Dark Tourism

There have been a number of articles spotted on this topic recently. In 'Travelling to the dark side', the author talks about dark tourism in general; Philip Stone's 'A dark tourism spectrum: towards a typology of death and macabre related tourist sites, attractions and exhibitions' is available online or in Ebscohost (Athens) in fulltext. Another which may be of interest is based around the Ustica Disaster in 1980; Terezin in the Czech Republic comes under the spotlight in this article which lists the top 10 darkest attractions in the region.

There is a page of links to places which have a connection to historical figures; another article discusses the experience of visiting old houses and stonewalls. The website Post-Conflict Heritage looks at the restoration and politics at cultural sites such as Angkor.

Tourism Alliance

The Tourism Alliance is a collaborative of trade organisations such as VisitBritain, which aims to lobby government on key issues concerning the tourism industry. Their database contains various publications; a recent one looks at the positive impact that introducing Daylight Saving would have on the tourism industry. There is also a report on the impact of tourism on the UK economy. Links to current news articles, monthly newsletters and press releases are included.

They have given their response to the British Tourism Framework Review as set out by Deloitte for VisitBritain.

Tourismos - new issue

The latest edition of Tourismos is now available in full-text online. Contents include:
  • Travel decision making : the role of habit
  • Genealogy, the Internet and tourism
  • Seasonal analysis of tourist revenues : empirical research for Greece
  • Analysis of the impact of tourism on the West Africa economy
  • Germany-centred mergers and cartels in the European travel industry, their influence on Turkey and Antalya
  • Interpreting the logic of travel
  • SWOT analysis methodology in the formulation of propositions aiming at a more effective operational application of timeshare in Greece

Previous editions can also be viewed.

New Articles

Tourism Insights (non-Athens resource) now includes the following articles:

  • Social tourism in Flanders
  • Visitability : lessons from the 'Liveability' Agenda
  • Making access easy
  • Marketing your way out of recession
  • Sustainable tourism - where are we now?
  • Does the cost of visas affect tourism demand?
  • The role of the consultant in tourism development
  • Email marketing - cost effective, year-round promotion
  • Walking on water : why seaside piers are here to stay
  • The role of shopping in tourism destinations

Don't forget - Destination Manager's Toolkit is now available in Tourism Insights.

Monday morning blues

Feel inspired after seeing some of these wacky travel ideas!

The Sustainable Tourism Gateway

The Sustainable Tourism Gateway offers a range of resources to raise awareness and educate on issues relating to sustainable tourism.

Information sheets, case studies, news and details of forums can be found; a link to a report, Industry as a Partner for Sustainable Development by a collaboration of industry leaders including the WTTC, is also included. There is a page of links to relevant organisations as well as suggestions for journals and magazines.

SportDiscus

A trial has been set up to SportDiscus until 1 December. Please take a minute to have a look at the range of sport and leisure resources available in this database. It is currently placed within Ebscohost (Athens).

Any comments/suggestions welcome!

Conferences & call for papers

Call for Papers - Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research : Special Issue Island Destinations

ATLAS Business Tourism SIG Meeting - 23-26 November 2008 in Warsaw, Poland

Wildlife Tourism - 27th November 2008 in Scotland

Texts and tours - 5 December 2008 in Leeds, UK

Contemporary Developments in Tourism, Travel & Hospitality - 3-5 April 2009 in Rhodes Island, Greece

2009 UNWTO Ulysses Conference - 27-28 May 2009 in Madrid, Spain

Events and Meetings in the City - 17-20 June 2009 in Goteborg, Sweden

3rd International Critical Tourism Studies Conference - 21-24 June 2009 in Croatia

Resorting to the Coast: Tourism, Heritage and Cultures of the Seaside - 25-29 June 2009 in Blackpool, UK

The International Event Management Summit - 6-8 July 2009, Gold Coast, Australia

OAG - Latest Report

A press release by OAG gives the latest research relating to the airline industry; a number of useful graphs and charts are provided giving comparisons over a period of 10 years of seat capacity, both globally and the USA. There are also links throughout the report to further graphs.

Latest newsletters

The latest bulletin from the Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change, is now available; it covers forthcoming events, conference reviews, research news, projects, professional development and new publications. Articles discuss festivals, screen tourism and coastal ecotourism more...

The Tourism Newsletter from University of Surrey is also available online.

Sports Events

Sports Event Management Conference 2008 @ London Chamber of Commerce : 12 Nov 08

Sports Security Summit 2008 @ Novotel St Pancras,
London : 13 Nov 08

Rugby Expo 08 @ The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (London) : 17 Nov-18 Nov 08

Soccerex 2008 @ Sandton Convention Centre, South Africa
- The Football Festival : 23 Nov 08
- Exhibition & Conference : 24-26 Nov 08

Women's Sport & Fitness Foundation @ Emirates Stadium (London) : 24 Nov 08

VisitBritian News

VisitBritain have released their mid-year update for projected figures for 2008. Includes an inbound visitor forecasts, upside and downside risks more...

Research conducted recently into the affluent Arab families market has found that an ideal holiday would be one that included visits to architectural and cultural heritage sites, as well as lots of shopping. Travellers hardly ever book their trips online as they feel it would be safer if made through a trusted travel agent more...

The House Magazine will host a half day ‘Westminster Briefing’ today. The course entitled “Taking Tourism Seriously: The Way Ahead for the UK Visitor Economy” will give delegates the chance to discuss key issues, including how best to build strong and coordinated working relationships across the public sector more...

To combat the recent credit crunch Enjoy England has put together a simple guide mainly aimed at SME’s that outlines 10 top marketing tips more...

Enjoy England have launched a campaign aimed at stimulating shortbreaks and days out in England in the face of an economic slowdown. The campaign will highlight the affordability of "going away at home" by showcasing special offers and incentives provided by industry partners. All English regions will be promoted and all tourism businesses can be a part of it more...

VisitBritain, Visit London and Radisson Edwardian Hotels recently hosted a highly successful cocktail event at Sydney’s exclusive Ivy Bar for over 150 guests from the business events sector. The evening helped position Britain and London as an important MICE destination, especially on the back of investments planned up to the 2012 Games more...

It was back in October 2004 that the Olympic bid was first assessed by Foresight in terms of what it would mean for the industry, and the August edition of Foresight reopens the issue of 2012 and what it will mean for Britain as a whole asking 'what is the scale of benefit for British tourism?' more...

While visits from EU15 countries and North America are down on this time last year, accession countries have dominated the inbound market according to the June figures of the International Passenger Survey more...