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[eng] Abstract Without minimizing the role that Swiss transalpine train routes played in European trade, this study seeks to evaluate their influence by taking into account three factors : their strategic geographic location, the structure of commercial trade, and the development of passenger traffic. Despite problems inherent in statistical sources, a distinct specialization in flows is evident : the north-south links secured by these Swiss routes reflect the specific characteristics of the Italian economy rather more than the vitality of Germany's economic expansion. [fre] Résumé Sans minimiser le rôle que les transversales alpines suisses ont joué dans les échanges européens, cette étude tente de donner une meilleure appréciation de leur influence en tenant compte non seulement de leur position géo-stratégique, mais aussi de la structure même du trafic des voyageurs et des marchandises. En dépit des difficultés inhérentes à la nature des sources statistiques, nous constatons une très grande spécialisation des flux : la verticalité des liens assurés par ces percées suisses reflète plus les spécificités de l'économie italienne que la vitalité de l'expansion allemande.

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The paper advocates a regional perspective for a better understanding of tourism history and discusses historiographical concepts and tools of relevance for this understanding. It links the development of the tourism sector in history with regional transformation processes. The different ways in which tourism evolves in certain regional contexts can help to identify patterns and explain decisive phenomena like the sector’s vulnerability. The investigation proceeds in three steps: The first explores the links between tourism, regional change and historiography on a more general level, the second discusses conceptual approaches to tourism and regional transformation based in economics and economic history, hereby dealing with cluster theories and path dependency in particular. The final chapter guides a methodological discussion taking stock of the experience provided by a research project on the Lake Geneva region.

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