Corso di geografia turistica

Unit B1

p.55

• The advent of low cost airlines has caused great changes in the European tourism market. First, prices that have been reduced to the bone have made this form of transport available to large groups of tourists who previously could not have afforded it. And it has also enabled the use of air-travel to be extended to short and medium haul journeys, making them more convenient than other means of transportation.
• This has mainly benefited European capitals and cities of artistic interest, which have experienced strong tourists numbers, leading to an expansion in hospitality and infrastructure capacity to accommodate them.
• Low cost flights have led to the rebirth of many small airports that, excluded from the routes of major airlines, seemed destined to close. In fact, airline companies have focused on regional airports to develop their low cost business model.
• In order to accommodate ever-increasing numbers of travellers, terminals have been redesigned: the enhancement and expansion of technical facilities; the creation of areas to be used for traveller services (shops, restaurants, gyms, baby clubs, internet zones), and the improvement of local transport networks. Small airports have been transformed on the model of large international hubs.
• This has had an extraordinary impact on surrounding areas. Many smaller towns, ignored in the past by international tourism, have been discovered due to their proximity to small airports and have become first-rate tourist destinations. This has encouraged investment in the improvement of the reception systems, infrastructure, transport, and commercial services. It has, in fact, created jobs and wealth.

Unit B2

p.63

• Since the 1980s, the idea of cruising as a vacation on a floating hotel, benefiting from every comfort but at affordable prices, moving between relatively close tourist destinations, has gone from strength to strength.
• The development of cruise tourism has made use of many Italian ports, such as Civitavecchia, Genoa, Savona, Venice, La Spezia and Olbia, which have built (and continue to build) their own revival on cruise ships and the great movement of people that they guarantee.
• To increase their own ability to attract this type of tourism, local governments have invested in two directions: on the one hand by improving and redeveloping the port and surrounding city areas, taking modern airports as a functional reference model; and on the other, by strengthening the city’s tourism infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, transport systems, shops, leisure facilities). In this way involvement has been extended throughout the social fabric and resulted in an improvement in quality of life.
• Many ports also promote medium-range services, provided by ferries that are not comparable with the uncomfortable and functional transport of a few years ago: they are almost always modern boats that offer passengers services and amenities worthy of a cruise.
• Boat trips also have an important and positive effect in terms of protecting the environment, because they help reduce road and air traffic. For this purpose, in the near future, ports and cruise companies will have to take measures to reduce pollutants contained in their boats’ fuel, use alternative energy, and implement environmentally friendly waste disposal systems.

Unit B3

p.71

• The development of the Alta Velocità network (high speed rail) has had a major impact on tourism flows. In particular, it has offered new opportunities for urban tourism, in that it satisfies the demand for comfortable modes of travel and for reduced travel, arrival and departure times from city centres.
• The cities along the Alta Velocità routes have seen their appeal increase, and this has prompted local authorities to undertake tourism redevelopment projects in their areas.
• With the AV system, it is not only the trains and onboard facilities that have been refurbished: stations and adjacent districts are also being transformed, the subject of urban redevelopment designed to attract tourists and improve quality of life for their inhabitants.
• In particular, the AV network in Italy involves cities already attracted by substantial numbers of visitors (such as Florence, Milan, Rome), but overlooks many small centres, custodians of artistic heritage, of primary cultural and environmental importance, that have been cut off from the main rail network.
• It may be possible to devise a reuse for, and development of, the capillary secondary railways which are often abandoned, and historic trains which could become the ideal medium for a different kind of tourism, one chosen by those who want slow travel: unhurried and relaxing tourism with the aim of discovering a place, using the train for a cruise on rails.

Unit B4

p.77

• The advent of the Internet has revolutionised traditional commercial dynamics in all sectors, marking a crisis for the role of the agent. Deals are now increasingly conducted directly between producer and final consumer.
• This is particularly true for the tourist market. The exponential growth of social networks that are engaged in tourism has made virtual spaces available to all, where supply meets demand.
• Portals, sites and blogs such as Travel 2.0, Bit Channel, Turisti per caso and PaesiOnLine host reportage, recommendations, diaries, photographs and video, that are available to all and open to discussion. Everyone is free to add, correct and update information on the basis of personal experience.
• To exploit the opportunities offered by the Net, many companies have been created that operate exclusively on the Web (TripAdvisor, Expedia, Booking, LastMinute) offering low cost travel, last minute holidays, hotel and other accommodation services, itineraries, and flexible solutions that enable the “building” of customised holidays.
• Tourism accessibility through the Web has marked a crisis for tour operators and travel agents, which have had to provide an online sales network to remain in business. Publishers too, which specialise in travel publishing and tourism, have experienced a decline, being replaced by the web community.