High Speed Rail and Tourism

Dear Colleagues,

The transportation system and the tourism market can be considered dependent on each other. Indeed, tourists represent a particular category of users, travelling for tourism purpose. An efficient transportation system can be an important component of successful tourism. Specifically, a well connected place, i.e. with a high accessibility, can become an attraction for tourists.

During the centuries, the means of transport have been changing according to the development of technology. Since the origin of railways in Europe during the Industrial Revolution at the beginning of the 19th century, the speed of passengers trains represented a sign of technological development of the most advanced countries. In 1964 the inauguration of the Shinkansen in Japan in 1964, represented a real breakthrough in transport technologies.

The objective of this special issue is to investigate the relationship between HSR systems and the tourism market. A transport innovation such as a HSR service modifies the relationship between tourists and accessibility because a decrease of travel time can be considered as a decrease of distance. As travel time is one of the components of the total costs borne by tourists, HSR can then decrease the generalized transport costs. The consequence is that HSR can affect the utility of tourists and then the competition between destinations, since the market area can be enlarged. Moreover HSR stations are usually located in city centres, thus HSR can also foster tourism for business purposes.

Therefore, this Special Issue provides a forum to discuss and identify new trends and developments in the relationship between HSR and Tourism, with an emphasis also on the economy of a country, where this service exists, and then on sustainability.

Prof. Dr. Francesca Pagliara
Guest Editor

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