Introduction - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 2

of their departure along the way. During ancient and medieval times, pre-
scribed byways were developed and utilized for transporting goods and
people from one place to another. Roads and other corridors were even paved
and signposted during the Roman era. Ancient adherents to Buddha's teach-
ings traveled along pilgrim circuits to visit the places associated with his
birth, ministry and death (Singh, 2011). Medieval Christian pilgrimage, the
oft-labeled 'forerunner of modern-day tourism' (Olsen & Timothy, 2006),
was also a heavy user of prescribed trails that not only led to the end goal,
the place of miracles, but also functioned to cleanse, humble and test the
faith of spiritual sojourners with their arduous topographies and their great
distances. The Grand Tour of Europe, from the middle of the 16th century
to the early 19th century, popularized a certain 'route' or journey through
many of the capital cities of antiquity and culture, which remains popular
with today's circuit travelers of Europe. Following the writings of early
Grand Tour travelers came pre-ordained routes some would follow, includ-
ing picturesque tours of England and Scotland (Aitchison et al. , 2002;
To w n e r, 19 8 5 ).
Today, linear corridors are still important for travel both as transporta-
tion passageways and as attractions and resources for tourists and recreation-
ists. One of the most pervasive types of tourism and recreation attractions
today is trails, pathways and scenic routes and corridors. They provide a
wide range of cultural and nature-based opportunities, which many com-
munities and regions throughout the world are beginning to capitalize on
and promote in their marketing efforts (Fai, 1989; Reader's Digest, 2005; Yan
et al. , 2000). In most cases, trails and routes are seen by destinations as a tool
for conserving natural and cultural environments, involving community
members in decision-making, earning more tax dollars and regional revenue,
and improving the quality of life of residents through employment and the
development of a resource they too can utilize for their own enjoyment or
transportation.
Trails have even secured some prominence in popular culture among
modern-day travel writers and explorers. Michael Palin, for example, has
not only created 'new' routes but rather taken the world on journeys from
pole to pole, in circumnavigating the Pacific Rim, in crossing the Sahara,
and forging pathways through Brazil, thereby opening new possibilities of
circular and linear routes, pathways and journeys that today's traveler may
try to emulate to varying degrees. Similarly, the satirical writing of Bill
Bryson in his novels Notes from a Small Island , Down Under and The Lost Conti-
nent , has allowed modern-day travelers to re-create portions or all of his
journeys across Britain and Australia, and through small-town America,
respectively, thereby reinvigorating for many the route or journey over the
destination. Perhaps the best example of Bryson focusing on an established
route or trail is his experience of walking parts of the Appalachian Trail,
renowned as the longest footpath in the world, in his work A Walk in the