Supporting Tourists’ Mobility in Wine Destinations: The Hop-On Hop-Off Bus in Swan Valley, Western Australia

Abstract

Tourism cannot happen without transportation. However, tourism research has paid more attention to mobility issues travelling to destinations rather than within destinations. Research about tourists’ mobility within wine destinations is even more scarce. To fill in this gap, this chapter reviews and applies the literature about tourists’ mobility patterns and the factors affecting it within a wine destination context. The particular factors of the wine destination, the wine tourists and the wine activity are identified and considered for better understanding tourists’ mobility in a wine context. The practical implications of tourists’ mobility in wine destinations are investigated by analysing the case of a hop-on hop-off bus implemented in Swan Valley (Western Australia). The case study discusses the rational and feasibility of the bus service, its mobility services and their impacts on: tourists’ mobility patterns and behaviour; wine tourism demand numbers and flows; and on the wine destination performance. The chapter concludes by providing theoretical implications for future research and practical guidelines for wine destinations.