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Advent of a new touristic system

Avènement d’un nouveau système touristique

Third International Symposium on tourism, Astres 2013

IIIe Colloque international sur la Recherche et l’Enseignement Supérieur en tourisme, Astres 2013

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Published on Thursday, March 14, 2013

Abstract

WTO estimates the number of international tourists in 2020 at 1.5 billons, but is the growth of the number of tourists themselves the most important factor in  the future of tourism? Deep changes are in progress and it’s necessary that practitioners and researchers study the new possibilities in the ways that the tourism of tomorrow may be structured.

Announcement

Argument

WTO estimates the number of international tourists in 2020 at 1.5 billons, but is the growth of the number of tourists themselves the most important factor in  the future of tourism? Deep changes are in progress and it’s necessary that practitioners and researchers study the new possibilities in the ways that the tourism of tomorrow may be structured.

Tourism, in its various forms, translates a need for fundamental human exchanges, for discoveries and breaks in the everyday life. Some researchers propose a ‘systemic’ approach and define tourism as a system of actors, practices and spaces, which, in the end, satisfies the recreational  needs people. This includes a system of mobility (travels, business meetings, work migrations etc) with which it maintains relations and which contributes to its dynamic.

As a social construct, the touristic system has evolved over time. It changed through different configurations: aristocratic and manual trade tourism –tourism concerning small numbers of tourists and actors- ; development to industrial tourism, singled out by the invention of Tour Operator, by resorts, by the innovation of trains ; massive tourism, marked by the access to tourism for most of the people and, more especially, by diffusion into all the social classes, followed by evolution of societies marked by mass consumption.  

We can identify since the 1980’s, changes that could justify the assertion of the rise of a new system.

We can organize those changes into five axes:

1) The economic growth process followed by access to tourism for the so-called « developing », “emergent” societies, widely excluded till then. This advent is marked by variability of inherent social uses. It has been influencing places already completely or partially shaped by tourism and leads to the creation of new places. This process is carried out by various and/or composite strategies of actors (local or not). Some places which have already invested on tourism; others which are now getting into it. 

2) The spatial touristic locking up of the world is finished: all the destinations are technically able to be reached. The whole world is touristic, meaning that even the most isolated sites are integrated into the global system because their marginality has become an argument of touristic communication, and meaning that the whole planet is promoted inside the non-specialized Tour Operators catalogues. Globalized networks of tourism business are increasing, including the assertion of international companies but also the relationships built through the world between firms and local services providers.

3) The Internet and new knowledge sector technologies contribute to the advent of other changes or bring their own transformations. They support an evolution toward more individual liberty and autonomy (without excluding social aspects) and also toward the increasing of tourists’ information and skills. It completely reorganizes what used to be the “touristic sector” and creates new potential value created by the intermediaries. Those transformations must be studied at the same time within the authorities -- the companies and institutions in charge of the supply and of creating demand. They provoke a competition by innovation, adaptability and the creation of new knowledge

4) The richest societies (with a high HDI) are evolving from mass tourism understood as a mass practice (at least half of the population concerned) to personalized tourism, being a priori more socially classifying and distinctive and participating to a search for more autonomy,  for recognition of individuality, and for freedom. New modalities and new touristic consumption practices are developing, all of them focused on the idea of a tourist experience co-produced by the tourist him or herself. The touristic service is evolving toward a co-production where the tourist is more and more an expert.   

5) The system is progressing also in relation with the spread of values. It seems that the advent of concepts of Sustainable Development has created new and key values. These are establishing themselves in places and in companie’s marketing strategies, but also in more fundamental ethical positions. Beyond the principles which focus only on ecological stakes, they question tourism companies about their social responsibility, the destination managers about the association of all the stakeholders, or the tourists themselves about the values associated to their own entertaining project

The current transformations are so intense and numerous, that beyond their description, it is necessary for the researchers to question the means that they give to themselves to understand and analyze them. Tourism is, indeed, a multidisciplinary field of research, which provides it strength, but also its difficulties.  Research in tourism must be structured to address those social, technological and economic changes. What epistemological roots, which methodologies, which paradigms must we consider? The transformations of tourism are inviting us to sharpen our tools and methods, to question our theories in order to understand them better and to answer their demands.  

Submission guidelines

The symposium aims to organize a scientific discussion around a comparison between the disciplinary (geography, sociology, management, economy, history, ethnology, etc.) approaches of those changes. It is less about describing, than explaining how, with which problematic, which conceptual tools, which methodologies, are innovatively being used by researchers of the different social sciences analyzing tourism. The symposium is not focusing on Case Studies, but more on a cross- analytical focus on epistemological roots, methodologies and fields..

The continuation of the process of globalization makes urgent the international comparisons and the confrontations between the points of view of researchers from different societies. Proposals from international teams are especially welcome.

The symposium will be in Angers from 27 to 29th may 2013.

The proposal of presentations are expected for the 31 of march 2013.

It is asked that  authors  present them as a text of 3 to 4 pages, specifying the problematic, the methodology, possibly the field of research and some elements of bibliography.

The title and the key-words must be in French and in English.

Those texts in their definitive version have a deadline of the 15th of April, in order to propose support to the participants. A publication, planned in the form of a scientific book or a review specialized into the field of tourism, will require the writing of complete articles, and it submission through a procedure of editing.

The Program will be responsive to the number of proposals selected by the scientific committee, but will aim at favoring discussion and the sharing of ideas and perspectives.

The proposals must be submitted to : colloque.astres@contact.univ-angers.fr

Scientific committee

  • Christofle Sylvie, Géographe, Maître de Conférences, Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis.
  • Clergeau-Allain des Beauvais Cécile, Professeur de Sciences de gestion, ITBS, Université d’Angers
  • Duhamel Philippe, Professeur de Géographie et Directeur du laboratoire ESO-Angers, ITBS, Université d’Angers
  • Guibert Christophe, Maître de Conférences en Sociologie, ITBS, Université d’Angers
  • Levet-Labry Eric, ACP, UPEMLV, STAPS Histoire,
  • Monnet Jérôme, LAB’URBA, UPEMLV, Géographie Aménagement
  • Schut Pierre-Olaf ACP UPEMLV Staps
  • Simon Gwendal LVMT, UPEMLV, Sociologie géographie aménagement.
  • Zeghni Sylvain, Maître de Conférences, Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, LVMT.  

The scientific committee will be chaired by Philippe Violier, professor of Geography and director of ITBS, University of Angers.

Places

  • UFR ITBS (Université d'Angers) - 7, allée François Mitterrand
    Angers, France (49)

Date(s)

  • Friday, May 31, 2013

Attached files

Keywords

  • système touristique, mondialisation, recherche, méthodologie

Contact(s)

  • Sylvine Chevalier-Pickel
    courriel : sylvine [dot] chevalier [at] univ-angers [dot] fr

Reference Urls

Information source

  • Laurence Lepicier
    courriel : laurence [dot] lepicier [at] univ-angers [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Advent of a new touristic system », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Thursday, March 14, 2013, https://doi.org/10.58079/n2e

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