Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how the continued interest in the concept of “miniaturism” has seen the micropub develop into the new format of the microbar and examines the drivers of this trend. It then reflects on the possible implications of the rise of the microbar concept on the future of the urban tourism destination landscape. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper that is built on the natural curiosity of future studies to use an understanding of the present to predict what will happen next and what the implications of those developments will be. Findings The paper provides a clear definition of the microbar and identifies four distinctive drivers behind its conception, linked to changes in consumer behaviour. These cover the rise of the micro-break, the need for responsible urban regeneration, consumers desire for immediate and unique experiences and increasingly diverse populations. The paper predicts that these trends will drive an increase in microbars leading to greater tourist mobility in the urban tourism destination, more fragmentation and heterogeneity of products and services as well as an intensification in the need for authentic experiences and opportunity driven development giving rise to a hybrid form of guerrilla hospitality. Ultimately the authors predict that the venue will become more important than the specific location when consumers view the landscape of the urban tourism destination. Originality/value The focus of previous academic research has been on the historic development of the micropub and its impact on regeneration and communities, but very little literature has examined the rise of the microbar and the potential implications for the urban tourism destination.
Highlights
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (2019) define urban tourism as a type of tourism activity that takes place in an urban space encompassing a broad and heterogeneous range of cultural, architectural, technological, social and natural experiences and products for leisure and business. One such contributor to the urban tourism landscape that has emerged over recent decades is that of the miniature pub, the micropub, which reflects the broad trend towards “miniaturism” where there is a movement towards the compression of complex features within an increasingly small space
The natural curiosity of future studies leads immediately to the question of, the concept of the micropub is established in the present (Sardar, 2010; Singh and Singh, 2017), what will happen and what will be the implications of these developments? This paper looks to answer some
Based on the historic development of the microbrewery into the micropub charted above, this paper predicts a fourth wave in the form of the development of the microbar, which is beginning to provide a new hospitality product for the urban tourism destination
Summary
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (2019) define urban tourism as a type of tourism activity that takes place in an urban space encompassing a broad and heterogeneous range of cultural, architectural, technological, social and natural experiences and products for leisure and business. The concept of the microbar is not currently well-developed in the academic and grey literature; this paper will explore the drivers that we predict will define this emerging trend Answering these questions, as with futurology in general, should begin with developing an understanding of the concept of the micropub as we know it today – the “no-frills” concept which distinguishes itself not by what it sells but by the design of the space and the setting, which is often in off-centre locations, such as secondary high streets The micropub of today can be described most accurately by its own association as “a small freehouse which listens to its customers, mainly serves cask ales, promotes conversation, shuns all forms of electronic entertainment and dabbles in traditional pub snacks” (Micropub Association, 2019)
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