Robert Maitland

What is social tourism

This article examines the definitions and implementations of the concept of ‘social tourism’ that are in use in Europe today. Examples show that the concept has been implemented in many different ways to suit national contexts and that the justifications and goals of social tourism can differ greatly. The question arises how one can define the boundaries of this versatile and complex concept. This article proposes a model to clarify the interrelationships between the different interpretations: it highlights where common ground exists, but also where contradictions are apparent. The model consists of four main categories: the participation model, the inclusion model, the adaptation model and the stimulation model. The model draws on the historical development of social tourism and the ethical foundations for provision, and it is supported by a range of examples of European practice. Through this sub-categorisation of the concept, it is argued that a ‘scientification’ of the concept of social tourism can take place, so that the term does not lose its academic and political value. This article concludes by proposing a definition for social tourism that can effectively set the concept apart from other forms of tourism with attached social benefits.

Everyday life as a creative experience in cities

Purpose – This paper aims to explore how overseas visitors experience off‐the‐beaten‐track areas and everyday life in London.Design/methodology/approach – Initially scoped through quantitative research using visitor surveys involving some 400 respondents, the study was subsequently developed through qualitative research: 49 semi‐structured interviews with visitors from a wide range of countries.Findings – These areas offer city visitors opportunities to create their own narratives and experiences of the city, and to build a cultural capital in a convivial relationship with other city users. At the same time, visitors contribute to the discovery of new areas for tourism ‐ and in some sense the creation of new places to visit.Research limitations/implications – Further research in other areas of London and in other world tourism cities is needed to develop ideas discussed here.Practical implications – Subtler forms of tourism marketing are required to develop the potential of areas like those discussed in t...

City tourism : national capital perspectives

Capital city status attracts and drives tourism by enhancing a citys appeal to the tourist and its international standing. With a focus on city tourism themes, this book examines subjects including the identity of a city in a tourism context and practical matters such as promoting the city as a product. By examining tourist activities in national capitals, the book addresses issues in capital city development as tourist destinations with a broad, international approach and case studies on major tourist cities.

Capitalness is contingent: tourism and national capitals in a globalised world

National capitals play a central role in tourism in a globalised world, but their special qualities – their capitalness – can be elusive. This article argues that tourism representation is at the heart of capitalness and shapes the ways in which capitals and nations are seen. Capitals appeal to visitors with accumulations of heritage and cultural assets, as centres of power and as symbols of national identity, presenting the nation to itself and the outside world. Globalisation, territorial change and the rise of sub-state nationalisms have seen new cities becoming national capitals and established capitals significantly changing their roles. Cities may acquire or aspire to capital status, or have to adapt to a role as a lesser capital – or have to abandon capital status altogether. In doing so, they revise buildings, spaces and cultural assets to emphasise their new status and negotiate contested identities. Tourism is integral to this process as new national symbols are created, existing sites are reinterpreted and revalorised for visitors, and choices are made about how the nation should be represented to the outside world and to itself. Tourism representation reveals how tensions between capitals’ cosmopolitan and distinct national roles are played out, how new versions of the national story are developed and how capitalness is contingent on particular national experiences.

Global change and tourism in national capitals

Globalisation has affected tourism in most cities, but the particular qualities of national capitals mean that they are often at the leading edge of change, having to cope with different versions of national identity and the tensions between the global, the national and the local. At a time of increasing city competition, national capitals are at the forefront of efforts to gain competitive advantage for themselves and their nation, to project a distinctive and positive image and to score well in global city league tables. Capitals have always been international in their outlook, well connected with their counterparts across the world and comparing themselves internationally rather than with other cities in their own country. Developments in globalisation have meant that they are more entwined in the world system of cities and face more intense competition than ever. Yet capitals remain their nation’s focal point – the centre of government power, frequently the main business, commercial, artistic and educational centre, and the symbolic centrepiece of the nation, representing it to the world and to itself. Many capitals are their country’s main tourist gateway, their success in attracting visitors inextricably linked with that of the nation. Their clusters of culture and heritage attractions lure leisure visitors, but they are also especially important in other developing and growing tourism sectors – for example, as centres of power, they feature strongly in business tourism and as academic centres, they are important for educational tourism. And the number of capitals has grown. The era of mass tourism has coincided with earlier decolonisation and the more recent break up of federations and larger state entities (for example, USSR and Yugoslavia), increasing the number of nation–states and thus capitals. Moreover, pressures for devolution and the rise of sub-state nationalisms have seen more cities seeking national capital status, even when they are not at the head of independent states – Barcelona is a familiar example. As capitals seek to adapt to global change and contested identities, they need to negotiate the challenges of updating their appeal to visitors and maintaining their distinctiveness in the face of pressures for standardisation, and of reinterpreting complex histories as they represent themselves to domestic and global audiences. All this means that tourism in national capitals invites careful analysis. Yet paradoxically, such research has been limited until recently. Hall (2002, p. 235) pointed out that