The changing nature of city tourism and its possible implications for the future of cities

Abstract

City tourism is one of the fastest growing travel segments worldwide [18] and the changing nature of city tourism becomes increasingly apparent in many cities. Facilitated by mobile access to information, tourists are increasingly seeking, finding and consuming ‘local experiences’ and the boundaries between tourists and residents become increasingly blurred. While the impact of the proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the travel industry as well as on tourist behaviour and the travel experience has been widely acknowledged (Egger J Hosp Tour Technol 4(2): 119–133, 2013), (McCabe et al. Tour Manage Perspect 4: 36–44, 2012), (Stamboulis and Skayannis Tour Manage 24: 35–43, 2003), [35, 40], (Ye et al. Comput Hum Behav 27: 634–639, 2011), the implications of this new type of tourism for future urban development have received little attention (Fuller and Michel Int J Urban Regional 38(4): 1304–1318, 2014). This paper aims to better understand the underlying causes of the changing nature of city tourism and how this change could impact the future development of cities. It is argued that in addition to the proliferation of ICTs, the phenomena of experiential travel and social acceleration have contributed to the rise in popularity of city tourism as well as to a change in tourist behaviour. Possible implications for the future development of cities resulting from this new type of tourism, as well as approaches to solving those challenges, are discussed. It becomes clear that an interdisciplinary approach will be required in order to fully understand the challenges posed by city tourism as well as to develop and implement strategies for a successful integration of tourism into future urban development.