell's (1997) analysis of the situation in Europe. Cockerell (1997)
recognised that data on urban-based business travel was notoriously difficult to monitor,
since it was often associated with a range of non-tourism functions and more specific
activities located in towns and cities due to their central place functions in regions and
countries, notably the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) market.
The specialist nature of the facilities and infrastructure required for such business are
frequently located in urban areas to make use of complementary facilities such as
accommodation, transport hubs (i.e. airports) and the wider range of tourist attractions to
provide the wider context for MICE venues.
Within a European context, Cockerell (1997) indicated that comparative data on urban
tourism rarely exist due to the different survey method ologies, sampling techniques and
inconsistency in the use of terminology or agreement on what an urban tourist is. For
example, many European surveys do not consider the day trip or excursion market as a
pure form of urban tourism, and therefore exclude them from surveys. Cockerell (1997)
pointed to the only pan-European data source—
The European Travel Monitor
(ETM).
The section on city trips refers only to the holiday sector, ignoring business and VFR
travel, and including only those international trips involving a minimum stay of one
night. A number of other data sources, including academic studies (e.g. Mazanec 1997)
and research institutes in Paris, namely the Instit National de la Recherche sur les
Transports et leur Sécurité (INRETS) and the Venice based Centro Internazionale di
