Tourism Review Online Magazine 1 / 2007

Instinctively we are attracted to places that have associations with great personalities. We attempt to solve enigmas of famous figures by following their steps and exploring the places they visited, were born in, died, liked, hated, returned to…. Is it an attempt to touch their halo? Is it a search for rare and exquisite period items, domestic and decorative objects? Whatever the answer, the travel industry cares about such interest. The section “Heritage” in this issue analyses writers’ museums as tourist products. Dante, the greatest icon of Italian literature, spent his life in Florence (his native city), Verona and Ravenna, where he wrote the Divine Comedy and where he died. But how much of Dante can a tourist find if one wishes to trace the great life there? James Joyce, a Dubliner, spent most of his life outside of his native country, but the capital of Ireland is full of associations with the author, his time and his characters. Several properties, organisations and the Irish Tourist Board joined their efforts and created a stylish and sophisticated tourist product. Florence and Dublin are powerful magnets for tourists. But what if a writer’s museum is located “in the middle of nowhere”? The National Trust of England demonstrates that it is possible to combine attractions of wild nature trails, romantic estates, old country pubs with the name of a famous author to make a unique tourist product.

Tourism is tightly linked with a number of industries, which enhance memories of travellers and make their experiences truly unforgettable. Tourists love purchasing souvenirs. These goods enliven their experiences by offering an illusion of being able to take back home something tangible and indestructible. The souvenirs in a way preserve the “époque”, reflect events and fashions of the moment of travel. Souvenir trade is a very competitive - gift stores have the third highest failure rate among retail outlets – but a highly rewarding type of enterprise. In the first issue of 2007 we advise how to make your souvenir shop a success and hope this publication will be useful for those who are thinking to embark on this kind of business venture. Food merchandise is a growing sector of the souvenir market, and we offer observations on some trends in this area of business. When the goods are purchased – how to deliver them safely – the questions of logistics can be crucial for a traveller. In this issue we only open the discussion of new ways of purchasing and delivering souvenirs. Tourists tend to look for authentic folk-art souvenirs, which represent a certain challenge in the post-industrial globalised world. This issue gives the reader an idea of how this problem is dealt with in Hungary.

Railways are useful not only for convenient and fast commuting, but they can also provide an alternative to the more traditional luxury travel options - private jets and cruises. Today we introduce four exciting and imaginative trips. Visit an exotic Orient without the hassle of hotel hopping with luggage. Take the highland railway to the sacred places of Peru, where even helicopter flights are banned. Choose a journey through time on one of the Pullman trains for some British sightseeings. Experience the luxury of Oriental express in Canada. Enjoy you trip!

Eco-friendly walking and hiking travel is springing up, but does tourist industry react to demands from the customers? An independent study from Wales (UK) shows that the impact of walking holidays on the rural economy is underestimated and calls for further research. As the success of the local tourist board in Southland (New Zealand) demonstrates, it is possible to attract tourists from abroad by designing a program that promote prestige and beauty of local trails among the native population. A Scottish pilot project is aimed at attracting adventure-seeking tourists to remote areas in off-peak seasons and thus supports the local travel industry. Traditionally, hiking and walking as popular pastimes have been associated with countries such as UK, Australia, US or Canada. Is this perception still true? We are examining special features of individual walking holydays in France and hiking group tours in Tuscany (Italy).

For the first issue of Management section we have decided to focus on event management and reflect upon the multiplicity of approaches in the field. Professional, business, family celebrations and gatherings are all essential part of human activities and at the same time they are incorporated in the travel/tourism industries, encouraging the emergence of specific products and services. Some professionals call for a new discipline of eventology to highlight general, anthropological issues in event management. Others concentrate on practical issues of event management: what has to be done to organise an event smoothly and successfully. Conferences and fairs are discussed as an important and profitable sector of tourism, but some experts believe the importance of meetings face-to-face and business trips will be significantly reduced in the near future due to technological advances in communications.