The importance of the mode of transport in self-drive tourism

Abstract

[Extract] The diversity of self-drive tourism markets is apparent in the different experiences they seek, and the different types of people who undertake those experiences. The first part of this book included a number of dimensions of this - differences based on the country of origin and the sort of trips that the geography, history and culture make possible, and differences based on the destination and the sort of trip that its geography, infrastructure and amenity suggest. This geographic theme is picked up again later in the book (Carson, this volume, Chapter 25). Diversity can also come from the demographic characteristics of travellers, and various chapters discuss diversity as a sub-theme. This second part of the book is most interested in how the type of vehicle makes a difference to the type of self-drive trip. The vehicle can often be associated with specific markets - Hardy and Gretzel's RVers tend to be older couples (Hardy and Gretzel, this volume, Chapter 15), while Walker's motorcyclists have traditionally been young males (Walker, this volume, Chapter 12). But the demographics can change over time, and Walker comments on the ageing of the motorcycle touring market. The vehicle can sometimes be associated with multiple markets. The four-wheel-drive and SUV vehicles at the centre of research by Taylor and Carson (this volume, Chapter 17), and Prideaux and Coghlan (this volume, Chapter 18) cater for old and young markets as well as families. Irrespective of the demographics, the vehicles allow for, and inspire, different types of trips. They demand different levels and types of infrastructure, they allow different lengths of trips, they suit different types of destinations, they imply different travel party sizes and so on. The aim of this chapter is to briefly describe the importance of the type of vehicle to understanding the self-drive tourism market as an introduction to the proceeding chapters, which then link specific vehicle types to emerging markets and global trends.