The changing nature of city tourism and its possible implications for the future of cities

Abstract

City tourism is one of the fastest growing travel segments worldwide [18] and the changing nature of city tourism becomes increasingly apparent in many cities. Facilitated by mobile access to information, tourists are increasingly seeking, finding and consuming 'local experiences' and the boundaries between tourists and residents become increasingly blurred. While the impact of the proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the travel industry as well as on tourist behaviour and the travel experience has been widely acknowledged (Egger implications of this new type of tourism for future urban development have received little attention (Füller and Michel Int J Urban Regional 38(4): [1304][1305][1306][1307][1308][1309][1310][1311][1312][1313][1314][1315][1316][1317][1318] 2014). This paper aims to better understand the underlying causes of the changing nature of city tourism and how this change could impact the future development of cities. It is argued that in addition to the proliferation of ICTs, the phenomena of experiential travel and social acceleration have contributed to the rise in popularity of city tourism as well as to a change in tourist behaviour. Possible implications for the future development of cities resulting from this new type of tourism, as well as approaches to solving those challenges, are discussed. It becomes clear that an interdisciplinary approach will be required in order to fully understand the challenges posed by city tourism as well as to develop and implement strategies for a successful integration of tourism into future urban development.

Touristification, Sharing Economies and the New Geography of Urban Conflicts

“…Tourist behaviors and markets have considerably changed during recent years. Boundaries between tourism and locals have become increasingly blurred [43]. International tourists seek authentic local experiences, "exploring" ordinary but lively and diverse neighborhoods and visiting cafés, bars, and markets that were previously almost exclusively frequented by locals [43].…”

“…Boundaries between tourism and locals have become increasingly blurred [43]. International tourists seek authentic local experiences, "exploring" ordinary but lively and diverse neighborhoods and visiting cafés, bars, and markets that were previously almost exclusively frequented by locals [43]. This quest for "authenticity" of local life, as opposed to the tourist hot-spots and designated attractions, combined with the ability of transnational elites to technically, socially and economically live their life in selected places around the world and an "elective affinity" between tourists and the upper class, have considerably impacted not only the city centers but also on the peripheries [41].…”

Towards a sharing economy – Innovating ecologies of business models

“…A second example is the rise of platforms like AirBnB which facilitate the peer-to-peer sharing of housing. This affects not only the hotel industry, but generates additional tourist streams which affect, in various ways, tourist attractions and large city dynamics (Bock, 2015). A third, non-profit oriented, example is that of independent spaces in cities like Dublin (Bresnihan and Byrne, 2015).…”

Using systems thinking to design actionable futures: a nuclear weapons example

“…That is, they are strong research articles that describe the possible future [2,3]. Of the remaining articles, the majority appear to discuss scenario development methodology [4,5], strength of organisational foresight [6] or establishing validity of future scenarios [7].…”