Tourism and Transport

Introduction

Tourism world cannot exist in isolation from transport and therefore it can be stated in other terms that there is a strong positive correlation between tourism and transport . The improvement or modernization of transport or deterioration of the same has direct impact tourism . The history of tourism and that of transport provides a clear understanding of this shared relationship . Transportation can be discussed without taking tourism into consideration but clearly tourism cannot thrive without travel . Transportation is an essential part of tourism industry and is principally due to the improvements

of transportation that tourism has expanded

Historical background

Before the key technical transformations brought about by the industrial revolution at the end of the 18th century , no forms of motorized transportation existed . Transport technology was mainly limited to harnessing of labour animals for land transport and to wind for maritime transport . The transported quantities were very limited and so was the speed at which people and freight were moving . The average over the land speed by horse was between 8 to 15 kilometres per hour and maritime speeds were barely above these figures . Under such conditions , it was difficult to speak of tourism , but rather of a beginning of state of mobility of people . The beginning of the act of going places purely to experience the surrounding can be explained by the gradual transport improvement of transport technology . It was during the industrial revolution those massive modifications of transport systems and consequently that of exploration of new lands that finally gave rise to the spirit of tourism (Culpan , 1987

Role of transport in tourism

Transportation links diverse destinations and ferries people commodities and services between these places . Tourism is much about travel and therefore the role of transportation in its operation is vital . The advent of air travel has shrunk the world and the motor vehicle have made travelling anywhere a possibility this reality together with changing work patterns and innovative marketing have propelled international mass tourism throughout the years . Culpan (1987 ,p546 identified transportation mode and management as : important ingredient of international tourism system ' acknowledging that connection by air , sea and land is essential for the operations as well as the availability of support services like fuel stations , auto repair , motels and rest facilities for land travel . Advances in transportation have widely eased travel . Without fear of contradiction it can be sufficiently stated that widespread growth of nature tours can be attributed to the ease and availability of modern transport . Croall (1995 , p1 ) criticizes what he calls the spectre of tourism Transportation in tourism is just seen as a part of tourism system for bringing tourists to their destinations and leaving those destinations once the duration is over . Page and Lumsdon (2004 ) agrees that transportation system of a tourist destination has an impact on the tourism experience which explains how people travel , their choice on forms of holiday , destination and transport mode . The improvement of modes of transportation coupled with low fares has seen accessibility of areas once...