The tourist places of the world 9781119706878, 1119706874, 9781119706939, 1119706939, 9781119706953, 1119706955

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The Tourist Places of the World

Tourism and Mobility Systems Set coordinated by Philippe Violier

Volume 2

The Tourist Places of the World

Philippe Violier with the collaboration of

Benjamin Taunay

First published 2020 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address: ISTE Ltd 27-37 St George’s Road London SW19 4EU UK

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030 USA

www.iste.co.uk

www.wiley.com

© ISTE Ltd 2020 The rights of Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay to be identified as the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Library of Congress Control Number: 2019953645 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-78630-435-3

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xi

Chapter 1. An Overview of the Tourism World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1

1.1. Presentation of data and criticisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.1. Development of statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.2. Limitations induced by these sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2. A hierarchical world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.1. Disparities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.2. Paradigms in action: wealth of nations, distance and otherness . . . 1.2.3. Toward a multipolar world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3. Touristic mobility: tourists conquering the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.1. Places, a social construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.2. Diversity of biophysical worlds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.3. Variety of human constructs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.4. Attendance modalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.5. Social scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.6. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4. Constraints on the movement of tourists opposed by the worlds . . . . 1.4.1. Combination between the unequal wealth of nations and distance . 1.4.2. The heterogeneity of the world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4.3. Tensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4.4. Health and biophysical risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4.5. Risks of everyday life: accident situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5. Tourist traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5.1. By means of globalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5.2. By means of mediation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5.3. By means of the mobilization of skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.6. A question of method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.6.1. Method based on the analysis of tour operators’ catalogs . . . . . .

2 2 2 6 7 9 11 15 15 16 18 19 21 21 22 22 22 25 26 30 32 34 35 36 37 38 39

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1.6.2. A method not free of bias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.6.3. A method with many limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40 41 42

Chapter 2. North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

43

2.1. A continent with a high level of touristicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1.1. A population that is not very dense but with a high departure rate . 2.1.2. Hierarchy of States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2. Touristicity of the places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.1. To the east, the cities are dominant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.2. To the west, natural parks: a level playing field with cities . . . . . 2.2.3. A confidential space for indigenous nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.4. A typology of tourist places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3. Societal practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.1. European society practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.2. Practices of new North American societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.3. Practices of new tourism societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.4. World connectiveness of North American places . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5. Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

43 43 45 46 46 50 52 53 56 56 59 59 60 61 62

Chapter 3. Central America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

67

3.1. Southern part of the North American tourism area . 3.1.1. A politically fragmented region . . . . . . . . . 3.1.2. “A continent in the grip of violence” . . . . . . 3.1.3. Tourist hierarchy of States . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2. Touristicity of places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.1. Seaside region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.2. A region also dedicated to discovery . . . . . . 3.2.3. Costa Rica, a special case . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.4. Typology of tourist places . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3. Societal practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies . . . . . . 3.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies . . . . . . . . 3.3.3. World connectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5. Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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67 67 69 69 73 73 75 77 78 81 81 82 83 84 85

Chapter 4. South America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

89

4.1. Overall, not very touristy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.1. Far from the center and a sparsely populated continent . . . . . . . 4.1.2. Hierarchy of States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

89 89 92

Contents

4.2. Touristicity of places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.1. Atlantic Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.2. The Andes and the southern cone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.3. Tourist suburbs of the continent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.4. Typology of tourist places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3. Societal practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.3. World connectiveness of South America’s tourist attractions . 4.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5. Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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94 94 95 99 101 104 104 106 106 107 108

Chapter 5. Central and Northern Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

115

5.1. Northern margin of a very touristic continent . 5.1.1. World Region, the birth of tourism . . . . 5.1.2. Hierarchy of States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.3. Three models of tourist space . . . . . . . . 5.2. Touristicity of places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.1. Large cities, the main object of discovery 5.2.2. Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.3. Typology of tourist places . . . . . . . . . . 5.3. Societal practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies . . . 5.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies . . . . . 5.3.3. World connectiveness of tourist places in Central and Northern Europe . . . . . . . . . . 5.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5. Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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115 115 116 117 117 118 122 123 125 125 127

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128 130 130

Chapter 6. The Mediterranean Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

135

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6.1. One of the three most touristic areas in the World . . . . . . . . . 6.1.1. The first tourist destination in the World . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.2. Specific context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.3. Consensual state hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.4. The case of France, the World’s leading tourist destination . 6.2. Touristicity of places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.1. Discovery, a dominant practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.2. Rest comes next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.3. Other practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.4. Practices of non-Europeans in France: essentially discovery 6.2.5. Typology of tourist places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3. Societal practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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135 135 136 140 142 144 144 147 149 149 151 153

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6.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies in Northern Europe 6.3.2. Practices of former tourism societies in Southern Europe and the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.3. Practices of new tourism societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.4. France to non-resident tourists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.5. World connectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5. Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter 7. Sub-Saharan Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

167

7.1. A continent still poorly integrated into the world tourism area 7.1.1. A continent on the fringes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1.2. Strong opposition in favor of the States of the Southeast of the continent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2. Touristicity of places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.1. Popular places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.2. Places and practices, safaris on the continent . . . . . . . . 7.2.3. Resting on the beaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.4. Search for diversification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.5. Special case: the Republic of South Africa . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.6. Typology of tourist places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3. Societal practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.3. World connectiveness of sub-Saharan African places . . . 7.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5. Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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168 169 170 170 171 175 176 177 181 181 184 184 186 187

Chapter 8. Western Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

195

8.1. A mosaic of tourist attractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1.1. Region marked by high tensions . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1.2. Maintaining a regular flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1.3. Arabian Peninsula, renewal of contrasts . . . . . . 8.2. Touristicity of places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2.1. Dubai and Abu Dhabi, all-purpose metropolises: Oman, a more sensible tourist destination . . . . . . . . . 8.2.2. Discovery of India organized in two tourism areas 8.2.3. Combinations bringing together dominant discovery with secondary rest and play practices . . . . . 8.2.4. Typology of tourist places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3. Societal practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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196 197 198 198 200

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204 209 211

Contents

8.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies 8.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies . . 8.3.3. World connectiveness . . . . . . . . . 8.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5. Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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211 211 212 213 214

Chapter 9. Southeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

219

9.1. Two-step tourism implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1.1. Cultural and landscape mosaic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1.2. Tourism invigorated by China's entry onto the scene . . . 9.1.3. Thailand, a key destination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2. Touristicity of places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2.1. Regional tourist frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2.2. Rest and discovery in competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2.3. Typology of tourist places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3. Societal practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3.3. World connectiveness of Southeast Asia’s tourist places 9.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.5. Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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220 221 223 226 228 228 228 229 231 231 232 233 235 235

Chapter 10. Northeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

239

10.1. Recent entry on the world tourist scene, a spectacular breakthrough 10.1.1. Access to progressive and State-controlled tourism . . . . . . . . 10.1.2. Two advantages and one disadvantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.1.3. Tourist hierarchy of States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2. Touristicity of places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2.1. A region of discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2.2. Cruises and few stays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2.3. Typology of tourist places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.3. Societal practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.3.3. World connectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.5. Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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239 240 241 242 242 243 245 245 248 248 251 254 255 256

Chapter 11. Oceania and the Pacific Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

261

11.1. A fantasy region but one that is poorly visited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1.1. Disadvantages affecting globalized tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1.2. Hierarchy of States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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11.2. Touristicity of the places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2.1. Discovery in the two largest islands: Australia and New Zealand . 11.2.2. Rest in the smallest islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2.3. Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2.4. Typology of places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3. Societal practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3.3. World connectiveness of places in the Oceania–Pacific region . 11.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.5. Atlas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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264 265 268 270 270 272 273 273 274 276 276

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

281

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

289

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

301

Introduction World Connectiveness of Tourist Places

Our intention in this book is to produce an image of the World’s tourist places1. This is not in itself totally new, textbooks already exist that deal with tourism in the World, or at least studies that claim to demonstrate a reflexive approach, such as diverse studies based on more or less far-fetched classifications. However they share two major criticisms. On the one hand, they are based on the institutional definition of tourism, which brings together mobility, of very diferent natures, on the pretext that the issue would be to separate that which concerns migration, the intention of which is to settle for a more or less long period, from movement aimed at a scheduled return. This confusing approach, which combines business and leisure travel, defended by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), does not allow us to fully understand the real issues of displaced individuals. We have already participated in criticizing this postion on several occasions [MIT 02]. It is now a question of going further by translating, on a planisphere, the reality of actual tourist places, i.e. responding to the challenges of recreation and relaxation relative to individuals and their hierarchy. On the other hand, these same works do not base their proposals for a tourist image of the World on an explicit method. We have therefore sought to implement a scientific approach that breaks with institutional statistics. Moreover, our ambition is to deal with places, and not only States, from a globalized perspective, one that is interested in the World connectiveness of places, or the density of the links that connect a place to others distinct in the World. For the analysis of tourism, we draw on geographical reflection which considers that the structuring of the World is based on metropolises, communication nodes and axes, and productive spaces. Beyond that, the challenge is to understand

1 “World” written with a capital letter expresses the research project on a relevant spatial level currently under construction by globalization, unlike “world” which names the planet.

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how and why, through tourism, societies achieve a better life through sustainable development, which encompasses social, economic and environmental aspects. This project was reinforced by our work on comparative tourism practices between the Chinese and Westerners [TAU 15], but it came to fruition in 2007, when we were confronted with the need to teach tourism in the World. Since then, we have developed a method that has made it possible to achieve this cognitive objective, while mobilizing a pedagogical approach based on placing students in a research situation. In return, their questions and work stimulated our reflection2. Furthermore, Denis Retaillé’s book, Les Lieux de la mondialisation [RET 12], was a particular driver, as it reinforced our proposal of a geography of the World by places, but also sharply questioned us, because tourism is absent. More recently, in a conference organized as part of the International Tourism Festival3, Michel Lussault’s statement about his work on hyperplaces [LUS 17] confirmed for us that hyperplaces are “certainly, necessarily, unstoppably touristic”. Of course, not all tourist places are hyper places. If touristicity is a necessary, but not sufficient, quality of hyperplaces, it must be of high intensity, so that only hypertouristic places are hyperplaces. Too many works deal with tourism in the World solely through the geopolitical framework of the state, i.e. defined areas, without taking into consideration the places. Research has already been carried out in this regard, but from a historical perspective of analyzing the spread of tourism. Andreea Antonescu has thus garnered tourist guides in her thesis, [STO 14, ANT 16]. Jean-Christophe Gay and Jean-Michel Decroly, for their part, have read through more than 2,000 scientific and professional journals [GAY 18]. These authors rely on a tourist place’s date of appearance. We have opted for an approach that focuses on the present time and aims to produce a hierarchy in a globalized approach. To this end, we have developed a method based on the use of tour operator (TO) catalogs, which were published in 2011 [VIO 11]. The method dealt with the case in China as seen by the French TOs and then generalized to Westerners. There was still a need to systematize the approach for all worlds and the World. For this purpose, we have mobilized the typology of tourist places, developed by the MIT team [MIT 02] and refined by Philippe Duhamel [DUH 18].

2 Subsequently, and in order to homogenize the research, we enlisted paid students to produce the data on which this research was based. 3 This festival, directed by Philippe Duhamel, and organized in Angers, under the aegis of the UFR ESTHUA (Unité de formation et de recherche Études supérieures de tourisme et d'hôtellerie de l'université d’Angers) Tourism et culture, held its third meeting in March 2019. Michel Lussault held the inaugural conference on March 23.

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The presentation of this method is discussed again at the end of Chapter 1, which opens with a classic overview of tourism in the World, i.e. based on the institutional definition of tourism and within the state framework. For even if we consider that this dimension must be overcome in order to understand how tourists live in the World, it is imposed on tourists through traffic regulations, the geopolitical tensions that affect and guide them and the modalities that implement them, namely stays and tours that continue to be essentially structured according to the States. All you have to do is browse through a TO catalog to see that the summary is always imbued with this reality. Chapter 1 aims to understand, in a global way, the development of tourism in the World by starting from the intentions of tourists and then questioning the obstacles that stand in the way, before mobilizing the means they use to achieve their goals. The chapter then invites you to a World tour organized according to a strictly tourist logic. Indeed, we have not followed the classical order of the continents, a representation constructed by Europeans, nor that of the UNWTO, which distinguishes a group called the Middle East, which runs from Libya to Iran, and a vast region called Asia-Pacific. This ambition to write about tourism in the World is hampered by the heterogeneity and complexity of the worlds, so we, like Christian Grataloup [GRA 10], ask specialists from the various worlds read our proposals with Leniency. We have filled the gaps with publications that are very popular, as long as their authors are authoritative in their respective fields. They are cited when they have helped us to understand the World a little better, a tourist World, as it goes. We have favored an approach that highlights relationships between large groups and types of practices. Thus, America is characterized by three regions: one central region (Chapter 3) marked by a combination of seaside resorts and discovery practices, which separates, within the world island, the Northern region (Chapter 2) from that of the South (Chapter 4), both clearly dedicated to discovery according to various themes that mobilize biophysical and cultural objects, whether they concern heritage or modernity. The group of Eurasia and Africa can be further subdivided into: – Northern and Central Europe, characterized by discovery (Chapter 5); – a vast Mediterranean region (Chapter 6) where resort holidays dominate although discovery is not absent; – a sub-Saharan group (Chapter 7) divided between discovery clearly oriented toward biophysical objects, through excursions, and seaside resorts for stays, sometimes organized in groups; – Asia is divided into Southeast Asia (Chapter 9) where rest and discovery combine again, while the regions of West Asia (Chapter 8) and East Asia (Chapter 10) are much more dominated by discovery;

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– Oceania and the Pacific (Chapter 11), lastly, compares the two major islands, which are more oriented toward discovery, to the more isolated archipelagos where the notion of rest prevails.

1 An Overview of the Tourism World

Our study of the relationship between tourism practices and places in the world is based on an analysis of statistics produced by States and the World Tourism Organization, according to modalities to which we will return. Within all forms of mobility, travel, of which tourism is a self-rebuilding1 modality, is distinct from migration, in the sense that individuals’ plans fit within a short-term, limited time frame, with a predetermined return date. Beyond that, of course, tactics are used by individuals to circumvent regulations that attempt to curb or control migration. Furthermore, the pretext of tourism can make it easier to overcome these barriers. However, it is on this fundamental distinction between tolerated and less tolerated border crossings that the definition claimed by the World Tourism Organization [STO 17] is based. The challenge of this first part is to expose and understand the world tourist space and its recent evolution. To this end, we use the statistics compiled by the World Tourism Organization. This institution, founded in 1953 and based in Madrid, has become a specialized agency of the United Nations. In this field, it is a globalization actor since it produces standards and values, such as “sustainable tourism”, tries to set political objectives, such as tourism and the fight against poverty, and develops analytical tools, such as statistics or the tourism satellite account (TSA)2.

1 In French, the neologism (“re-création”) was proposed in 2002 by the MIT team [MIT 02] in order to characterize tourist mobility and give it meaning, in relation to a scientific context that tended to minimize the importance of tourism for individuals. 2 The TSA is a technique that makes it possible to calculate the contribution of the tourism sector to national economies by aggregating the value added produced by characteristic tourism activities (in particular accommodation, catering, cafés, etc.) with that created by tourists in other sectors (transport, for example). Because if the latter are not integrated, the effects of tourism are underestimated.

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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After a critical analysis of the data that allow us to produce an image of mobility that is wrongly described as touristic, we will show the hierarchical space that is emerging. Finally, we will discuss the major dynamic under way, namely the setting in motion of all the world’s societies. Exponential growth in the number of travelers crossing a border has been observed since the end of the Second World War. 1.1. Presentation of data and criticisms The analysis of “international tourism”, as it is known, is based on statistical data produced by States and collected and disseminated by the World Tourism Organization, which is itself one of the indicators of the globalization of the phenomenon. With the rapid assimilation of disparate mobility to a social practice, tourism is questionable. Even if it is not possible, in the current state of the issue, to do without these data, the identification of their limitations is a prerequisite for any analysis. 1.1.1. Development of statistics The World Tourism Organization is now a specialized agency of the United Nations and, as such and in this field, it appears to be a major player in globalization. Indeed, the UNWTO contributes to constructing the World. It develops measurement tools – of which we will make use – such as the travel count, which includes border crossings, or the TSA, a technique that measures the economic effects of “tourism”. The UNWTO is not limited to this simple book keeping role; it functions as a forum and also sets standards and values that form the backbone of a global tourism policy. The UNWTO has two publications that bring together statistics on “tourism” in the World: the Yearbook and Compendium. The first informs us of the origins of travelers, for each country of destination, according to the States of the world. Groupings are carried out differently, depending on the destination, when the number of people concerned is small. The second offers, still by State, a very large amount of data on economic flows and repercussions. Most importantly, this book also provides the number of travelers departing from each country, however the data are incomplete for many States. Publications are released 2 years after the year of data measurement. 1.1.2. Limitations induced by these sources 1.1.2.1. Too general a definition The criticism of the sources of so-called international tourism is, in a quite justified way, a theme often addressed [CAZ 98, VIO 00, DEH 08]. However, we

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believe that an overview is necessary because of the lack of scientific consensus on the definition of tourism, the persistence of dregs in the analyses, and because the data produced influence the perception of the object studied, which is hastily qualified as “international tourism”. In the yearbook published by UNTWO, it is in fact travel that is recorded – in the sense that the same person who makes several trips in a year will be counted for each trip – and is defined as travel including departure and return to a so-called country of residence, or sometimes to an issuing country. This poses a semantic problem, suggesting that the tourist is forced, projected, with little to no involvement. As a result, the global departure rate is not the ratio between the number of trips and the world population. The calculation must take into account, in the numerator, this number divided by the average number of trips per person including border crossings. Moreover, the number of people who have left a country of residence is not equivalent to the total number of people welcomed to the destination countries, as Jean-Michel Dewailly and Émile Flament [DEW 93] have already noted. This is because, during the same trip, a person who visits3 several States will be counted as a unit at each border crossing. Second, and as mentioned in the introduction, the definition that the UNWTO has been working to disseminate includes different forms of mobility. And this option leads us to use the word “traveler” rather than “tourist” when referring to the flows counted by the UNWTO, or to use the word “tourism” in quotation marks, whenever we use it in the sense given by this institution. The question of the definition of tourism or tourists was not a scientific issue until the late 1990s, but was raised by the MIT team [MIT 02]. For us, in fact, the UNWTO proposal is too broad to justify the use of the word “tourism” as a scientific concept. According to this institution, a “tourist” is a person who travels outside his or her main residence for a period of between one night and 1 year, regardless of the reason for travel. Moreover, these publications do not distinguish individuals according to the reasons given in the definition used by the institution. One piece of data was published by the UNWTO, on a global scale, which indicates a breakdown into three categories for 2012: “leisure and holidays”, to use the terminology used by the institution, would show 52% were trips, visits to relatives and friends, 27% and professional purposes, 17%. Intention is not specified for the remaining 7%. Our analysis [MIT 02, KNA 03, DUH 13a, DUH 13b] has modified the approach by questioning the moving individual’s intention and, by giving to the 3 Here we mean the word “visit” in the broadest sense. In fact, when statistics count tourists, the traveller is only taken into account if he or she spends an overnight stay in the country, whereas when the country chosen to visit, within the meaning of the UNWTO, the simple crossing of the border without overnight stays is recorded.

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question of changing location, content that is neither objective distance data, a variable capital endowments disqualify, nor a simple form of data today in the sense that the social diffusion of a polytopic habitat [STO 06] makes the approach complex. For us, the tourist is an individual who moves to rebuild herself or himself by implementing practices of rest, discovery, play and sociability. Tourism is also distinguished from other forms of mobility by the increased flexibility individuals have in choosing the destination and the practices they deploy there. We consciously use the expression flexibility rather than freedom in order to emphasize that we do not ignore that abilities influence choices, particularly through the habitus, i.e. the different processes of socialization – notably family education – at the origin of the distinction [BOU 79]. On the contrary, business travel involves the company exercising control over the individual, in the choice of locations, in terms of schedule and in organization, with the counterpart that the company takes full responsibility for the travel. Contrary to the statement made by Jean-Michel Dewailly and Émile Flament [DEW 00], incentive travel is indeed a management technique and is the responsibility of companies. Beyond that, the possibilities of temporarily escaping from the fixed framework, either as leisure activities, the end of the day, or as opportunities that individuals know how to seize, do not fundamentally change the nature of the movement, which is indeed a hierarchical decision. As much as these times can be qualified as tourist moments, since the individual finds some flexibility in a space outside daily life, they do not fundamentally call into question the more constrained nature of these business trips. School trips, even if they open up much more exciting prospects than confinement to the classroom, nevertheless imply that they are part of an intertwining of rules that are as justified from the point of view of the institution as they are more or less demanding. Pilgrimages are also part of a slightly more constrained system. Rituals must be observed. The places are part of a prescribed program within the framework of the religion concerned4. In all forms of mobility, the individual can break away from the rules and use the opportunities offered by tourism to engage in a wide range of strategies. This is the case for migrants who use customs facilities related to tourism. For their part, the authorities are stepping up procedures to discourage them and force people to return to the country of departure. However, at individual level, it is the observation of practices that makes it possible to distinguish between what tourism is and what refers to other forms of mobility. For example, in the case of pilgrimages, the program separates religious and tourist instances. Beyond that, a very great diversity of behaviors can be observed, because the believing individual remains so when he or she becomes a tourist. In fact, there are tourists, and a continuum of practices will be established between those who adopt only tourist attitudes and those who, on the contrary, are totally oriented toward the contemplation afforded by pilgrimages, and between the two extremes, a rich palette of varied combinations. 4 Indeed, Saudi Arabia does not issue tourist visas.

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It is indeed the quality of the break with everyday life that distinguishes tourism from other forms of mobility. As Norbert Élias and Eric Dünning have proposed in the spectrum of leisure activities, which includes in the category of the most “offtrack” practices, “travelling during holidays... devoting oneself to non-daily physical care such as sunbathing, walking” [ELI 94, pp. 131–133]. It could be argued that such an approach ruins any statistical enterprise in advance, but is it important to count or to understand the world? Therefore, we also do not share the analysis of Dehoorne et al. [DEH 08] who contest the status of individuals who frequent Algeria as tourists on the pretext that they are Algerians of origin. In addition to the fact that some of them rightly claim their attachment to the country in which they were born, more than, or in addition to, that of their forefathers, there is nothing that allows such a global approach. Many of them reside in France, work there and return to Algeria for tourism practices, as shown by the work on diasporas [ZYT 09]. Another form of confusion comes from the fact that authors do not take precautions with political issues. The fact that legitimate actors in the suburbs of metropolitan areas develop strategies to better integrate marginalized urban neighborhoods, abandoned wastelands or populations in distress, is part of their role and the implementation of their convictions. Whether they call it tourism probably reflects a better recognition of the practice within society, or even a move to mobilize public funds more easily. Howerer visiting these neighborhood frequented far less, and in which, sometimes, a few authentic tourists get lost, do not constitute tourism at all. 1.1.2.2. Different counting methods Despite efforts to achieve uniformity in Member States’ practices, the UNWTO was forced to validate four methods of counting “tourists”. In addition, while some States used the same definition throughout the study period, others varied, making longitudinal studies difficult. The four counting methods proposed by States lead to more or less overestimated or underestimated variations depending on the spatial configurations of the territory concerned [STO 17]. First, it is possible to opt for a border-crossing count of “tourists” within the meaning outlined by the UNWTO, i.e. a non-resident individual who crosses customs to spend at least one night in the host country. Second, it may be preferable to focus on “visitors”, those who enter a country without necessarily spending an overnight stay. It should be noted that the difference between this second method and the first has little impact on the outcome in a relatively isolated and insular country such as New Zealand, a position that facilitates controls and makes frequent and daytime visits unlikely. This is not the case for landlocked States surrounded by many neighbors such as the Ukraine, which is easily visited by the inhabitants of neighboring Russia, given

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the long-standing ties on both sides of the border. The smooth passage through customs, which opens up very timely commercial opportunities for certain products, tends to overinflate the number of “tourists” to the point of totally distorting the assessment5. The third mode is, on the contrary, restrictive, since it only counts nights spent in commercial accommodation. Admittedly, the use of so-called noncommercial accommodation, particularly by relatives or friends, is more often carried out within the framework of the internal market, but it also exists in foreign countries. Moreover, participatory methods or so-called “homestay” accommodation do not count, although they do not always exclude monetary exchanges. In a fourth mode, all accommodation is concerned, excluding of course the underground economy. 1.1.2.3. Playing on the States’ borders Finally, UNWTO statistics are based on the crossing of a border. As a result, the States’ boundaries influence the image of such mobility. In particular, the preeminence of Europe must be re-examined in light of its territorial fragmentation, which mechanically produces a large number of international visitors [CAZ 98]. A more accurate assessment would be given by an approach that would mitigate the effect of State size. A network based on more homogeneous spatial units should be used, either by measuring mobility from larger groups – the European Union (EU) in relation to China, NAFTA to Mercosur for example – or by developing smaller homogeneous units in principle for EU statistics, and thus comparing European countries with Chinese provinces. Beyond that, the economic stakes contained in “tourism” make this mobility, which is peaceful, so desirable that border crossings are made easy by States and, consequently, the so-called “tourist” visa – which is nevertheless subject to restrictions, in particular restrictions on duration and prohibition of working – becomes a means of moving around the world with complete peace of mind. These many limitations have prompted us to use the word “tourism” in quotation marks since it does not reflect the scientific definition we have helped to develop, but that of the UNWTOs. We have also tried to develop a method to study tourism in the world without these statistics [VIO 11]. This method, which will be used for the analyses developed in this book, is presented at the end of this chapter. 1.2. A hierarchical world Maps based on UNWTO data highlight a hierarchical world, beyond the preeminence of Europe, which is very much concerned with the combination of 5 For example, in the 2018 edition of the UNWTO Yearbook, for Poland there were just over 80 million visitor arrivals and just under 6.4 million arrivals to commercial accommodation.

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measurinng travel byy border croossings, on the one hannd, and its political fragmenttation, on the other hand. 1.2.1. Disparities D The world w of traveel clearly conttrasts two grou ups. On the onne hand, the fuull world, which welcomes w the most m tourists, with, from west w to east: North N Americaa, Europe and all of o East Asia and the Paciffic, and, on th he other handd, the relativeely empty world wiith South Ameerica, Africa and a the Middlle East, as shoown in Map 1.1.

Map 1.1 1. World trave eler flows in 20 011 (source: [O OMT 13]). Forr a color versio on of the maps in thiss chapter, see e www.iste.co.uk/violier/tourristplaces.zip

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The quasi-similarity between the maps of the countries of departure (Map 1.2) and those of destination (Map 1.3) reinforces this opposition, even if the distribution of the countries of destination shows a greater diffusion in Africa, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean than the distribution of departures. This is an old observation. In 1994, Georges Cazes highlighted this opposition between a North, where the majority of individuals with the economic capital necessary to be tourists resided, and a South where only a minority share was found. However, as the author also wrote, the resulting wealth is a relatively decisive factor in undiversified economies, especially in micro-island States, but also in larger ones [CAZ 94].

Map 1.2. Travelers’ country of departure in 2015 (source: [UNW 17])

Map 1.3. Travelers’ destination countries in 2015 (source: [UNW 17])

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This system is in no way original and is based on the classic hierarchical spatial system of the current state of globalization [LEV 08, RET 10]. The reason Map 1.1 highlights a rhombus shape rather than a triad is because of the interest shown by North Americans and Japanese, particularly for the islands in the central Pacific, the Hawaiian archipelago in particular [COE 14]. Admittedly, the vagueness of the UNWTO’s definition can help to produce this image, namely that part of the mobility recorded as tourism is in fact a business relationship and is therefore modeled on the world economic order and the globalization of companies. However we have noted that the influence of business travel withins international mobility is low. In fact, these latter relations between countries of residence and destinations underline the importance of regional proximity flows, ahead of intercontinental mobility [CAZ 98, DEH 08, GAY 10, particularly maps, pp. 268–270]. How can we explain this? 1.2.2. Paradigms in action: wealth of nations, distance and otherness This spatial system responds to several factors. First of all, travel remains a privilege of prosperous societies because it presupposes that a population can collectively, and the individuals who make it for themselves, devote wealth to an expensive practice that induces, at least partially, an interruption of the economic activity that creates it. However, mass tourism, defined as access to tourism for the majority of individuals in a society (at least 50% in France and, in most Western European countries, this share reaches 65–70%6), is only achieved in Western societies. Among emerging societies – those that experienced an acceleration in economic growth from the end of the 20th Century onward – the rate was around 30%. Travel is first and foremost a mobility of the richest inhabitants of the planet. Second, and in the long run, distance remains, despite the significant progress made, a constraint that opposes mobility and continues to structure social space [GRA 10, LUS 14], contrary to discourses that highlight the abolition of distances [ROS 10]. While it is undeniable that the progress made by means of transport has enabled the advent of mass tourism, the “global village” observed from tourist mobility remains a utopia. Foreign destinations are, for the most part, countries close to those in which they reside, so that globalization presents itself as a form of regionalization. Indeed, so-called international tourism is, in fact, a neighborhood visit. Nearly 55% of the “tourists” who entered the United States in 2011 (UNWTO) 6 Let us add that among the non-participants, about half mention non-economic reasons such as a preference for sedentary life or temporary and circumstantial choices that lead to the renunciation of tourism for a certain period (acquisition of a property, pregnancy, etc.).

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came from Canada and Mexico. The regions and countries of residence of “tourists” visiting France are the British Isles (nearly 13 million arrivals), Germany (nearly 12), Belgium and Luxembourg (nearly 11), Italy (10) and the Netherlands (8). There are a few exceptions around the World, particularly among micro-island States whose tourism depends more on distant countries than on neighbors. Thus, visits to Mauritius are dominated by the presence of the French (254,000, or 22% of total international arrivals, according to the UNWTO for 2015) far ahead of Réunion Island (144,000, 12.5%), considered here because of territorial discontinuity, and South Africa (102,000 arrivals, 9%). Moreover, the distribution of tourists in the World, if we combine it with the distance paradigm, also depends on population densities. Indeed, the number of tourists is a function of the number of people scattered in different regions of the World. However, the history of settlement opposes a meridian axis that crosses from east to west Europe-Asia-Africa as a whote, at subtropical and temperate latitudes, while the northern and tropical margins, on the one hand, and the world’s islands on the other, are less densely occupied. Australia and America, in particular, were populated later, and are in fact less occupied [GRA 10], which brought fewer tourists to the countries of these continents, and especially the closest ones. Finally, travel is the mobility of the rich to rich countries, which is underlined by the close correspondence of the map of departure countries and that of destinations, due to the otherness that opposes the desire to travel the world. On the one hand, distance is at the root of the proliferation of civilizations, which brings about dialectics of attraction for unknown societies and constraints to discovery, including the diversity of languages, customs, ways of being, food, etc. Furthermore, the diversity of conditions given by mountainous areas or a range of climates, which are representations, is also a function of distance. On the other hand, the state of the world highlights areas that are more difficult to access, where wars, social tensions and health risks combine. Moreover, economic prosperity combines with social stability and sanitary comfort to create safe conditions in our societies that are very favorable to travel, and at the same time, to erect barriers that lock us into comfort standards that are increasingly difficult to abandon, even temporarily. DEFINITION.– Otherness is “the quality of what is different for an individual whose personal identity (‘identity’) and social identity (‘we identity’) are the familiar, even unquestioned points of contact, in relation to a foreign world whose norms and conventions and ways of doing things are radically different” [STO 08, p. 147]. This otherness therefore explains why tourism remains essentially confined to spaces of greater familiarity and why, it is only possible for the greatest number of people in the form of organized travel; ridiculed by fine minds who take the

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appearance of the organization for what it is not – a straitjacket – while it alone allows freedom of movement for the greatest number. Indeed, TOs can be interpreted as a modality of space technologies which, as organizations, mobilize others; from air-conditioned coaches to international hotels, even bars and other tourist counters [GAY 01], in order to make it possible, at the lowest cost, to discover tourism. Indeed, the importance given to the analysis of tourism [URR 90] prevents us from thinking about what the movement of bodies means. Unlike the media, which show us the world from our living rooms, being a tourist means being physically in a place and suffering all the aggression and confrontation with unknown living conditions and being in contact with individuals with whom you do not immediately share any means of communication. It is not consistent to question the conditions of encounters, to accurately highlight difficulties and at the same time to claim that mediation is not useful. 1.2.3. Toward a multipolar world

Map 1.4. Countries of destination for travelers in 1985 (source: [UNW 17])

A final map completes the analysis by highlighting the evolution of world travel since 1985. The date was chosen because it was just before the spread of the phenomenon of economic emergence to the continental States, which ensured the media coverage of the process. Indeed, in the field of travel and particularly tourism, precursors appeared in the 1960s and 1980s, Japan then followed and in its wake the “Asian tigers”, according to the media expression used at the time, namely South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. However Japanese society’s access to prosperity has had limited effects on tourist numbers in nearby countries.

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On the one hand, until the end of the 1980s, tourism was in contradiction with the cardinal values of work and the group “within which the Japanese individual thought of himself” [LAN 11]. On the other hand, the dynamic set in motion at the end of the 1980s, particularly by the 1987 law allowing the deployment of infrastructure in peripheral regions, a favored practice within the country. Finally, behaviors remained marked by the refusal of chance and the reduction of adventure [LAN 11]. At the end of the 1980s, the emergence process involved many societies such as China, which joined the movement following a fundamental ideological disruption orchestrated by Deng Xiaoping, moving from isolation to international openness. Thus, what George Cazes had predicted [CAZ 92] based on the UNWTO forecasts occurred and was confirmed before our eyes: East Asia strengthened the Asia-Pacific region, becoming a Tourism area equivalent to the other two, North America-Caribbean and Europe-North Africa. This transition from a Westerndominated tourist world to a multipolar world was therefore a major breakthrough from the end of the 20th Century [CAB 10, VIO 16b, GAY 18]. This evolution is not without its problems for European tourists, and Western tourists in general, who must now learn to share the World with others. As we will see in the chapters devoted to the regions of the World, the top places are frequented by all the societies of the World, and this implies many visits and it is according to these two criteria that we define them. When there is also a concentration of flows due to an inherited holiday schedule that has not been adapted to the current level of departure rates, as in China, the situation becomes difficult to manage unless spatial and temporal bypass strategies are implemented, as proposed in the Lonely Planet guide. However, this awakening of East Asia to tourism does not call into question the paradigms of distance and otherness mentioned in the previous section, which structure the global tourist space. Note that 91% of visitors to China come from the East Asia and Pacific region, as defined by the UNWTO ; 77% of Japan’s visitors also come from this region, 27% from South Korea, 17% from China, 16% from Taiwan and 11% from North America [TAU 17]. How can you avoid crowds in Angkor? “Let’s be honest: we know that some of you are sceptical about our advice to avoid other tourists. If travelers own Lonely Planet's Cambodia, they represent only a tiny fraction of the total number of visitors. Some 580,000 Chinese, South Koreans and Vietnamese tourists came during the first half of 2011, accounting for more than half of

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all tourists. Very few if any had the Lonely Planet guide in their pockets and they visited the temples in groups of 25 to 75 people... Therefore, the following tips may be helpful. Angkor is well and truly on the tourist trail and it is only getting busier, with over two million visitors annually, but – with a little planning – it is still possible to escape the crowds. One important thing to remember, particularly when it comes to sunrise and sunset, is that places are popular for a reason, and it is worth going with the flow at least once.

Avoiding the crowds It is received wisdom that as Wangkor Wat faces west, one should be there for late afternoon, and in the case of the Bayon, which faces east, in the morning. Ta Prohm, most people seem to agree, can be visited in the middle of the day because of its umbrella of foliage. This is all well and good, but if you reverse the order, the temples will still look good – and you can avoid some of the crowds. The most popular place is Angkor Wat. Most tour groups head back to town for breakfast, so stick around and explore the temple while it’s cool and quiet between 7am and 9am. Sra Srang is usually pretty quiet, and sunrise here can be spectacular thanks to reflections in the extensive waters. Phnom Bakheng could be an attractive option, because the sun comes up behind Angkor Wat and you are far from the madding crowd that gathers here at sunset, but there are now strict limitations on visitor numbers each day. The hilltop temple of Phnom Bakheng is the definitive sunset spot. This was getting well out of control, with as many as 1000 tourists clambering around the small structure. However, new restrictions limit visitors to no more than 300 at any one time. It is generally better to check it out for sunrise or early morning and miss the crowds. Staying within the confines of Angkor Wat for sunset is a rewarding option, but it is quite busy at this time. Pre Rup is popular with some for an authentic rural sunset over the countryside, but this is also crowded these days. Better is the hilltop temple of Phnom Krom, which offers commanding views across Tonlé Sap lake, but involves a long drive back to town in the dark. The Western Baray takes in the sunset from the eastern end, across its vast waters, or from Western Mebon island, and is generally a quiet option”. Box 1.1. The tourist guide despite the West being subjected to 7 the touristic movements of others (source: Lonely Planet )

This development corresponds to a major turning point in the history of tourism. Indeed, after the invention of tourism in the 18th Century [BOY 96], this mobility 7 https://www.lonelyplanet.fr/article/cambodge-visiter-angkor-sans-la-foule, accessed July 17, 2017.

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remained a European privilege, which was extended to societies as a result of the colonization of the world. However, we are now witnessing a second diffusion which, after having been marginal with Japan in particular, is becoming massive, namely the development of tourism in all societies of the world [VIO 16b, GAY 18]. Therefore, we reject the historical breakdown proposed by Dehoorne et al. [DEH 08] and Dehoorne [DEH 13]. According to these authors, the “beginnings of tourism” were followed by the “advent of mass tourism” between 1950 and 1990 and then “all tourism”, followed by a period of generalized uncertainty, “2001 and beyond?” This proposal does not provide a distinct insight into so-called international tourism on the whole. In addition, it is necessary to distinguish the history of tourism systems (transition from the small to the large number, the advent of mass tourism, and the current personalized mass tourism), from its spatial diffusion. This is because borders are crossed very quickly, especially by the English. Then it is European-centric. There is no doubt that mass tourism was established in the United States before the Second World War in the 1920s. Finally, the authors consider that the events of the first decade of the 21st Century, including terrorist attacks on tourists, constitute a major breakdown. However, the overall growth in tourist flows has continued. And, generally speaking, in tourist destinations – see in particular Egypt [VIO 14, pp. 20–21] – attacks are certainly followed by a significant decrease in visitor numbers, but this does not last. In Bali, cited by the authors, due to the attacks of October 12, 2002, the resumption of growth came very quickly, particularly with the arrival of the Chinese and Indians, so that the problem, at least the one some people point out, was the influx of tourists and not the decline [BEA 10], despite a new attack in 2005. Undoubtedly the strategies of companies [CLE 14], and in particular the commercial offers, help to convince hesitant individuals but above all, the desire to visit the top places of the world prevails. In addition, incidents constitute threats to a given destination, or even a region of the world, but others derive benefits from them, as tourists move to other places that are considered safer. Thus, the “Arab Spring” was a blessing for Greece, Turkey, Italy and Spain, especially since the disaffection is, this time, more sustainable because of a stabilization process that takes time to assert itself beyond the differences between a more democratic outcome in Tunisia and a much more authoritarian one in Egypt. In general, history shows that the prophets concerned about the “end of history” [FUK 92] are only wrong to predict according to a finalist and univocal model. We propose to replace a chronology that highlights the major breakthrough that access to tourism for all societies in the world represents for us. Indeed, so-called international tourism developed early in the mid-19th Century [TIS 00], with universal exhibitions in particular. In 1862, Thomas Cook took a group of his most loyal customers to Switzerland to test out the Swiss destination. In 1869, the exit from Europe took place under the impetus, in particular, of the same TO, which organized the first round-the-world trip and a cruise to Egypt. Two major changes then occurred. The first was the transition to mass tourism of international

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destinations. Here too, it seems that border crossings were closely following socioeconomic changes. As a result, access to tourism by non-European societies, which began in the 1970s and 1980s and became widespread at the turn of the 20th and 21st Centuries, was a revolutionary phenomenon in the sense of a radical change to the established order [VIO 16b]. In particular, it initiated a second movement that took place from non-Western households [GAY 18]. 1.2.4. Conclusion The state of statistics on “tourism” does not really make it possible to distinguish, strictly speaking, tourism from other forms of mobility, particularly business mobility. We therefore need to extrapolate. The spatial arrangement that is emerging is marked by a very strong hierarchy that opposes a North group composed of three basins, the North and Central American-Caribbean space, the Europe-North Africa group and finally the region composed of Central and East Asia and the Western Pacific. This is reflected in the combination of three factors. The wealth of societies enables access to tourism. The distance is limited to the relative proximity of the largest number of trips. Finally, otherness under a different name, which justifies mobility, also opposes its constraints. Beyond that, the current period is characterized by a major change, marked by access to tourism by nonWestern societies and therefore by a second movement, in the sense that the first, initiated at the end of the 19th Century, was essentially the conquest of the world by Westerners. 1.3. Touristic mobility: tourists conquering the World Being a tourist means temporarily leaving one sedentary lifestyle for another characterized by mobility. Indeed, our way of life places us under house arrest all year round. Admittedly, a move toward greater mobility is gradually becoming a necessity in everyday life. On the one hand, the increase in mobility now makes polytopic housing possible [STO 06], i.e. the possibility for individuals, although wealthy, to move between several living spaces according to circumstances. On the other hand, the increase in the length of life in advanced societies leads to the solidification of a category of elderly individuals whose living situations are totally free from work constraints. Howerer these nuances do not principally affect the fact that tourism is emerging as a mobile life that is at odds with the dominant sedentary mode, particularly because it is part of a longer period of continuous free time. So what are the factors that influence the choice of destinations? Work on consumer behavior analyzes the decision-making process but does not focus on the objects that are sought-after.

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1.3.1. Places, a social construction Two main categories distinguish tourist objects, in the sense of those actually visited by tourists8: those that are human-made and those that result from biophysical processes on the origin of which humanity does not intervene. However, this pedagogical distinction must be handled with caution because it varies according to social representations. For example, the region in Norway, north of Lapland, is perceived by southern city dwellers as a natural park, while for the Sami, the landscape is cultural [VIK 11]. Similarly, for Australian aborigines, Inselberg Uluru, one of the most visited places by tourists from all over the world, is a sacred place (see section 11.2.1). However whether they are artifacts or given objects, they share the same social constructs. The vague notion of attraction that suggests that objects exert supernatural forces on individuals deserves to be revisited in light of Pierre Bourdieu’s work on the construction of taste in the field of the arts [BOU 79]. Indeed, the beauty, which he describes as material and immaterial objects built by humans, or those given, independent of us in terms of genesis, results from multiple socializations. Bernard Lahire completed this approach by pointing out the dissonances that result either from “plural identities” or from social interactions and that can reflect the gaps between education received and affirmation of tastes that may be out of step [LAH 04]. Social or socialized individuals express all the nuances of social values through their touristic quests for objects. As a result, tourist places are ranked by different degrees of attendance, which is often seen as a problem to be addressed, there being “too many tourists”. In fact, top places are the expression of our values and we must resolve to plan, manage, organize, etc. These two categories of tourist objects, those that are built or are artifacts, and those that are given or are biophysical, share common characteristics, foremost among which is monumentality. Roland Barthes, in Mythologies [BAR 57, pp. 113– 117], when discussing the Blue Guide, deplores the fact it is also part of our Western values and penalizes societies with less or are that less Promethean, as we will see in the chapters devoted to the regions of the World. These places are subject to dynamics. On the one hand, a diffusion process constantly integrates new objects in new places. This expansion of tourist ecumene is coming to an end, as the whole world seems to be touristic. On the margins, the

8 This clarification is important because some authors describe tourist objects, or places, whose qualifier is imposed by political purposes that appear as such, either by selfjustification or by incantation, where no tourist, or a very small number, is concerned, but rather inhabitants. This stance blurs the reflection.

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Moon is a new horizon. Areas that were previously excluded are integrated, such as Antarctica, which receives about 90,000 tourists annually, or Greenland [DEL 16]. Different sets of actors contribute to the persistence of tourism development. If, in some cases, the invention by tourists, qualified according to the times of adventurers, backpackers [DEL 16], is working again – as in the early days of tourism – other modalities have since been deployed, with more or less combined interventions, including those of States at different levels, from infra-State to local, supranational bodies, permanent inhabitants, organizations, associations and enterprises, etc. On the other hand, other actors are starting to move in places that are already tourist destinations in order to increase their intensity. This provokes some opponents, convinced that there are too many tourists, without knowing very well what this too many means, having never been measured9. The case of Venice is thus regularly brandished as a specter of what happens when tourism soars. While Venice is highly oriented toward tourism, i.e. in the scientific sense of the term, tourism has become the city’s main or even only activity, it is first and foremost because of the decline of other, previous economic driving forces that have left the place empty. As a result, tourism has rather saved Venice from ruin. The fact that the infiltration of huge cruise ships into the lagoon constitutes an inconvenience, a danger, even an aesthetic problem, is not doubtful; it remains for the authorities to assume their responsibilities, albeit very late. The heterogeneity of the World is thus a powerful factor in the discovery of tourism, provided that it is the representations of this diversity and beauty that drive mobility. Beyond that, this heterogeneity is dialectical, on a small scale, that of civilizations, diversity is marked, for example each religion has brought about the construction of places dedicated to worship that differ from each other: churches, mosques, Mayan, Hindu, Buddhist temples, etc., take variable forms, easily distinguishable. On a larger scale, heterogeneity is based only on the materials used and less on the forms. Thus, a certain fatigue may result from repetition of identical or weakly differentiated shapes. For example, in regions where the same type of object is concentrated, only the most recognized elements are used10. This is the case, for example, for the castles of the Loire Valley, mosques in Central Asia or monasteries visited in an imaginary country.

9 Without mentioning the excesses of some demonstrators who do not hesitate to compare tourists to terrorists. 10 Thus, for the castles of the Loire, the greatest number of tourists only visit Chambord, Chenonceau, Amboise or Blois, etc.

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Finally, tourism can disappear from certain places. Rather than a decline linked to excessive numbers of tourists, as William Butler theorized [BUT 80], tourist destinations are threatened by the weather and by changes in practices, to which they cannot adapt, when they decide not to more with the times. Beyond that, specialized places, such as tourist counters or resorts, follow several routes; either they renew themselves by remaining touristic, integrating new practices while the old ones persist or give way, or they diversify by adding other economic driving forces, for example a classic route is event hosting, as in Cannes. Alternatively they abandon tourism for other functions, starting by becoming a residential district when they are close to a metropolis within which they are functionally integrated [MIT 11]. Nonspecialized tourist sites are more resilient since, by definition, other dynamics can compensate for them in the cities, as in metropolitan areas. However the examples of highly touristic cities show that this is not inevitable either. 1.3.2. Diversity of biophysical worlds Tourism is primarily a route that allows us to escape the living conditions imposed by our sedentary life, but this freedom results from constructions and a symbolic production of nature. Indeed, being able to spend a week or two, during the winter, in temperate areas of the northern hemisphere on a tropical island implies a representation of the biophysical world that has gradually developed between the great discoveries of the 17th and 18th Centuries. These discoveries, made by explorers who deliver a vision marred by the difficulties of their adventures, and the dissemination of colorful images by artists, writers and painters. Thus, this nature is relational in the sense that it is only seen, judged and regulated through the eyes of different societies. The result, first, is that this tourist nature is valid for, and because of, what tourists do with it. Second, this relationship varies spatially as societies are heterogeneous. Finally, it changes over time [STO 17]. Thus, coastal use was primarily linked to cold baths and white skin aesthetics, before a shift to warm waters and tanning occurred at the beginning of the 20th Century [DUH 09, GAY 09, GAY 17]. This major revolution, combined with others, such as that of jet aviation, has led to the development of tourism in the tropical islands, which offer an air temperature combined with almost constant calm waters, as we will see in the chapters dedicated to the regions of the World. Nature is invested in by tourists for three uses that will justify the actions carried out in order to facilitate their realization. First of all, it is hedonic due to the enjoyment that elements such as the sea or the air bring. Furthermore, it offers amenities to the fore, in the sense of play defined by Caillois, as a free practice, inscribed in a circumscribed space-time, marked by unpredictability, lack of productivity, regulation and perhaps a level of fictitiousness. For example, scuba

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diving can be a recreational activity when it is carried out near your home, in a swimming pool. But this game gains a tourist dimension when it takes place in the colorful tropical seabed, populated by a great diversity of animals. Finally, it is a beautiful landscape through our eyes that summarizes the elements and evaluates them according to our social and individual criteria. Thus, the mountains, the tropical island, the wild but friendly nature of the wilderness, have become the archetypes of tourist imagery. But these different constructions of nature do not function universally or timelessly. Thus, the sun that heats us and turns our skin brown only became a value of tourism at the beginning of the 20th Century, first in the United States. In 1907, in The Cruise of the Snark, Jack London wrote the first laudative description of a brown body written by a white man. Then this reversal spread to Europe in the 1920s, due to the rise of American leadership over Western civilizations. In the past, European aristocrats and those of independent means used to frequent the coasts of cold seas in the fall, taking care to remain white, while farmers browned in the fields. Staying white remains perennial in China and India in terms of social status. Within the same society, the meaning of the manifestations of nature varies according to individuals. Summer, which is the tourist season favored by tourists along the Mediterranean coast, is a climatic disaster for farmers who have had to invent techniques to compensate for the water deficit. The villages perched on the tops of the hills spend part of their life implementing a hydraulic system that combines the creation of water reserves placed in cisterns under houses, and distribution during the hot season through the slopes. For years, it was necessary to go back to the village in the evening, after work in the fields. Another reason also contributed to this: insecurity due to pirates and the need to be able to be protected by the castle of the lord overlooking the town. The touristic nature is therefore constructed according to symbolic referents, which then commissioned the development of infrastructures intended to promote the realization of the tourist project. 1.3.3. Variety of human constructs The heterogeneity of human societies is also at the origin of the production of rather oversized objects, scattered throughout the worlds, that tourists want to see. This quest for tangible and intangible monuments that bear witness to the existence of ancient and modern societies has its origins in invention and diversion, both linked to the Industrial Revolution.

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1.3.3.1. Birth of touristic heritage The Industrial Revolution and its destructions led to an awareness of the value of ancient civilizations, threatened by progress, while until the early 19th Century in Europe, ancient buildings were neglected. They were falling apart when they were not used for modern constructions. From the 1830s onward, European society began to classify, preserve and renovate selected objects according to standards that would continue to expand, until today, where everything is considered to be an example of heritage. And from the very beginning of this movement, tourists have been part of it [LAZ 07, LAZ 11]. The colonization of the World by Europeans applied these values to other continents and brought to light other civilizations, and thus supported the spread of tourism. The UNESCO World Heritage classification has thus been criticized for being European-centric, underlining the great monuments of Western countries. The category of intangible property was thus created to allow the integration of civilizations that have expressed their genius in different ways. Moreover, colonial and political domination in the broader sense was an opportunity for the powers of north-western Europe to take over property from the dominated countries, including in Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean. Thus, the museums of the metropolises, from the Louvre in Paris to the British Museum in London or the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, exhibit Greek, Egyptian and Mesopotamian antiquities; likewise those dedicated to the early arts, such as the Quai Branly Museum, rich in looted works. The haunting question of restitution is regularly asked. 1.3.3.2. Spatiality influenced by history The high levels of tourism of the worlds therefore depend on the spatiality of civilizations and the representations we have of them. Thus, a hierarchy is formed, at the top of which are the building societies that have raised the most visible monuments. However, these are not located anywhere in the World but along a longitudinal and mesogean axis centered on the 30th parallel with respect to the continental Europe-Africa-Asia block. As Christian Grataloup has shown, biophysical conditions – temperate climate and open forest, easy to clear – have facilitated the emergence of worlds (Mediterranean basin, Western Asia, North India, China) [GRA 10]. These sites then developed, particularly by trading with each other and with others, to respond to the demographic pressure caused by their economic growth. Some of the accumulated wealth has been converted into monuments that symbolically affirm the power of political, religious and economic powers. 1.3.3.3. Diversion of dominant values However, tourists also travel the World in search of modernity. From the 19th Century onward, universal exhibitions that showcase industrial power in spectacular and entertaining ways have become more common. Today, the race for the highest towers in the World has taken over from the major events that no longer seem to

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have any support. Each of these towers is dominated by a platform designed to welcome tourists and provide a panoramic view of the metropolises. 1.3.4. Attendance modalities Tourists seize objects, artifacts or gifts, according to different categories of practices, i.e. what the tourist does and the meaning they give to what they do [CUV 98]. In the first work of the MIT team [MIT 02], we proposed four categories of practices: rest, discovery, play and sociability, in order to break with the infinite list of tourists in some form or another. Beyond that, the analysis has shown that individuals implement various combinations of which the standard ideals are dominant. However, since the first diffusion of tourism in the World has shown the different societies how Westerners experience tourism, dialectics of appropriation and innovation has become engaged throughout the World. While some practices are invested in by non-Western societies, with possibly minor enrichments – for example, night skiing is a Japanese invention – shopping is an invention of East Asian societies. These processes of enriching tourism by giving societies access to practices began very early on, since the natural park is a North American invention of the 1870s based on the ideal of wilderness. These practices are combined with ways of dealing with universal space, in the sense that all societies in the World, up to the present day, implement them in the same way through devices that can vary. Traveling within a network of places characterizes discovery, while rest induces you to relax. This general proposal is subject to exceptions [VIO 17]. Play lends itself to one or the other modality depending on the case. “Spots” are therefore high places that invite you to stay, while forms of hiking involve a more active trip. In metropolitan areas, the density of artifacts leads to rather short stays, while setting oneself up does not exclude someone from visiting sites during the day. But this duality, discovery-circulation versus rest, is perpetuated according to a variation of ways of doing things. Thus, Club Med had to install karaoke rooms in its clubs in China and elsewhere to meet the expectations of individuals who were not very interested in tanning on the beach. Also, walking is the dominant practice of this society on the beaches of Rio. 1.3.5. Social scales Tourism practices depend on the tastes of social individuals. On the one hand, they are structured by the provisions which themselves are shaped by the “multiple processes of socializing experiences (family holidays during childhood, summer

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camps during adolescence, stays with friends, couples or families during adulthood, etc.)” [GUI 17, pp. 149–150]. The multiplicity of socializations invites us to summon the “plural tourist(s)” as Christophe Guibert invites us to do [GUI 17, p. 152] paraphrasing Bernard Lahire’s plural man [LAH 98]. On the other hand, “to this individual dimension is necessarily added an understanding of cultural and societal singularities” [GUI 17, p. 150]. An analysis of practices must therefore be carried out at the level of individuals, families, and social and cultural groups. Our study in this book on World connectiveness focuses on the scale of the world’s societies, but it was important to note that our bias is undoubtedly excessive, to put it simply. 1.3.6. Conclusion Tourist practices unfold in places in which the arrangement of objects is the basis for representations and experiences. We will mobilize the typology of tourist places in its most complete version, developed by Philippe Duhamel and presented in Table 1.1 [DUH 18]. 1.4. Constraints on the movement of tourists opposed by the worlds Being a tourist therefore means implementing a recreation project elsewhere, in a place where success seems assured. But this is confronted by multiple constraints that lead either to giving up on the dream destination and postponing, or to protecting oneself by taking precautions. 1.4.1. Combination between the unequal wealth of nations and distance The deployment of tourism within the society of a State requires the combination of economic and social conditions. The very history of this social practice reveals this [BOY 96, TIS 00, VIO 16b]. On the one hand, society is committed to industrial civilization because it is this major event that triggered the invention of tourism by allowing a fraction of the population to escape material contingencies and devote their resources to an expensive practice. Certainly forms of proto-tourism have preceded and served as a matrix for this evolution, but in ways that contrast with what we call tourism. The rhythms were different. The Grand Tour lasted 2–3 years and had an educational purpose. The aristocratic resort, part of whose time was dedicated to hunting, was also and above all devoted to the surveillance of agricultural estates, the economic base of the aristocracy and the land bourgeoisie. As for urban leisure, it emerged from the 18th Century [COR 95] but remained confined in a nearby area, while tourism consists of implementing these practices outside everyday places.

Tourism Type of implementation Spatial characteristics and operation places process Current tourist situation: places dominated by tourism Monofunctional space, no accommodation, brief visit/visit Invention Site almost exclusively Monofunctional space, closed space in relation to the local Tourist post society, control by one or more developers, exclusive presence of commonplace accommodation, stay/rest and play Creation ex nihilo Monofunctional space, place open to local society, more or less Station numerous actors and promoters, local and/or common and/or non-standard accommodation. Stay and visit/stay and play City station Juxtaposition of a resort type tourist district (created by and for or stationtourism) with an ancient core with agglomeration, persistence of City of departure city polyfunctionality and tourism in a district Subversion of the Original spatial structure patrimonialized and subverted by city or village by Tourist tourism and extensions linked to tourism, accommodation is tourism, which has towns or located either in the heart of the place or on the periphery, brief become the villages visit and stay/visit essential function Current tourist situation: places not dominated by tourism Insertion of a City Insertion of a tourist function without fundamental modification tourist function with tourist of the overall urban structure, appearance of a Central Tourist in the city, tourist functions or District, standardized accommodation. Almost exclusively visits territorialization tourist city and shopping of certain sectors The tourist Insertion of a tourist function without fundamental modification City function is limited of the overall urban structure, commonplace accommodation stopover to accommodation characterized by hotels. Brief visit with one night on site

Table 1.1. Typology of tourist places (source: simplified according to Philippe Duhamel [DUH 18])

Places invested in and entertained by tourism. Entertainment means to divert, to distance, to subtract for one’s own benefit”

Places invested in and subverted by tourism. Here, the term “subvert” or “subversion” means “to disrupt, to overthrow an established order”.

Invented places – “find, imagine for a particular purpose” Places created by tourism in the sense of “doing, doing something that did not exist before”. If a place, a hamlet or even a village existed before, it now constitutes only a tiny part of the place

Type of tourism development

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The Tourist Places of the World

On the other hand, the social diffusion of the practice, which has taken place in successive stages, in small numbers and then en masse, defined as access to the practice by the majority of the population [VIO 16b], has considerably increased its effects by changing scale. In particular, the circulation of wealth that accompanies people leads to the creation of a dedicated economic system. Thus, the transition of tourism from elites, aristocrats and the wealthy individuals to the largest number of people led from the 1830s to the 1850s to the invention of a literary genre, printed guides, the creation of organizations, TOs [TIS 00], the construction of suitable places, stations boosting construction and public works [MIT 05], the use of trains for tourism, a means of mass transport designed for industrial activity. More recently, from the late 1950s onward, jet aircraft helped put distances into a perspective [GAY 17a, GAY 17c]. In particular, for tropical islands that suffered until that period from extreme isolation, insularity became an “asset because it tended to certify the myth of paradise and the authenticity of local societies” [GAY 09]. At the same time, it guaranteed for those who could afford to pay the cost of access to a sought-after place, one that is proclaimed in the images of deserted islands and unspoilt beaches of all humanity, distributed by TOs’ catalogs. A system began to be set up, with airports, airlines and accommodation companies, as well as State interventions [GAY 17c]. If we cross these socioeconomic realities with the paradigm of distance, we obtain a spatial dimension: tourism benefits first of all the countries that have initiated development dynamics, and then by spreading it to neighboring countries. This is why, while tourism was invented in England, the territories that make up present-day France have been the first to benefit from it beyond its borders. Indeed, unlike some discourses, distance has not disappeared as a function of the organization of space. If it has been relativized, on the one hand, there is no erasure. Travel consumes time and always induces, for individuals, an expenditure of energy that must be compensated by rest. On the other hand, this generates costs that constitute obstacles to circulation. The map of the tourist world is therefore influenced by the map of the wealth of nations. Thus, tourists come in masses from rich countries that have reached the stage of mass tourism, i.e. Western countries and a few others, such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc. Since the mid-1980s, economic developments have seen the spread of industrialization, partly through a process of relocation to a few emerging countries. This economic transformation is accompanied by a second spread of tourism throughout the world, characterized by access to tourism and the affirmation of new starting points [SAC 15]. These societies have therefore experienced the emergence of a middle class, about 30% of the population, who began to spend some of their earnings on travel, so that mass tourism seems a realistic horizon for these societies around 2030 to 2050. This is all the more so as China is embarking on an economic model in which domestic consumption, including tourism, takes

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over from exporting industries as the main driving force of growth. In some countries, the practice was not totally unknown, but it concerned only a narrow class of privileged people, including members of the nomenklatura in communist countries (with regard to Vietnam [PEY 15]). Some of these new States accessing tourism are highly populated. China in particular has become the leading country of departure for travelers according to the UNWTO, surpassing the United States in 2013 with 140,000 travelers crossing borders (although 70% of them only travel to Hong Kong). Finally, the collapse of the Soviet system, which initially led to an economic slowdown, did not completely relegate Russia and its satellites to underdevelopment. Most of these countries have embarked on a transition at different rates, some of which have emerged quite quickly. Thus, in Russia, an elite quickly emerged that took the path of ancient tourism, pre-revolutionary. In addition, the collapse of the Soviet system and the conversion of China’s economy have extended the capitalist form of tourism to a hegemonic form, while the communist mode based on State monopolies, business-organized mobility and travel control has virtually disappeared. We therefore understand why disparities in the world divide large sites and their surrounding areas, where arrivals are concentrated, from smaller gaps. 1.4.2. The heterogeneity of the world The heterogeneity of the world is also a fact of distance because, as Christian Grataloup [GRA 10] has shown, it is the product of the dispersion throughout the world of human groups that have long evolved in a world characterized by reduced connections. This has resulted in (in addition to the diversity of languages) a wide variety of ways of thinking and acting. The experiential approach to living in the world through tourism thus highlights the degrees of otherness with which mobile individuals are confronted. Thus, the diversity of languages, social norms, cultures, etc. constitutes as many horizons of otherness. For example, the use of cutlery (spoons, forks, knives) distinguishes the Western world from the use of chopsticks characteristic of the Far Eastern worlds. Each technique requires learning and the norm, once acquired, is experienced as “natural” by the populations concerned. In other words, these practices get fully incorporated. In addition, access to places of worship depends in each society on more or less strict rules. In the land of Islam, the entrance to mosques is reserved for the faithful. In the Maghreb, only Casablanca, built following the decision of King Hassan II and inaugurated in 1993, is open. In Christian churches, a universal religion, all individuals can enter, but restrictions are imposed on hours (prohibition during worship), on clothing which must comply with the codes (women must have their shoulders and heads covered, skirts and dresses must go beyond the knees, etc.). In Orthodox churches, women should not wear

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make-up, etc. Thus, the heterogeneity of the World is both one of the foundations of tourist travel and one of the major obstacles faced by socialized individuals. 1.4.3. Tensions An individual’s plan to implement a tourist practice comes up against the tensions that are stirring the World [CRO 05]. 1.4.3.1. Tourism during the Cold War The possibility of tourism in a given country also implies, on the one hand, the acceptance of this mobility by the authorities both for the population of the State and for people residing across borders. Specific terms and conditions are defined in advance: need of a passport, tourist visa, time restrictions, etc. On the other hand, conditions of peace that guarantee the safety of individuals and the availability of infrastructure are also required. While tourist traffic is now widely accepted or even sought after by States, this has not always been the case. All the countries of the communist system regulated international mobility according to rigid modalities and through State institutions, including centralized tour operators. Inside, a specific tourism functioned, largely organized by State institutions. The companies operated in a network with rest facilities, so mobility was strongly regulated. However, the overall picture was not homogeneous. On the one hand, ideological divides were gradually created, particularly following the disruption between the USSR and China, or following the desire for empowerment implemented by some States. The development of capitalist tourism was thus one of the means used by Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria from 1955, to distance themselves from Moscow’s authority and to obtain the international currencies necessary for greater flexibility. In these two countries, a policy for the development of the coastline, the Adriatic or the Black Sea, aimed to create wider reception conditions [BAR 70]. Cuba also had to rely on tourism to compensate for the relative relaxation of USSR support. While the embargo put in place by the United States government prevented the establishment of American transport groups and hoteliers, Spanish and Canadian firms did not hesitate to take up the vacant space. Other States, which did not clearly belong to the system but claimed to have a socialist ideology, also refused tourism, such as Algeria or Libya. The revenues from oil made it possible to maintain an anti-tourist ideological stance. However, experience has shown that they were affected by high instability, so the Algerian government decided to implement a tourism policy [BID 15]. However, mobility was not totally prohibited. Foreigners, including those from capitalist countries, could cross borders but only under restrictive conditions ranging from the need for the prior issuance of visas issued in limited numbers and the mandatory currency exchange before departure and for established daily sums, in order to be allowed to pass through non-State institutions considered friendly. Thus, a trip to

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China was facilitated for members of the Association des amities franco-chinoises, ideologically close to the Maoist regime. Also, among the inhabitants, the privileged could move more easily and have access to trips abroad, as Emmanuelle Peyvel reports about Vietnam [PEY 15]. These limitations are now residual but they acted as obstacles to tourism during the transition to a market economy in the absence of a tourism system capable of sustaining flows. This transition was approached in a differentiated way according to the States, so disparities appeared between those who adapted quickly, who welcomed international investments, and those who lagged behind in the statistics on “international tourism” established under the aegis of the UNWTO. Other States retained their communist ideological bases but embarked on a policy of economic openness including a tourism dimension. China, following the reforms introduced in 1986, has developed their reception of foreign tourists. Since 2000, residents have also been able to travel abroad, though under conditions that remain restrictive for certain categories. A transitional period saw an increase in the number of open cities inside and outside the number of countries authorized under bilateral agreements [TAU 17]. Ideological oppositions to tourism have been largely swept aside except for a few residual cases such as North Korea, which remains one of the last completely communist strongholds, or Saudi Arabia, for reasons related to religious fundamentalism. There are signs of openness in both cases. So, in today’s world, the obstacles to tourism, in a geopolitical approach, result much more from tensions and conflicts that threaten the safety of tourists than from the goodwill of governments. However, these wars or threats are both a matter of world order (i.e. tension toward a peaceful settlement of disputes within and between States), and of the willingness of States to comply with them. 1.4.3.2. Contemporary world order The search for a world order is a recent desire, especially in its universalist version after the failures of the imperial and authoritarian versions that prevailed in the 19th Century in particular. After the failure of the League of Nations, international stability since the settlement of the Second World War has been based on principles (coexistence and cooperation of sovereign States, mutual respect), institutions (the United Nations Charter, the name of which clearly emphasizes that States remain the main actors) and procedures (negotiations and peaceful settlements of disputes). Regulation of international society has been established under the aegis of the Security Council and the General Assembly. These commitments seem to guarantee tourists the security they need for their movements all over the world. However, this successful mechanism works in a chaotic way. From 1945 to 1991, the Cold War period, the world was dominated by tensions between the two superpowers, which clashed through peripheral conflicts. Between 1991 and 2001, a unipolar world was created that left the United States’ hands free. September 11,

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2001 brought to light a new element of instability, while a multipolar world characterized by challenging US leadership by more or less emerging powers had been emerging since the end of the 20th Century. Among these powers, Russia has since seen Vladimir Putin come to power and resume a power policy, which has manifested itself in particular in the desire to restore an area of influence, if necessary by force (Georgia was invaded in 2008, Crimea was annexed from Ukraine in 2014 and was integrated into Russia, following a show of force) and by taking part in conflict resolution, particularly in Syria. For their part, other powers driven by the process of economic emergence are emerging either as regional powers such as Morocco, Iran, or even more so as China [SUR 17]. Some authors even add that the assumption of power, in the wake of populist protests, of unpredictable characters such as President Trump, is an additional element of instability [CHA 17]. However, contemporary disorder, after the collapse of the Soviet bloc, is mainly characterized by the emergence of Islamist terrorism, the manifestations of a warlike ideology that claims to be inspired by the Koran and Islam [GUI 17]. Although the most numerous and deadliest attacks are perpetrated within the Muslim world itself, which are already disrupting practices in these regions, tourism is under attack because it induces media coverage sought by the various terrorist groups. Islamist terrorism, which became a central issue in international relations following the attacks of 11 September 2001 in New York, gradually developed from the 1960s to the 1970s. But it is occupied on other fronts, fighting against communism, especially in Afghanistan, and against inside enemies, including the nationalist Saddam Hussein. The Gulf War (1990–1991), marked by the massive intrusion of the United States and its allies, changed the perspective. From then on, Western democracies were designated as enemies by Islamists and in particular by the two most active international groups, Al Qaeda, founded by Osama bin Laden to fight communism in Afghanistan, and Daesh, led by Al-Baghdadi. The death of the first leader in 2011 paved the way for the arrival of Daesh, while internal rivalries within the Muslim world, particularly between the Shiites led by Iran and the Sunnis behind Saudi Arabia, throw oil onto the fire [GUI 17]. 1.4.3.3. A mosaic of States The desire to build a world order is hampered by the power of States that are not prepared to relinquish some of their responsibilities. The fragmentation of colonial empires and nationalist pressures has contributed to a sharp increase in the number of States from 51 signatories of the United Nations Charter in 1945 to 196 today. In itself, the increase is generating instability since the number of actors has tripled. By definition, State governments control border crossings and authorize them or not depending on individuals’ intentions. Those related to tourism from the institutional point of view defined by the UNWTO are viewed very favorably as they generate economic benefits and a facility that is

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considered temporary. They are subject to rather less restrictive conditions than other forms of mobility. It is sufficient to compare the reception given to migrants from regions affected by conflicts or serious economic disorders with that given to tourists in Europe to highlight these inequalities in treatment. The possibility of travel then depends on the security conditions that these actors are able to provide to tourists and on the risks perceived by individuals, an aspect we will then discuss, to venture into it. Political science defines several types of States that are considered unstable (Box 1.2). Most are countries that have recently gained independence and were designed by colonial metropolises without reference to the underlying social realities. The States: – “failed... have never really been able to impose themselves”; – “collapsed... that managed to exist for a time, before sinking”; – “destroyed” by external interventions that did not allow the reconstruction of an organization capable of asserting itself (Libya, Iraq); – “without a compass... one once seemed able... to judge the failures of others in turn [and we] seem to be caught in a strange dance of populism, a return to nationalism and protectionism sometimes tinged with xenophobia.” Box 1.2. Identification of weak states according to Frédéric Charillon (source: [CHA 17])

In these weak States, competing actors take power more or less violently, without resorting to processes of expression by the majority of the population. These situations are common in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Latin America. The main reason is based on the colonization by the European powers, which interrupted the processes of historical evolution. The substitution of a colonial administration to local nascent executives has led to the elimination of indigenous structures and, as a result, has interrupted the process of building a strong State. Second, the young States emerging from decolonization, caught between external interventions and internal strife, have not constructed local orders that build consensus among the different communities. The cultural, economic and social factors of tensions are cumulative, as oppression is multifaceted. Tensions and conflicts therefore act as deterrents and their analyses makes it possible to understand some of the gaps identified on the tourist map of the World. They also introduce a forward-looking approach that is useful for the strategy of networked companies seeking to establish themselves in this or that part of the World. Geopolitical science provides a typology of States and a periodization that

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we can cross-analyze with tourist situations. Thus, the pace of a State’s stability plays a crucial role in its tourist numbers, more than the nature of the regime or more than the actual state of freedoms. Indeed, tourism is not, in the first instance, affected by the liberticidal nature of an existing regime for its inhabitants but by the security conditions it offers to travel. Beyond that, tourists (i.e. individuals) may be more or less sensitive to the values displayed. The accusation was made of a certain form of complicity with the dictatorships. However, it is true that authoritarian or forcibly instituted governments do not prevent the spread of tourists. Or even a certain security that comes from a police State is reassuring. However, a boycott of Burma was launched by TOs when tourism projects involved forced labor. However, democracy is not a very widespread regime and, moreover, is it not considered a form of ethnocentrism to consider parliamentary democracy as the best of all regimes and to evaluate in a more or less negative way all situations that deviate from it? Finally, the tourist is by definition an outsider, in the sense of an “offside individual”, and tourism is a moment of withdrawal, of relative relaxation, necessary for the reconstruction of individuals. One might lament this, and one might also fear that the quality of this digression will be affected when a permanently and flawlessly awakened consciousness is required. 1.4.4. Health and biophysical risks The largest numbers of tourists come from developed countries that have achieved high levels of comfort and health security. Individuals who escape from this policed world are confronted with highly pathogenic conditions. While some pandemics are widespread throughout the world, the geography of health risks highlights the existence of significant disparities. On the one hand, the emitting sites and the most affected regions are concentrated in the intertropical zone because they are encouraged by the combination of the presence of stagnant water and high heat. The presence of animal species that cause genetic mutations is also an aggravating factor. On the other hand, poverty and weak human control are also related. Thus, health facilities are an indicator of economic and social underdevelopment. The intertropical regions of the African continent are thus the most affected. Here we have seen AIDS as well as Ebola and it is here that the largest area affected by the most intensive and resistant forms of different endemics such as malaria is located. In Western countries, areas have been largely eradicated. Similarly, medical supervision makes it possible to contain the epidemics that still occur there, far from the plagues that marked the history of societies until the 19th Century. In intertropical Asia, high human density, which has proved to be an influence and an outcome of rice cultivation, won over most violent forms of such illnesses because agricultural orientation induces a life-saving circulation of water. Of course, individuals can take precautions, from vaccination to more or less sophisticated medications that control the unpleasant or worst effects of the health

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problem, but the latter do not encourage travel because they constitute costs or generate reluctance. Biophysical risks also interfere with tourism. Thus, land-based demonstrations are at the same time the source of tourist flows, from Réunion Island, the Piton de la Fournaise volcano, to Indonesia and America, La Soufrière stratovolcano in Guadeloupe, via Europe, Etna – all these volcanoes arouse interest. However, they disrupt mobility when they reach paroxysmal stages. The geography of seismic risks is influenced by the tensions produced by plate tectonics. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are related to subduction zones (movements characterized by the diving of a less dense oceanic plate under a continental plate that generates magma ascent and earthquakes), or obduction (clashes between continental plates that create tensions that cause earthquakes). These phenomena are all the more disruptive as they occur in the mountain ranges that are the scene of tourist practices such as trekking or discovering the environment and landscapes – such as volcanoes in Indonesia, for example. A tsunami is also an effect of seismic activity. Let us not forget the one that devastated the coasts of Southeast Asia in December 2004, caused by a change in the seabed. This spatial organization is therefore not linked to the wealth of countries. However, the effects of earthquakes are felt all the more strongly when the means of prevention, including earthquake-resistant construction, and the ability to manage a crisis are closely linked to the level of development. Disruptions can also be indirect: for example, the threat of an eruption of the Agung volcano in Bali since 2017 generates population evacuations and induces episodic disruptions in the airport’s operations. Similarly, in 2010, the cloud emitted by the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland hampered air traffic in northern Europe, as the westerly flow at these latitudes caused the smoke to be pushed westward. But here too, human factors may have aggravated the consequences for tourists: in particular, the Russian authorities have not relaxed the rules on the operation of visas. Their validity, extended by three days beyond the period initially set, has not been relaxed to allow trapped individuals to extend the duration of their stay without having to report to the authorities and pay costs for extending the duration of their stay. Climate risks complete the collection. Nor are they a priori linked to economic conditions. Some phenomena are seasonal and the information disseminated by the tourist media makes it possible to avoid them by avoiding certain periods that are too threatening, such as the months of August to October for the hurricanes that hit the eastern sides of the continents in the northern hemisphere. However, the effects can also disrupt economic activity. For example, tourism has not recovered in the islands of Saint-Barthélemy and Saint Martin, which were severely damaged by Cyclone Irma in 2017. Here again, “it is necessary to avoid proposing simplistic correlations between the maximum intensity of observed hurricanes, vulnerability and their catastrophic impact... it is necessary to better understand the degree of preparedness and unpreparedness of populations to cope with the risk” [NIC 18, p. 15]

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through two variables: on the one hand, the effectiveness of a climate crisis management policy – the authors cite Cuba as an example – and, on the other hand, the inherent fragility of populations, particularly the high degree of social cohesion that helps to mitigate the effects. 1.4.5. Risks of everyday life: accident situations In highly industrialized countries, daily life is strongly regulated by the interventions of legitimate actors who organize relations between individuals and protect them from the excesses of power that can result from asymmetric situations. For example, in the field of mobility, overbooking, a technique used by air carriers to optimize the filling of aircraft seats, has been subject to increasingly strict regulations. When tourists travel in countries with identical levels of economic and legal development, they find identical levels of regulation and protection with variations drawn from cultural particularities. But when they venture outside these familiar worlds, they face societies governed by fewer rules or powerful counterpowers that produce negative effects, sometimes with varying degrees of severity. For example, the average road death rate is more than twice as high in middleincome countries as in high-income countries (20.1 compared to 8.7). In low-income countries, lighter traffic reduces this rate to 18.3 according to the report published by the World Health Organization [WHO 15]. The same source highlights the disparities by major regions of the World (Figure 1.1), as well as the risks associated with the different situations that cause deaths of pedestrians, motorcyclists or cyclists, who are relatively more at risk than the passenger in a vehicle, although cycling is a pleasant tourist experience. 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Figure 1.1. Mortality rate per 100,000 population in the different regions of the World (source: [WHO 15])

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Similarly, the following article (Box 1.3) published in the newspaper Le Monde clearly reveals the risks incurred by tourists in situations where the negligence of the authorities and the greed of professionals are intertwined. Shipwrecks in Halong Bay cause concern for French authorities “Out of 135 boats inspected, some thirty have adequate safety standards. Is Halong Bay, one of the jewels of Vietnamese tourism, which aligns its sugar loaves of unreal splendor in the South China Sea, becoming a risk area for travelers? In less than two years, three boats in poor condition, whose owners offer cheap ‘cruises’, sank off this bay, which is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. In Hanoi, the foreign community and diplomats are concerned about the frequency of these shipwrecks, during which a total of seventeen foreign travelers died. ‘We are deeply concerned’, says the French Embassy in Vietnam. On September 24, 2009, a first boat equipped with berths sank with thirty-one people on board. Five tourists drowned, including one French national, two British and two Vietnamese. According to the provincial authorities: ‘a tornado’ would have been the cause of the sinking. But according to some survivors, it was ‘a simple shower’. This gives you an idea of the state of the junk... On February 17, 2011, shortly before 5 a.m., another boat belonging to the same owner – he had taken the precaution of changing the name of his company since the previous tragedy – sank again in Halong Bay. The accident killed twelve of the sleeping tourists, including a young Frenchwoman, Laëtitia, a 27-year-old speech therapist, daughter of the journalist Michel Noblecourt, a British man, two Russians, two Americans, one Japanese, two Swedes, one Swiss, one Australian and one Vietnamese. The investigation conducted by the Vietnamese authorities concluded that there was a series of errors valves not closed, no night patrols... Legal proceedings, including a complaint against X for ‘manslaughter’, are ongoing. The captain and a mechanic were arrested. Local authorities have ordered the inspection of 135 ‘cruise ships’ sailing in the bay. Audits showed that only about 30 boats had sufficient safety standards to spend the night at sea. The Halong ‘People’s Committee’ has set June as the deadline for owners to bring their boats into compliance with the appropriate safety rules. But on May 8, a new shipwreck occurred, however without causing any casualties: the twenty-eight retired Frenchmen were evacuated before the ship sank because, fortunately, the accident took place during the day. Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said that ‘very strong measures have been taken to investigate and reconstruct’ what happened in order to ‘avoid a recurrence of the same kind of events in future.’

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As for the latest incident, the versions differ between the Vietnamese and tourists: according to Dang Huy Hau, the vice-president of Quang Ninh province, of which Halong is the main town, the boat sank after a collision with another skiff. But a French tourist on the boat, Josette Farret, quoted by Agence France-Presse, says that there was ‘absolutely no collision’. ‘Throwing away doubt’ One of the explanations for the repetition of these tragedies, a French observer in Hanoi analyzes, is the gap between the explosion of tourism in Vietnam and the lack of appropriate regulations and insufficient training of staff. The latest incident reiterates the concerns of the French Embassy: ‘This new shipwreck is likely to cast doubt on the quality of the controls undertaken in recent months by the Vietnamese authorities.’ An additional difficulty: the enforcement of safety regulations is the responsibility of provincial and not national authorities. ‘If these authorities do not take measures to reorganize the tourism sector and if breaches are not punished, they risk killing the goose that lays the golden egg.’ This was reported to the French Embassy in Hanoi. For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strengthened the warning on its website, under the heading ‘Advice to Travelers’, for tourists wishing to sail in Halong Bay. Box 1.3. Deaths in Halong Bay, a risk (source: Bruno Philip, Le Monde, June 7, 2017)

Threats to individuals that are likely to affect tourism flows are not necessarily perceived by tourists. Thus, tensions related to drug trafficking and rivalries between the gangs that control it are publicized and therefore known. However, the violent deaths that mark the news in the United States, although also reported in the media, do not affect tourism activity11. For Europeans, this destination remains by far the first to be located outside the continent, even though in 2001, the year of the most deadly attacks, more violent deaths were committed by the country’s citizens in this macabre account than those who died by acts of terrorism. 1.5. Tourist traffic Despite these obstacles, tourists travel around the World. The tourist ecumene is larger than the sedentary ecumene. How can we explain this? 11 A graph published in L’Obs from December 10, 2015 thus highlights that, even in the year of the terrible attack of September 11, the number of deaths due to “mass killings” was five times higher in this country than those due to terrorism.

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1.5.1. By means of globalization The different stages of globalization, a discontinuous process defined as the densification of links between places in the World, have gradually boosted the dissemination of tourists throughout the World, just as tourism is a social practice that contributes to the construction of the World: tourism is globalizing as much as it is globalized. 1) Linking the different societies of the planet (−10,000 to 1,400), generalized connection especially through “Eurafricasia” made possible by techniques that enable coastal navigation, is based on the search for information and transactions concerning conquests. 2) Forced incorporation into worldwide empires (1492–1885): – Europe, a specific and unilateral player; – predatory integration logic; – projection of European society. 3) Establishment of a world trade area (1849–1914): – beginning of colonies whose influence was becoming significant in the economy of metropolises; – the difference with current globalization being based on natural and essentially commercial valuations. 4) State victorious resistance (1914–1989): – paroxysm of the States; – the fall of the Soviet Empire marked its failure. 5) Acceleration of irreversible globalization (1945–...): resumption of the globalization of trade. 6) The world society as a challenge: the emergence of politics, world public opinion. Box 1.4. Six moments of the invention of the world according to Jacques Lévy (source: [LEV 08])

First, the progressive densification of relations between different societies has contributed to facilitating exchanges both for social reasons, or out of curiosity or in search of cultural enrichment, as well as for expected economic effects, even though globalization is a discontinuous process, as Jacques Lévy [LEV 08] has

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pointed out. A favorable context for mobility has been created, which tourists benefit from. Thus, the spread of English, Spanish and French as the lingua franca of international trade, initially linked to colonization, has accompanied the development of free trade. It is thus easy for a French-speaking tourist to travel in Morocco and Tunisia, even though Arabic is the official language and the language of education. These links have also created forms of dependence, the hegemony of a society among tourists from certain destinations. Similarly, in Vietnam and neighboring countries from former Indochina, English has taken over. This does not prevent the French from occupying a dominant position among non-Asian visitors to these destinations, given their relative influence among non-residents. Second, a standardization process is under way that reduces the constraints linked in particular to the movement of individuals. Thus, airports everywhere are structured in the same way according to a linear plan that shows the stages leading to boarding: check-in, drop-off of hold baggage, customs and security, shopping, waiting in the boarding lounge. Some see it as a standardization, a category of nonplaces, whereas it is the invention of objects whose form is dictated by function. Beyond that, heterogeneity can arise. In China, for example, stations built to accommodate high-speed trains are similar to airports. Indeed, queues are formed in front of the doors distributed on either side of a large waiting hall that give access to the various platforms. This is an effect of the differences in access to economic development. In the middle of the 19th Century in Europe, stations were inspired by jetties; in China in the 20th Century, the model was adopted at airports because the size of the country had led to the development of airplanes before fast trains. As a result, the European passenger is surprised by the configuration of the premises. However, the impossibility of booking a ticket via the Internet and the need to master Mandarin to buy it are much more difficult obstacles to overcome. 1.5.2. By means of mediation In this increasingly travel-friendly environment, space technologies are proposed and seized by tourists to implement their projects. DEFINITION.– Space technologies are “mediation elements... that aim to solve space problems... distance... access.... otherness” [STO 08]. First, artifacts facilitate circulation. They were not set up mainly or originally for tourists, but they were seized by tourists. Means of transport, accommodation, all kinds of restaurants, from traditional establishments to food trucks, are as many devices that individuals can mobilize, both to rest and to escape the heat, thanks to air conditioning, and to mark a beneficial break in a context of otherness. For example, hotels adapted to international standards offer meals in Western or Japanese style, which allow individuals who have difficulty with certain cuisines to

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eat. Sichuan Style food, in particular, is known for its excessive or even abusive use of spicy condiments in comparison to western tastebuds! Conversely, it is fashionable to take offense that Chinese tourists in France use Chinese restaurants “too much”. This being said, the so-called Chinese restaurants, are adapted to the Western clientele. In particular the order of European dishes (starter, main course, dessert) is respected, some dishes do not appear on the menu, and the gastronomic range is very limited, while China claims eight regional cuisines. Second, organizations are totally dedicated to tourists, from tour operators located in the countries of departure to incoming agencies based in the destinations. For business travel, companies use specialized agencies, operators specialized in the sale of air tickets (“air-only” in the technical language) or directly with service providers. In addition to mobilizing the previously mentioned objects, these organizations have developed techniques to facilitate the movement of tourists. The organized trip, known as a “package holiday” because it offers a global price agreed in advance, is the archetype that is now available in more varied forms that promote the autonomy of tourists. The formula invented by Thomas Cook [TIS 00] finds its meaning in the control of information by the TO and by the latter’s ability to negotiate prices for the various services, making the formula more economically accessible. In this way, the capitalist system has tried to control the practices. But, spearheading the social diffusion of tourism in the World, because the self-organized formula has always been and remains predominant when familiarity is strong, the standardized journey has transformed when otherness is controllable toward more participatory modalities. We have thus shown that the use of a TO is a function of otherness [MON 09]. We propose to extend this function of the TO to social relations. Indeed, close individuals can exercise this role by accompanying tourists. Thus, the spread in France of Chinese tourists outside the capital is partly due to the presence of students who take care of their parents who visit them. Finally, actors based in destinations can choose to facilitate or not facilitate the movement of tourists by implementing sockets, or affordances, which allow them, according to their choice, to acquire autonomy [VIO 16a]. Thus, during research conducted in 2010, we pointed out in Moscow the systematic imposition of Russian as a language in sign form. On the occasion of the 2018 Football World Cup, Russian– English bilingualism was introduced. This mobilization of a foreign language, which is also the most widely spoken in the World, is an achievement, in the sense that the actors provide tourists with the means for them to acquire greater autonomy. 1.5.3. By means of the mobilization of skills In the book Tourismes 1: Lieux communs [MIT 02] (meaning roughly “Tourisms 1: Common ground”), we have contributed to the idea that tourism can be learned,

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without particularly developing a demonstration. This proposal was taken up by Gilles Brougères, a specialist in educational sciences, who is particularly interested in informal learning [BRO 14b]. For the authors, tourists acquire skills in three ways. On the one hand, learning requires a great diversity of “guides” by “parents, adults... and other more diffuse guiding devices: the tourist office, hotel, vacation rental owner or guest room owner, other holidaymakers (regulars)” [BRO 14b, p. 95]. Indeed, “the tourism situation implies... asking the opinion of others on what to do (since this is open, not constrained) and tourists tend to talk about what they have experienced or discovered and put themselves in a more or less implicit guiding situation” [BRO 14b, p. 25]. On the other hand, individuals learn about tourism, but also beyond tourism, about the World, by participating in a specific mode, being not very involved, and in which observation plays a major role. Finally, situations of “curious exploration related to the availability (of individuals), especially in the context of entertainment or in response to boredom, related to a state of excitement” [BRO 14b, p. 96] allow discovery by confrontation with reality. And beyond that, in a tourist situation, we learn through the body [BRO 14b], because to be a tourist is to be elsewhere with our body. Thus, being a tourist is learned and requires mastering skills, of which those who are excluded from the practice are precisely deprived, so access is not only an economic issue, even if the majority of non-travelers, between 15 and 60 years old, express a financial difficulty, it is also a challenge of knowing how to leave. This begins by mastering the means of transport and continues with knowing how to be, how to stand, in the systems designed for practice, especially in accommodation and more generally around attractions. The abilities of individuals thus has a specific tourist dimension compared to spatial abilities, because it acts in a heterotopic situation. Admittedly, within the practices, rather than a radical duality, it is necessary to mobilize the idea of a continuum between situations of otherness linked to a combination between an objective situation, appreciable across horizons (language, social codes, relationship with the body, food tastes and dislikes, etc.), and individuals’ practices, the radical confrontation related to new situations, the first times, and others marked by greater familiarity, when the use of the place is repeated. Indeed, repetition makes it possible to build know-how with the attraction that modifies the conditions of experience and participation. 1.6. A question of method In the Introduction, we justified our choice to publish this book by criticizing the absence of an explicit methodology for writing a hegemonic book on the subject of tourism in the World. After having pointed out the limits of the statistics produced within the framework of the UNWTO, we must, before approaching the worlds, propose our approach. We recall that the refusal to rely on data produced within the

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institutional framework is due to the use of an overly broad definition. Based on States’ tolerance of temporary mobility intended on bringing immediate and visible economic benefits, while migration, which is not within accepted frameworks and whose effects are contested12, confuses all intentions. Our choice is to focus our analysis on the displacements included in a stress relief program. A relative freedom of choice that is part of leisure activities and provides individuals with the benefit of relaxation seems to us to be the essential marker. Similarly, geographers can only be sensitive to the shift in emphasis that distinguishes leisure from tourism. The former is set in the context of everyday space, the extent of which varies according to the socialized individuals, and which is part of the sedentary dwelling, while the latter assumes to escape the topos of the polytopic dwelling, and is part of the mobile dwelling. The fundamental question is that of the change of location, which can be broken down into as many choices of a destination to implement a tourism project there. 1.6.1. Method based on the analysis of tour operators’ catalogs Thus, to establish a map of the World’s top tourist places, we propose a method based on the analysis of tour operators’ catalogs [VIO 11]. This method consists, on the one hand, of an analysis of the frequency with which place names appear in the catalogs of different TOs and, on the other hand, in explaining the practices implemented in these places. First of all, these actors have the advantage of limiting the practices of tourists in the sense of individuals traveling for a recreation project and effectively excluding both those who travel for professional reasons and those who visit their relatives and friends. Of course, all these individuals can (and at times they master) engage in tourist practices, but they are contingent on a trip for which the main reason is different. It then makes it possible to address the issue at the level of elementary places, or even infra-places, and not to limit it to the level of States or administrative subdivisions. Because in most cases, tourists, except when crossing borders, are counted in accommodation, so sites or places where tourists do not stay are not included. An exemplary case is the Great Wall of China, which is frequented during excursions from Beijing and which, as a result, does not appear in the statistics. Finally, we had to select societies from around the World because the task of studying them all is impossible. We selected tourism companies formerly from the British Isles, Germany and then the United States. Then, it seemed appropriate to us 12 While many studies show that migration ultimately provides an advantage for host countries.

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to add Spain as a later entry into the era of mass tourism13. We then mobilized catalogs of TOs from Russia, because this society experienced a non-capitalist tourism system during the time of the Soviet Union based on centralized planning and TOs with a State monopoly. It is customary to integrate Russia, as the acronym BRICS betrays it, into emerging countries, but this position is questionable from a historical point of view, because the country has known a much earlier industrial development and a form of tourism which, although original, has nevertheless existed. Finally, we have selected Chinese society as the case study of a truly emerging country. 1.6.2. A method not free of bias No method is perfect, but the biases it induces must be assessed in order to control them. First of all, not all tourists use a tour operator. This intermediation is even in the minority when non-resident tourists travel to nearby countries, which is the most frequent case. But we can make four arguments. One is logical: if tourism really was a matter of a multitude of unstructured decisions, how can we explain that individual choices lead to clearly marked spatial concentrations? Another is experimentation: the results of the tests we carried out, which are based on a comparison between the tours offered by the TO and the results of interviews with so-called self-organized tourists in southern China, Ireland and Argentina, highlight that tourists who organize their own mobility do not behave in a very different way from TO clients, in terms of the choice of tourist places and objects, as well as the practices implemented. It is the material conditions of comfort and discourse that vary. In addition, TOs are relatively capable of interpreting tourist requests, within the framework of a limited rationality that does not exclude errors. Finally, tour operators are in competition and the catalogs are visible and therefore reproducible. Second, the use of a tour operator is a function of otherness. The method is therefore more relevant for mobility towards destinations that require a crossanalysis of what Olivier Lazzarotti [LAZ 06] calls “horizons of otherness”. In addition, tourism practices may vary according to the diversity of societies. The approach takes into account the heterogeneity of the world by using catalogs issued by TOs for different markets. Catalogs are proposals and it is no more certain that TO proposals will meet a market than we have information on the status of sales. This strategic data is not communicated. The hierarchy between places comes from the frequency analysis of citations in one or, better still, several catalogs. 13 This is understood here as the access of the greatest number of people to tourism.

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However, these real biases do not call into question the method. We were thus able to distinguish tourist places according to the concept we developed, by refuting government statistics that cite Wuhan or Shenzhen as tourist places, for example, while mobility to these cities is essentially linked to business (Wuhan only appears in catalogs as the outlet, without nights, cruises on the Yangtze) [VIO 11]. Then we compared the maps of the practice of tourism discovery by Westerners and the Chinese in China [VIO 11, AU 15]. 1.6.3. A method with many limitations We will retain two limitations. It is of course impossible to process all TOs for all destinations in the World. To make the choice, we mobilized several sources. For a French company, we used data from the classification by destination made by the magazine L’Écho touristique, which disseminates the information provided by Seto (Syndicat des entreprises du tour-operating) – Union of tour-operating companies. The latter union brings together members on a voluntary basis. The data is therefore not exhaustive. Unfortunately, we did not find the equivalent for the other companies. For the United States, we referred to Claude Peloquin’s article [PEL 08]. For Russia and China, we systematically searched for the main TOs. We have chosen, writing for a French audience, to focus on the TOs working in this society. For each region of the World, more or less 20 TOs were convened. For the other companies, our ambitions had to be limited because of the magnitude of the task. We were keen to deal with companies at different stages of their development in tourism: former tourism companies, others recently concerned, particularly China. With regard to Russia, the issue is complex. On the one hand, tourism, particularly to Western Europe, operated before the 1917 revolution. On the other hand, an original system, based on the rules of centralized planning, worked in the Soviet Union and was then imposed on the aligned countries after the Second World War. For these reasons, Russia, which emerged after 1992, can be described as a new tourist society, in the sense that, beyond the economic level and history that have nothing to do with the societies of emerging countries, access to capitalist tourism is a novelty for individuals. Another significant limitation is that we have not been able to systematically address the different social scales. We have favored the comparison between societies and have had to neglect the other dimensions of social groups, families and individuals. One of the conclusions we come to is that there are many different degrees of globality and that at the top of the hierarchy of places there are universal topos where all the societies of the world coexist, at least by extension from the cases treated. But if we suspect that differences in practices between individuals

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may, within large groups such as Western societies, be more important than between societies, we have not been able to work on this issue on a global scale. In addition, while the distribution of TO offers on the Internet has made our task easier, by making the catalog of players around the world easily accessible, the flexibility of the tool’s use leads to seasonal variability that is difficult to control. 1.7. Conclusion This first part allowed us to establish the framework within which tourist practices are deployed. The latter inhabit the World in a disparate way. According to their representations but also their abilities and skills, they select places in which they project themselves. But there are many constraints, and they then use space technologies and mobilize their skills to implement their projects. In order to analyze how this dialectic constructs the tourist experience, we propose a method that certainly has its limits but which constitutes a relevant approach, both because it does not bother with other forms of mobility and because it allows a detailed analysis at the scale of places. To present our results, we have chosen a breakdown by major regions of the world that differs from both traditional continental constructions and the breakdown used by the UNWTO. For each region of the world, we will start with an analysis of tourism, or tourist intensity, and its internal disparities. Then, we will approach at the scale of the places, the spatial devices and arrangements that constitute their particularity, to arrive at a typology of tourist places [MIT 02, DUH 18]. Finally, we will address the question of the practices implemented in the places by the different societies of the World that we studied. This will lead us to establish the World connectiveness of these places according to four degrees: – the universal places of the World, i.e. those where the different societies of the World meet and implement tourist practices and experiences. It is tempting to bring this category closer to the hyperplaces of Michel Lussault [LUS 17]; – the places of the largest number of worlds, frequented by a large number of societies but not by all; – the places of a world characterized by a more exclusive frequentation; – finally, places (and spaces) outside the World, which are not or are only slightly integrated into the tourist ecumene. DEFINITION.– World connectiveness means “the position of a place in the World is similar... [for the actors in the place] to a way of placing oneself in the World. It refers both to the action of positioning oneself through the choices made, to the relative place occupied” [RET 94, COE 07].

2 North America

North America, together with the Caribbean Basin, is one of the three most popular regions in the world. This position is explained by a combination of factors. Firstly, the most prosperous societies are those with the highest touristicity. The level of a country’s economic development guarantees individuals a capacity for mobility, while at the same time accounting for the presence of infrastructure mobilized by tourists. Secondly, the distance paradigm continues to regulate most travel to the nearest destinations, first within each State and then to those that neighbor it, according to different practices. As such, Americans and Canadians visit their own continent most often. Finally, when mobility deviates from the majority flows of proximity, individuals from wealthier countries first go to developed countries that offer conditions of stay and travel in accordance with the standards in force in their countries of residence. Thus, the United States is also the first destination for Europeans outside their continent. 2.1. A continent with a high level of touristicity Tourism is widespread in this prosperous continent, which is divided into only two States. 2.1.1. A population that is not very dense but with a high departure rate However, North America appears to be much less touristic than Europe on maps and comparative tables drawn up by continent. However, this vision is biased by the political fragmentation of Europe, which increases border crossings when maps are drawn up according to UNWTO data, while North America is occupied by only two States, which effectively limits the number of crossings. The United States and Canada share space and are, respectively, the third and second largest State in the

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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world (9.8 million and nearly 10 million km2, after Russia, with its 17 million km2). Alaska (1.7 million km2) is separated from the rest of the United States by Canada. This territory was colonized by Russia before being purchased by the United States in 1867 and becoming a State in 1959. It should be added that the UNWTO does not distinguish, in its statistics, the Hawaiian archipelago (28,000 km2), where its own rule of territorial discontinuity should apply. This Polynesian archipelago was annexed by the United States in 1898 and became the 50th State in 1959 along with Alaska. However, North America is a relatively sparsely populated continent. The number of tourists, taking into account the factor of distance, depends, in prosperous countries, on the number of inhabitants. Canada, in particular, has only 3.57 inhabitants per km2, ranking it 225th in the world, out of 241 countries considered. The United States, with 33 inhabitants/km2, ranks 177th1. This continent was inhabited before the arrival of Europeans by a number of hunter-gatherer communities who were nomadic, with the exception of the Pueblos, who settled in what became New Mexico. Settlement from Asia was late, due to the sea level lowering, induced by an ice age [GRA 10]. The result is a relatively low population density. North America represents only 4.8% of the world’s population. The name “Indians” to describe the indigenous population came from Christopher Columbus, who landed on the island of Guanahani in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, and mistook it for India. The Spaniards were the first to explore North America, but they encountered fierce resistance, which diverted them to Central and South America. The French embarked on the adventure in 1524, from the north. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City. From The Saint Lawrence River, the French descended into the Mississippi and settled in what they called Louisiana. In 1718, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville founded New Orleans. The English, on their part, settled in 1607 in present-day Virginia and created Jamestown, the first permanent settlement, while the Pilgrim Fathers arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. The indigenous population first welcomed them peacefully and saved them from famine, in both cases. In the south, the British desire to impose their religion sparked a Powhatan revolt. In the north, the settlers spent the winter with the Indians and thanked them, inventing Thanksgiving [ROS 18]. The British drove the French out, particularly following the War of the Spanish Succession, which resulted in the abandonment of northern territories, notably Ontario, Quebec and Arcadia, during the Peace of Utrecht, signed in 1713. New France was relatively sparsely populated, compared to the British colonies, and was of little importance to the metropolis. The thirteen historic British colonies, from New England to Georgia, declared their independence in 1776, which was recognized by England in 1 www.indexmundi.com.

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the Treaty of Paris, after 7 years of war. Then began the expansion westwards of the European settlers, to the detriment of the Native Americans, then the conquest of Mexico, with a war in 1846–1848 that ended with the annexation of California and Texas. The purchase of Louisiana, from France (1803), and Alaska, from Russia, completed the territory. However, Canada remains faithful to the Crown: Elizabeth II is still symbolically sovereign of the country, and represented in Ottawa, the federal capital, by a Governor. The loyalists, inhabitants of the thirteen colonies who had chosen to remain loyal to England, took refuge there. 2.1.2. Hierarchy of States In this approach, we have chosen to distinguish Alaska and the Hawaiian Archipelago from the rest of the United States. In this, we apply the principle of territorial discontinuity that the World Tourism Organization, in a slightly random way, also implements. In the statistical publications of this organization, overseas territories are not included in the breakdowns. Thus, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion Island have their own pages in the statistical yearbooks published by the UNWTO, but this principle is not applied for Alaska or Hawaii, despite the continent’s coast being 4,000 km away. The United States largely dominates Canada, such as Alaska and Hawaii, with more tourist places, 55% versus 35%. Alaska and Hawaii have only 6% and 4%, respectively. If we take into account the frequency of citations and no longer the number of places, this weight is even clearer and stands at nearly 70% overall. One reason for the predominance of the United States is that it is the primary destination for transcontinental tourist travel, for both Europeans and Asians. The image of this country and soft power are working in the same direction. In the TO Nouvelles Frontières 2014 catalog, the distribution of trips is as follows: 13 for the United States, seven for Canada and three in common. The United States and Canada are also, respectively, the two countries most present in the TO Thomas Cook’s overall offer. Of the total offers proposed by this TO in 2016, the United States hosted 1,018 services in 743 places visited for tours and 275 proposed stays, compared to 424 and 78 for Canada. This ranking in the catalogs is explained in particular by the distance, which inctines more Europeans to use a TO from the continent destination of their for which many individuals organize their own tourist trips. In addition, Hawaii falls under some TOs for North America and under others for the Pacific. This should be taken into account when assessing the World connectiveness in the archipelago, which we will discuss in the chapter on OceaniaPacific as a whole.

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2.2. Touristicity of the places How has tourism invested in this space? This continent is very urbanized and therefore presents significant contrasts between conurbations and very sparsely occupied spaces [MUS 06]. The North American space is structured into large groups extending from north to south. To the east, there is a first system composed, on the one hand, of the coastal plains of the Atlantic coast that widen to the south and flourish in Florida, and, on the other hand, of a band of ancient massifs, from the Canadian Shield in the north, to the Appalachians, to the center and south. The environment also encompasses an ancient rejuvenated massif, and, finally, plateaus and plains drained to the north by the Saint Lawrence River, and to the south by the Mississippi, encompasses that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. This eastern complex is also the most densely occupied and populated part of the continent related to the history of European settlement. It is also the part most inhabited by tourists. To the west, a very different group of mountains extends from the Pacific coast, successively through a narrow coastal plain, high mountain ranges, and high plateaus, including Colorado. The European settlement, which occurred later, came from the east and refers to the legendary “American frontier”. Between these two areas lie the Great Plains, which are not very densely occupied by inhabitants, nor by tourists. There is little interest in the center of the continent. The routes that pass through it are as infrequent in Canada as in the United States. The routes are practically built by country and by front, so the Great Plains are a tourist void. We will also see that the two most touristic fronts are not visited for the same reasons. 2.2.1. To the east, the cities are dominant In eastern North America, the main tourist places are essentially metropolitan areas. They are concentrated in the north, mainly New York, the most frequented of them, which ranks first with 2,588 citations. Then appears Boston (ninth place with 686 citations), but in Canada, Quebec City (seventh place with 823 citations), Montreal (eighth place, 810 citations) and Toronto (twelfth place, 523 citations) also appear. Further south, we can also see Washington (tenth place, 651 citations). These high places magnify the image of American power with their skyscrapers, their rich museums and their cultural life. In New York, for example, TOs offer weekends of 3 or even 5 days! The tour begins in the south of Manhattan Island, where a fort was built by the Dutch East India Company in 1625, to the financial heart of the metropolis, with the famous Wall Street, home of the world’s most famous stock exchange, the World Trade Center and 9/11 Memorial & Museum, built on the site of the Twin Towers destroyed during the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. Finally, the One World Observatory offers one of the most magnificent panoramas of the city. Then tourists board for Ellis Island, which welcomed emigrants for a health inspection before they set foot on the mainland,

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and where a heritage interpretation center was built, and for the Statue of Liberty. The crossing of the Brooklyn Bridge completes a first day. The next day, several museums offer a choice, between the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the most visited museums in the world for its collections ranging from ancient Egypt to the Impressionists, and the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) dedicated to contemporary works, not to mention the Guggenheim Museum or the Frick Collection. Nearby extends Central Park, and from there, via 5th Avenue, you reach Broadway, to watch a musical. The third day can be divided between the discovery of heritage skyscrapers, such as Chrysler Building or the Empire State Building, from which another panorama is offered (after an often very long wait), and the picturesque districts, from Greenwich Village, famous for the artists and alternative tradition that animated it in the 20th Century, to Harlem, a well-known majority AfricanAmerican neighborhood, Little Italy or Chinatown. In Boston, tourists’ travel is guided by the Freedom Trail, a red marked route that winds through the Boston National Historical Park and includes 13 stops, the Old State House, built in 1713, the Faneuil Hall, a market and meeting room built in 1742, and the Quincy Market, completed in 1826. Quebec’s two main cities, Quebec City, founded in 1608, and Montreal, founded in 1642, are among the most visited in Canada. Tourists flock to the historic World Heritage-listed districts on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River and on balconies with viewpoints, Dufferin Terrace, dominated by Château Frontenac (hotel) in Quebec City and the viewpoint of Mount Royal in Montreal, but also to museums and other picturesque neighborhoods. Toronto, formed later, after a French invasion, welcomed English Loyalists fleeing the United States after independence. It then became the capital of Ontario, a province created following the split of Quebec. It is a financial, economic and cultural metropolis. The iconic monument is the CN Tower, CN standing for Canadian National, a railway company that started operating in 1973. The CN tower was the highest in the world until 2009. Washington is the exception among American cities, since regulations limit the height of buildings to eight stories and therefore the capital appears to be less crowded than New York. Tourists visit places of power, including the Capitol, as well as museums, especially one dedicated to American painting, and memorials, especially the statue of Abraham Lincoln, around the National Mall, while the White House can be admired but is not accessible. The same is true for Ottawa, Canada’s capital, which ranks 17th with 329 citations. Philadelphia, where the famous Liberty Bell is found in Independence National Historical Park, is less visited (21st place, 280 citations), as is Chicago (20th place, 286 citations) located further inland, on Lake Michigan, and renowned for its skyscrapers. New England is more of a pastoral destination (see Box 2.1), less frequented, centered around Boston, while along the coast the Pilgrim Fathers are remembered, particularly at Cape Cod

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National Seashore (76th place, 70 citations). The development of beaches, ports (Newport in Rhode Island is the most popular place after Boston (53rd place and 92 citations), and aristocratic islands complete the picture for a more reduced attendance. Green New England and Ben & Jerry’s Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory can be visited in Burlington, Vermont for $4 (3 for children), 7 days a week and 362 days a year. The Flavor Fanatic Experience In Waterbury, enter into the world of Ben & Jerry’s and have a unique experience, two to three people per session, in the Flavor Lab for nearly 2 hours, reservation for $175. Box 2.1. The flavor of Maine on the website of the famous Ben & Jerry’s ice cream makers (source: www.benjerry.com)

In the center, tourist numbers are less marked and are structured by less visited cities. Above all, a little further west, music supports the arrival of tourists who visit the recording studios in Nashville (35th place, 163 citations) and Memphis (38th place, 136 citations). Graceland (35 citations), the former residence of the King, Elvis Presley, is presented by the TO as an excursion destination, although the residence is located in the city of Memphis. Since 2005, the establishment has been expanded and developed by a private company that has acquired the majority of the capital. Secondarily, historical heritage animates some less frequented places in the east. Firstly, the peaceful life of the Amish (41 citations for Amish County, ranked 118th; but it is worth adding the 38 citations for Lancaster, ranked 128th) receives some attention. This Anabaptist community, founded in Alsace in 1693, chose to expatriate and live apart from modernity. Electricity has only been adopted for refrigerating milk, but is banned from homes. The legacy of the British colony of Virginia (Williamsburg, 32 citations and 148th place, and Jamestown, 548th place) attracts visits. But this episode in American history is much less well known than the Pilgrim Fathers landing. Finally, memories of the Civil War promote Gettysburg (207th rank, 22 citations) where a decisive battle between the two sides took place from July 1 to 3, 1863. In the south, tourism is experiencing a new impetus, whether in the east in Florida or, to a lesser extent, in Louisiana, further west. Once again, large cities such as Orlando (2nd rank with 2,383 citations), the world capital of theme parks,

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Miami (5th rank, 1,128 citations), which is at the same time a major seaside city, a cruise port and a cultural metropolis, or New Orleans (15th rank, 383 citations), a jazz city, also famous for its French quarter, polarizes a denser space, composed of less frequented but numerous and quite well-known places. The margins are animated, north of New Orleans, by the memory of the plantations or the Cajun heritage (Box 2.2). Furthermore, to the east, Texan cities such as San Antonio (89th place, 56 citations), less significant in the urban hierarchy but more touristic than Houston (117th place, 41 citations), are spreading. The first houses the famous Alamo Fort, where Davy Crockett died in 1836 in resistance to the Mexican army. However, Austin, despite being the state capital, is not very well visited (130th place). Biophysical interests, although less numerous than in the American West, and less frequented than cities, are not lacking. Niagara Falls is a bit exceptional. The most famous place in the east of the continent for its natural landscape, it ranks 16th with 393 citations. Three waterfalls, the Horseshoe Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and the American Falls animate the Niagara River, which joins Lake Erie, to the south, to Lake Ontario. It was formed during the ice melting period that covered the region between 50,000 and 30,000 years BCE. Liquid waters dug lakes and eroded rocks in a differential way: the hardest and most resistant giving rise to the ledges from which the waterfalls flow. This phenomenon continues today and every effort is being made to slow the decline in falls. Cruises on the Maid of the Mist allow tourists, protected by a blue raincoat, to approach the Canadian Falls. Terrace walks, such as Niagara Parkway on the Canadian side and Niagara Scenic Parkway on the U.S. side, the Rainbow Bridge, which provides Canada’s gateway to the United States, and views such as the Skylon Tower allow you to admire them, day and night, when they are illuminated, during the summer, while many places complete the package, including the Fallsview Casino Resort casino, Niagara SkyWheel and the Haunted House. The twin cities of Niagara Falls, located on either side of the river, which is also the border, constitute a tourist urban center. To the north, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence offers the possibility to discover whales and the population extends along the Saguenay Fjord (81st rank, 65 citations) to Lac Saint-Jean. It is structured around Tadoussac (42nd rank, 113 citations), the first French settlement established in the north of the continent at the beginning of the 16th Century. The descent of fresh waters into the salty waters of the ocean is the origin of a protected faunistic and floristic richness that visitors come to admire. The Maritime provinces alternate desolate landscapes with historical legacies of major fisheries or marine navigation, including lighthouses. Attendance decreases towards Newfoundland. In the south, the New England countryside and beautiful Appalachian landscapes (The Blue Ridge Mountains) as well as the Everglades (92nd rank, 56 citations) are the counterpart of the northern nature parks.

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2.2.2. To the west, natural parks: a level playing field with cities In the west, tourist cities are located mainly along the Pacific coast in two places. In southern California, the duo of Los Angeles (fourth place with 1,238 citations), the second most populated city in the United States, and San Francisco (sixth place, 1,076 citations) dominates. In the first, the famous film city, tourists visit the studios. They enjoy the Walk of Fame, a sidewalk located on Hollywood Boulevard between Gower Street and Brea Avenue, and on Vine Street between Yucca Street and Sunset Boulevard, where stars on the ground dedicated to distinguished celebrities in different categories (cinema, television, theater, music and radio) are lined up and end in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, before famous footprints left in the cement. Others travel through Beverly Hills, surrounded by the megalopolis, in search of celebrity mansions. They also visit Disney or Universal Studio amusement parks. Nearby, several beaches are also frequented, including Santa Monica (62nd place, 83 citations), more cited than Malibu. San Francisco, founded by the Spaniards in 1776, is a more classic city, perched on its peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and the famous bay, separated by the Golden Gate, the city’s symbol. Tourists visit the older Victorian districts (19th Century style), the picturesque districts such as Chinatown or the Fisherman’s Wharf port by taking cable cars or climbing the hills, the more modern districts and their towers (including the Transamerica Pyramid); and not to mention, by boat, Alcatraz, an island and former prison nestled in the bay. In the center, a new string of important cities is concentrated on both sides of the border. Vancouver (11th place, 641 citations) is far ahead of Victoria (22nd place, 272 citations), also in Canada, and Seattle (43rd place, 110 citations) in the United States. Victoria, the peaceful capital of the province of British Columbia, has a population of only about 80,000. It is frequented for many reason, such as the Craigdarroch Castle from the late 19th Century, the vast Butchart Gardens, or to travel across to Vancouver Island, which it is located south of. Vancouver is a port and a cultural city, including the Museum of Anthropology, dedicated to the early arts, nestled in an exceptional site between Indian Arm Fjord in the north, bordered by the mountains and the Fraser River delta in the south. However, in the west, in the interior of the continent, tourism mainly involves the natural parks of the high plateaus and the mountain ranges with their snowcovered peaks. The founding of Yellowstone Park in 1872 is even considered worldwide as the founding event of this tourist practice [MIT 05]. However, this park ranks only 25th. Many others are also very lively in the summer, including the Grand Canyon (14th place, 393 citations, 2nd natural park in the ranking) or Bryce Canyon National Park (19th place, 293 citations), Yosemite (24th place, 262 citations), Zion (26th place, 234 citations), Monument Valley (28th place, 218 citations) or Arches National Park (60th place). All these natural wonders and

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landscapes are linked to the activity of erosion caused by water following the general uplift of the region induced by clashes between the tectonic plates. North America was pushed westward by the extension of the Atlantic Ocean, while the Pacific Oceanic plate moved eastward. Clashes were inevitable along the ocean trenches along the west coast of the continent, which are evidence of subduction. The introduction of parks to tourism was an episode in the American Frontier, largely orchestrated by the railways in both the United States and Canada. The fabulous landscapes are mobilized through commissions to artists, painters and photographers. These reproductions arouse excitement and then travel that makes transport infrastructure and hotels profitable, which are also financed by the same companies. The compatibility between conservation strategies and welcoming in the public is achieved by the creation of facilities, with parking lots, accommodation and welcome centers, which keeps individuals in one place [LAS 12], whose intention, as good city dwellers in prosperous countries, is not to be too adventurous. The Grand Canyon was dug out by the Colorado River, over 450 km long at an average depth of 1,300 m, and, at most, 1,600 m. It is not the deepest in the world, but its accessibility and the variety of colors that animate the more or less subvertical slopes, evidence of geological times, make it one of the most viewed, especially by helicopter, which provokes some controversy. Bryce Canyon is in fact a set of amphitheater depressions created by erosion to the Paunsaugunt plateau, located at an altitude of more than 2,000 m. The slopes are decorated by hoodoos, a geological formation produced by differential erosion that removes soft rocks more easily than hard ones, which remain suspended at the top of columns like protective pinnacles. Zion National Park (26th rank, 234 citations) is also a plateau dug out with canyons while Yosemite Park (24th rank, 262 citations) is a high mountain park. It is the second historically created. Monument Valley (28th rank, 218 citations) and Arches National Park (60th rank, 85 citations) are famous for the amazing shapes created by erosion in ocher-red plateaus, landscapes popularized by western films. Monument Valley is also known as the territory of the Navajo. Other places complete the tours such as Lake Powell (29th rank, 215 citations) or Death Valley (33rd rank, 178 citations) located in the Mojaves Desert in California. The parks of Jasper and Banff are also famous in Canada. The latter relating, both of the park and the gateway city, is even the most frequently cited in the catalogs (13th rank, 443 citations; while Jasper National park is 23rd rank, 265 citations). The two parks line up northeast to southwest in the Canadian Rockies and are flanked by Robson Provincial Park (79th rank, 68 citations), Yoho National Park (91st rank, 56 citations) and two others (Hamber and Kootenay), not mentioned. The main places are the ice-covered landscapes, mainly the often distinguished Lake Louise (30th rank, 201 citations) and Moraine Lake (93rd rank, 55 citations). Further north, in Alaska, cruise ships travel along the coast, including the Inside

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Passage, to admire the spectacle of glaciers flowing into the ocean and, disembarking here and there, passengers discover natural parks − Denali National Park appears in 34th place with 175 citations − and testimonies from indigenous people. Among a myriad of cities, some are hotel stops. For example, Kamloops, British Columbia, which operates between Vancouver and the Alberta Parks, Banff and Jasper, ranks 127th with 38 citations for day trips but 43rd and 74 citations for overnight stays. Others attract interest as ghost towns of the gold rushes, such as Calico, founded in 1881 for its silver mines, abandoned in 1907, which has 76 citations (69th place), or as a heritage of the “American frontier”, such as Cody, or the landmarks of Route 66. Cody, Wyoming, a small town of 10,000 people, was founded in 1886 by William Frederick Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill. A rodeo is held every evening in the summer and its museum evokes the Wild West and the life of the Plains Indians. Two larger urban settlements stand out inland: Las Vegas (third place, 1,621 citations) and Salt Lake City, to a lesser extent (44th place, 109 citations). The gambling city is inhabited by tourists both for its famous casinos and as a stopover, and as a gateway for tours that criss-cross the American West from park to park. Salt Lake City is a curious place, because it is known as the world capital of the Mormons. The founders found refuge in this valley, at an altitude of 1,320 m, in 1847, just before Mexico annexed it to the United States in 1848 and the territory of Utah was founded, which became a State in 1896. The main monuments, including the Tabernacle (1867), the Assembly Hall (1880) and the Temple (1893), date from this period at the end of the 19th Century during which this religious metropolis was established. The city is also known for hosting the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. In the north, a succession of less frequented places covers the coast in both Yukon and Alaska, while the interior is very sparsely frequented. Indeed, in most cases, these are cruises punctuated by stopovers that alternate panoramic landscapes illuminated by the descent of glaciers into the ocean, and visits to places of memory highlighting the heritage of the indigenous populations or mining. 2.2.3. A confidential space for indigenous nations Meeting with Native Americans is not a major intention in discovery practices. However, this practice exists in some niche forms, sometimes even organized by the people concerned themselves, whereas ancestral lifestyles hardly survive. A specific organization, Tourisme Autochtone Québec, was created in Quebec to distribute the tourism offer of the eleven nations. The first place cited in order of frequency is the municipality of Wendake (154th place, 31 citations), located in the suburbs of

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Quebec City and run by the Huron nation. In the old village, which dates back 300 years, several buildings showcase their culture [IAN 08]: For a very long time, First Nations people have been promoted in the tourism in Quebec, in a paradoxical valuation from a social point of view. By reappropriating this promotion, they may be able to change this situation. In the meantime, tourism is a valuable means of transmission to teach who they are to others, but also to rediscover themselves. More than the negotiation of their image, it is the negotiation of their situation in the Canadian mosaic that is at stake, to be neither anachronistic museum figures nor exotic subjects, but actors in society in their own right. [BOU 08, p. 38] Tourism thus appears as an opportunity for rediscovery and heritage development, especially for individuals who are invest in dedicated organizations. Similarly, Mashteuiatsh appears in a confidential manner. The Innu community has developed an introduction based on crafts, an ethnocultural museum and hunting and fishing excursions in the forest [HEB 08]. Only the visit to Monument Valley is better known for meeting with the Navajo, who provide guidance and collect entrance fees. We also point out the dedicated ecomuseums in Alaska. In other cases, the tourist offer is not based on heritage presentation but on leisure activities associated with accommodation. In particular, the band, in the terminology of the 1985 Canadian Indian Act, the Innue Essipit, in the Essipit reserve along the Saint Lawrence River, offers stays with outfitters in cottages located in an area where hunting or fishing can take place. This Innu band has based its economic development on welcoming tourists by taking advantage of the proximity of the Tadoussac tourist center and devotes itself to fishing and enhancement of its products [CHA 08]. Essipit is mentioned three times and Les Escoumins, the town which includes the reserve 10 times. 2

2.2.4. A typology of tourist places

The most visited places are tourist cities. Among the latter, along the east coast, New York, very clearly ahead of Montreal and Toronto, or along the west coast, Los Angeles and San Francisco, or, inland, Las Vegas, are at the same time tourist metropolises. They are frequented not only for themselves but also as nodes of the global tourism networks through which tourists arrive and from which they reach lower level places across the continent. Boston, Chicago or New Orleans play a lesser role in this respect. 2 We use here the typology of tourist places presented in Chapter 1 (section 1.3.6).

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They are indeed gateways in terms of arrival or departure, but for more localized routes in their immediate environment, and not on a continental scale, like the former. New York and San Francisco, due to the nature of short stays, or city breaks, which are entirely dedicated to them, have indices of 1.12 and 1.16, respectively, which is almost equal between the number of days and nights. Similarly, Orlando, which is a rather unusual tourist city, does not play a metropolitan role. The index here is close to 1 (1.1). Tourists go there in order to take advantage of the many theme parks, either as part of trips for a day trip/overnight stopover or for entirely dedicated stays that can last up to a week. In this case, tourists benefit from passes that guarantee unlimited access to the theme parks. On the other hand, cities with a tourist metropolitan function that redistribute tourist flows, which are also visited for themselves, at a lower level, such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Quebec City or Montreal, have rates around 1.3. Philadelphia, although an urban area, functions as a site such as this. However, the index of 0.71 reveals that tourists spend only half a day there, often during a break between New York and Washington. Niagara Falls is a rather special case. The very principle of a typology is to identify abstract or ideal-types based on relevant criteria, but the reality is more complex and it is sometimes necessary to admit cases that are exceptions. It functions both as a site because it is partly visited from Toronto, as part of day trips, and as a resort in the sense that, on the Canadian side in particular, a concentration of hotels and a casino, some of which offer a breathtaking view of the falls, welcome tourists who choose to stay on site. Also nearby, a small town is dedicated to entertainment activities that remind us of a carnival. But overall, the index is 0.83, due to very high attendance which does not translate into equivalent overnight stays. The very high room prices explain, among other things, why this important place is frequented by day as part of excursions from Toronto. Thus, the latter is a case of a stage city with an index of 1.58, although it is also visited itself. This city is slightly better classified according to the number of nights than the number of days (10th place instead of 12th). A few other stopover cities appear along the routes. They are very numerous and generally not very frequented, even when linked to one tour operator or another, as these are opportunities seized within the framework of a tour in order to avoid stages that would otherwise be too long. They are particularly numerous in the west of the continent, where they are integrated as hotel stops scattered between large nature parks, between them or between the latter and the metropolises. This is the case in Kamloops (index 3.89). Some mark out their trips of the great West: Kanab (index of 14), ideally located between Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and Lake Powell; Modesto (11.2), positioned between San Francisco and Yosemite Park; and even Lompoc (9.14), which nevertheless offers some amenities with its casinos, but pales in comparison to Las Vegas.

North America

Political entities

United States

Canada United States

Canada

United States Canada Hawaii United States Canada United States

Places

Day trips Rank

Total

Overnight stays Rank

Total

55

Index

New York

1

2,588

1

1,443

1.12

Orlando

2

2,383

2

1,308

1.10

Las Vegas

3

1,621

3

1,055

1.30

Los Angeles

4

1,238

4

809

1.31

Miami

5

1,128

5

691

1.23

San Francisco

6

1,076

6

622

1.16

Quebec City

7

823

7

523

1.27

Montreal

8

810

8

501

1.24

Boston

9

686

12

400

1.17

Washington, DC

10

651

11

407

1.25

Vancouver

11

641

9

415

1.29

Toronto

12

523

10

413

1.58

Banff National Park

13

443

13

348

1.57

Grand Canyon National Park

14

393

16

182

0.93

New Orleans

15

383

14

279

1.46

Niagara Falls

16

382

21

158

0.83

Ottawa

17

329

17

178

1.08

Honolulu

18

310

18

172

1.11

Bryce Canyon National Park

19

293

22

144

0.98

Chicago

20

286

19

172

1.20

Philadelphia

21

280

33

100

0.71

Victoria

22

272

20

170

1.25

Jasper National Park

23

265

15

268

2.02

Yosemite National Park

24

262

34

99

0.76

Yellowstone National Park

25

240

25

131

1.09

Table 2.1. Main tourist places in North America distinguished by rank and frequency of day and night citations, and by the tourist typicity index in tour operator catalogs. The ranking is based on the frequency with which the places are cited for day trips

Next come the tourist posts located in natural parks. The distance of the latter from the cities requires local accommodation. Their structure opposes a vast enclosed space and prefers an open area in which tourist infrastructures are concentrated, including welcome centers, car parks and accommodation. It is also

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The Tourist Places of the World

often the starting point for hiking trails and access to the arranged viewpoints. In both the United States and Canada, official agencies − some federal, others State or provincial – manage both − natural heritage and places that bear witness to history. Seaside or mountain resorts pale in comparison when they are not located within a famous national park. The most famous are hardly the subject of a quick stop, even Malibu which hardly appears (8 citations), so much so that rest or games that engage the body are not the main practices for this continent, with the notable exception of the Americans themselves. Some resorts, such as Whistler, located in British Columbia, between the Pacific coast and nature parks, play a role as a stopover city for tours, between coastal tourist places, Vancouver and Victoria, and those in the eastern interior, Banff and Jasper. Thus, the index stands at 1.53 because the city ranks 31st among the places cited for the continent but 23rd for the frequency of overnight stays. An attraction can therefore, within the typology of tourist places, fall into a main category from the point of view of its quantitatively assessed frequentation, in this case a station, but belong to another configuration for other practices, here the discovery of, in this case, a host city, because the concentration of accommodation offers the TO this opportunity. On the contrary, Banff in particular, and Jasper to a lesser extent, appear to be resorts that are strongly stimulated by their location within a renowned nature park. Banff was founded in 1885 by the TransCanada Railway Station. The city is also connected to the rest of the country by highway and served by Calgary Airport, Calgary being Alberta’s capital city. The city has a population of approximately 7,500. Jasper is located in the park of the same name, the largest in Canada, with more than 10,000 km² (twice the size of the largest French departments). The site was an outpost for trappers before the park was established in 1907 and the railway arrived in 1911. 2.3. Societal practices Who frequents these places? Do we observe a universal system or do differences or nuances appear according to the societies that operate different classifications in the hierarchy of places frequented? We will start by presenting the relationship between tourists and places in relation to European societies, then we will distinguish the case of the American society, which was also formerly a tourist society but which, here, is in the particular situation of a society that also inhabits the tourist sites. Finally, we will present the case of newly created tourism societies. 2.3.1. European society practices The tourist area of European societies is characterized by its remoteness. In all cases, the more or less extensive coastal regions are distinct from the open spaces of

North America

57

the prairies and the little-used Canadian Shield. The four major concentrations appear clearly for the four formerly European tourism societies: the northeast of the Saint Lawrence River, at the megalopolis, the southeast, centered on Florida, the southwest, centered on California and the Rocky Mountain system and the northwest around Vancouver and the Canadian parks. For European customers, the dominant tourist practice is discovery. It is found along the northeast coast, from Quebec City to Washington and mainly in New York, in the south – Miami, but also in the west – in California, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the north – in Seattle and Vancouver, through visits to major cities, and then continues with the natural parks housed in the Rocky Mountains (Table 2.2). Niagara Falls echoes these natural monuments to the east. Visits to entertainment cities, from Las Vegas to Orlando, but also to places of indigenous cultures complete the picture. However, pre-Columbian cultures occupy a small place, unlike those that have developed in Central and South America. It is true that these few and nomadic societies have not felt the need to build pyramids or other monuments that tourists admire. The trip is the most frequent spatial mode, supplemented by stays in large urban areas. In the latter, tourists can choose to rent accommodation for several days and enjoy the surrounding area rather than visiting on a trip for shorter stops. The other practices, which are less implemented, are nevertheless manifested as gambling in Las Vegas and Florida, particularly in Orlando. However, TO Thomas Cook reserves an important place in its relaxation offer in Florida, Orlando, due to the concentration of theme parks in this city. There are nuances within European societies in relation to historical links. In Canada, French tourists visit Quebec, in the east, more than Ontario, which is also in the east, or the west, which is included in the TO catalogs but in a less prominent way. On the other hand, the British tend to favor Western Canada over Eastern Canada, and Ontario over Francophone Quebec. The ranking of the most visited cities is thus different between the British and the French (Table 2.2). Rank

British

French

Spanish

German

1

Orlando

New York

New York

New York

2

Las Vegas

Montreal

Miami

Miami

3

New York

Quebec City

Las Vegas

Los Angeles

4

Miami

Los Angeles

Boston

Honolulu

5

Vancouver

San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco

6

Banff NP

Miami

Orlando

Las Vegas

7

Toronto

Las Vegas

Los Angeles

Vancouver

8

San Francisco

Boston

Quebec City

Toronto

9

Victoria

Washington, DC

Montreal

Orlando

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The Tourist Places of the World

10

Washington, DC

Orlando

Washington, DC

Boston

11

Boston

Grand Canyon NP

Toronto

Quebec City

12

Quebec City

New Orleans

Niagara Falls

Washington, DC

13

Inside passage

Bryce Canyon NP

Vancouver

Montreal

14

New Orleans

Vancouver

Banff NP

Banff NP

15

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

Ottawa

Ottawa

16

Louise Lake

Toronto

Philadelphia

Jasper

17

Los Angeles

Saint Alexis

Calgary

Abaco

18

Saint Pete Beach

Chicago

Yosemite NP

Chicago

19

Grand Canyon NP

Powell Lake

Victoria

San Diego

20

Jasper

Death Valley NP

Thousand Islands

Wailea

21

Whistler

Ottawa

Grand Canyon NP

Grand Canyon NP

22

Glacier NP

Monument Valley

Kamloops

Niagara Falls

23

Ottawa

Zion NP

Jasper

Santa Barbara

24

Nashville

Yosemite NP

Inside passage

Victoria

25

Montreal

Philadelphia

Mohave

Anchorage

East Canada, Quebec

West Canada

East Canada, Ontario

Louisiana

NP: National Park.

Table 2.2. The 25 most visited places for four European societies according to the exploitation of tour operator catalogs. For a color version of this table, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip

The British favor Toronto over Montreal in eastern Canada, while Quebec City seems to be doing well, but ranks only 12th among the places visited by the British. The French prefer Montreal, which is more visited than Quebec City. In the west, for the British, Vancouver, 5th (while it is only cited 14th for the French), Toronto, 7th (16th for the French), Victoria, 9th, though very rarely cited in the catalogs of the French TO, are on a par with the metropolises of the United States. In Thomas Cook’s offer, Western Canada clearly dominates. The Spanish place Quebec City and Montreal in 8th and 9th place, before Toronto and Vancouver, while the Germans do the opposite, but at about the same levels. New Orleans seems of equal interest to the British and the French, but did not attract much interest from Spain and Germany. For their part, the Cajuns (Box 2.2) remain an exclusive French feature. Thus Saint-Martinville, considered to be the Cajun capital, collects 15 of the 17 citations in French catalogs. It should be noted that Honolulu has a higher profile among Germans than other Europeans.

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The Cajuns are the heirs of the Acadians, who fled the persecutions of the English after signing the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession between France and Great Britain. Acadia, located between the Saint Lawrence River and the Atlantic coast, is part of the British Empire. Some of the inhabitants fled to France, others to Louisiana where they found refuge in the marshes on the banks of the Mississippi River. They lived there and withdrew from society, maintaining their traditions and language, until visits from Quebec natives revalued their culture in their own eyes. Sarah Le Ménestrel showed how the eyes of tourists have been able to revitalize traditions, contrary to the agreed discourse on destructive tourism [LEM 99]. Today, tourism is organized around Lafayette (83rd place, 64 citations) and Baton Rouge (103rd place, 48 citations). It should be noted that some TOs offer home stays for the French market. Box 2.2. The Cajuns, an unearthed population because of tourism

2.3.2. Practices of new North American societies Residents of the United States also frequent large cities and natural parks. However, the ranking is not identical to that of the Europeans. This is largely due to a bias in the method that has been pointed out, namely that the relevance of the approach is a function of otherness. When otherness is low, as is the case here, tourists use less TOs. For cities, they can book accommodation directly with service providers. This results in a less flattering ranking for New York or Los Angeles, in particular. Orlando and Las Vegas take first place because of the packages that are distributed by the TOs and which together offer accommodation and access to gaming facilities or parks. Quebec and Montreal are positioned as for the British or Germans, and after Vancouver. As for Europeans, natural parks follow large cities and are included in the ranking with less frequented cities. 2.3.3. Practices of new tourism societies These societies are characterized by a smaller number of locations and a greater polarization around the four major centers. For Japanese and Chinese tourists, North America is the second continent visited, outside Asia, after Europe. They clearly favor the United States, on the other hand, Canada is rarely visited. Gambling is as developed as discovery, and Las Vegas is the first city to be visited before nature parks, including Niagara Falls, which precedes metropolitan areas like New York City. Russians prefer to discover cities such as New York and, in Canada, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are on an equal footing. On the other hand, Quebec City appears a bit like a stopover city and is less visited. Then discovery focuses on natural parks, including Niagara Falls and Banff Park in Canada.

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2.3.4. World connectiveness of North American places The World connectiveness of tourist places in North America (Table 2.3) distinguishes first among the universal places of all the worlds of the metropolises, notably New York and Washington in the east, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the west. Globality

Universal places or all worlds

Places constituting a large part of the worlds

Places New York Orlando Las Vegas Los Angeles Miami San Francisco Washington DC Quebec Montreal Vancouver Toronto Banff NP Grand Canyon NP Boston Niagara Falls Philadelphia

World places

New Orleans Ottawa Yosemite NP Yellowstone NP Chicago Jasper Bryce Canyon NP La fayette Cajuns Victoria Zion NP Powell Lake Buffalo Honolulu

Quality

All worlds

Number of tourists

More frequented

+ French/No Chinese

Few Chinese

Moderately frequented

No Chinese/No Russian No British No overnight stays French and British French and Americans French and German British

Less frequented

French British French Chinese Chinese and German

Table 2.3. World connectiveness of North American tourist places based on the use of tour operator catalogs

North America

61

In addition, there are tourist metropolises, i.e. large cities whose incomplete metropolitan character is an effect of tourism. These are cities created by tourism, such as Miami, or whose development dynamics are closely linked to tourism, notably Las Vegas and Orlando. These last two cities existed before the development of tourism, but it plays a decisive role in the contemporary period and is at the origin of their current international influence. Las Vegas was created to shelter the workers mobilized for the construction of the Colorado Dam, its survival was then ensured by the hospitality of the military during the Second World War, it was then threatened again, and owed its salvation to the privilege granted by the State to host gambling, banned from other cities in the country until 1976. Similarly, Orlando was a small town in Florida before Walt Disney set his sights on its marshy lands to establish several parks there [MIT 05]. These metropolitan areas ensure the integration of the continent’s tourist production area into global networks. Beyond that, the cases of Orlando, Las Vegas and Miami invite us to constitute a particular category within the universal places of the world; they are incomplete metropolises in the sense that the tourist function remains dominant and economic diversification unfinished. After this prominent category, a second group brings together less frequented universal places. This complex consists mainly of natural parks located in the western part of the continent, in Canada and the United States, with the exception of Niagara Falls. These places constitute the structuring points of the network of productive space. Then come the places of a large part of the worlds, cities or natural parks, they are characterized compared to the previous ones both by the absence of one or two of the societies treated. Sometimes, the pre-eminence of a society also distinguishes them. This is particularly true of Montreal and Quebec City, cities that do not appear in Chinese TO catalogs, but which are essential for the French. New Orleans has similar characteristics. Philadelphia, visited by day on the Washington–New York route, is characterized by a low volume of overnight stays. Less famous parks complete the group. Finally come the places of one world, either those linked to a society, or to a small number of societies, the others ignoring them or visiting them little. Thus, Victoria receives visits mainly from the British, Lafayette and the Cajun country from the French, such as Zion National Park and Lake Powell. 2.4. Conclusion North America is one of the largest, if not the most significant, tourist regions in the world, since political homogeneity, with only two States, seriously reduces the counts carried out by the UNWTO on the basis of border crossings, while on the other hand, political fragmentation favors Europe. It is characterized by the implementation, by other societies in the world, of a dominant practice of discovery that is mainly organized for the benefit of metropolises and natural parks.

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The Tourist Places of the World

2.5. Atlas3

Map 2.1. Main tourist places in the North American region according to the frequency analysis of British TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 2.2. Main tourist places in the North American region according to the frequency analysis of French TO catalogs, 2015–2018 3 For color versions of the maps in this section, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip.

North America

Map 2.3. Main tourist places in the North American region according to the frequency analysis of German TO catalogs, 2015–2018

Map 2.4. Main tourist places in the North American region according to the frequency analysis of Spanish TO catalogs, 2015–2018

63

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The Tourist Places of the World

Map 2.5. Main tourist places in the North American region according to the frequency analysis of American TO catalogs, 2015–2018

Map 2.6. Main tourist places in the North American region according to the frequency analysis of Russian TO catalogs, 2015–2018

North America

Map 2.7. Main tourist places in the North American region according to the frequency analysis of Chinese TO catalogs, 2015–2018

65

3 Central America

Central America is the southern part of one of the three most significant tourism areas in the world. Proximity to the world’s leading economic power, measured in terms of GNP and GDP per capita1, quickly became an advantage for tourism. 3.1. Southern part of the North American tourism area From a touristic point of view, this region of the World presents a huge heterogeneity between States that display a paradisiacal image; there are a few States for which contradictory representations are required, and a few other States which are totally absent from tour-operator (TO) catalogs (as shown by the maps in section 3.5). The area is dominated, in terms of tourism, by Mexico, which is by far the leading destination in the region, and by Costa Rica, with more modest performances but which still enjoys a singularity and a very strong image. 3.1.1. A politically fragmented region This region of the World is marked by its fragmentation. First, the physical system opposes the Central American isthmus located to the East, to the insular arc positioned to the West. Then, with the notable exception of Mexico (nearly 2 million km2 and 120 million inhabitants), it is composed of a mosaic of small States. The weight of insularity explains this, particularly in the West. Thus, only two islands are home to two States. Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the island of

1 While China has the highest GNP, the size of its population meant that in 2018 it ranked only 104th in the world in terms of GDP per capita, while the United States, 2nd in terms of GNP, ranked 20th in terms of GDP per capita, behind oil-rich countries and micro-States.

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Quisqueya2, while the island of Saint-Martin is divided between a French territorial community and one of the States of the Netherlands, called Sint Maarten. Above all, however, historical legacies also reflect this, since in other parts of the World, the archipelagic character does not prevent political unity, as evidenced for example by Indonesia. All of these island States have a colonial origin. Political ties have been maintained in some cases, whereas in others, independence has been achieved. Finally, in the isthmus, the southern part hosts seven micro-States, all of which have been independent since the 1830s. Emancipation was part of the general movement that affected Spanish America at the beginning and throughout the 19th Century. It was fundamentally based on the desire of the Creole elites to free themselves from the political and economic yoke exercised by the metropolis. The occupation of Spain by Napoleonic France provided the pretext [ROU 18]. As early as 1823, what was Guatemala’s harbor master’s office within the Empire proclaimed its independence. After resisting Mexico’s appetites, with the exception of the integrated Chiapas, the United Provinces of Central America became an ephemeral and turbulent Federal Republic of Central America, which eventually disintegrated into five States in 1838 and 1839. The last one, Panama, was created in 1903, following the separation of a former province from Colombia, after the intervention of the United States, which wanted to ensure control of the canal linking the two oceans. The shadow of the powerful neighbor to the north also weighs on regional stability, which is one of the keys to tourism development. The defense of their economic or strategic interests by the United States has often prevailed over the defense of democratic ideals in order to disrupt situations in what constitutes their closest area of influence. Finally, Belize affirmed its specificity. Partly British within this Latin isthmus, it has been an independent constitutional monarchy since 1981 but is a member of the Commonwealth, with Queen Elizabeth II being represented by a governor.

The first five independent States

Guatemala Honduras El Salvador Nicaragua Costa Rica Panama Belize

Inhabitants 17,337,132 8,746,673 6,581,940 6,460,229 5,003,402 4,098,135 387,880

Surface area (km²) 108,930 111,275 21,041 130,376 51,100 74,177 22,966

Density (inhab./km²) 159.16 78.6 312.81 49.55 97.91 55.25 16.89

Table 3.1. Micro-States of the Central American isthmus 2 This term is recommended by Jean-Marie Théodat [THE 04] because it is the only one common to the populations of the two States, unlike Hispaniola, which is not used by the islanders and is of colonial origin.

Central America

69

3.1.2. “A continent in the grip of violence” The title of this section is due to Diplomatie magazine, which, in its issue of the major dossier No. 48, December 2018–January 2009, entitled as such its interview with Jean Daudelin, Professor at Carleton University in Ottawa. While noting the great heterogeneity of situations from one country to another and between cities, the specialist stressed that tensions and violence are linked to the authorities’ fight against illegal trafficking. However, the same he also pointed out that “violence is very poorly punished, with very low crime resolution rates, especially in the case of homicides”. This situation is shared with South America, but the cities of the isthmus surpass the rest of the Latin American world, as shown in Table 3.2, although Brazil has three of the deadliest cities in the world. This violence joins conflicts related to tourism development through the land issue, when land control pits capitalist interests against indigenous populations, and more generally against local societies, by seeking to dispossess them or keep them out of projects [MAR 18a, MAR 18b]. Rank

City

Country

Rate per 100,000 inhabitants

Number of homicides

Year

1

San Salvador

El Salvador

136.7

432

2016

2

Acapulco de Juarez

Mexico

108.1

918

2016

3

San Pedro Sula

Honduras

104.3

807

2016

4

Soyapango

El Salvador

91.1

220

2016

5

Chilpancingo de los Bravo

Mexico

88.1

994

2016

6

Distrito Central

Honduras

79.9

994

2016

7

Maraba

Brazil

76.7

207

2015

8

Great Sao Luis

Brazil

74.5

868

2015

9

Guatemala

Guatemala

70.8

704

2016

10

Ananindeua

Brazil

69.6

616

2015

Table 3.2. Ten cities with the highest homicide rate in the world in 2016 (or last known year) (source: Igarapé Institute, cited by Diplomatie, No. 48, December 2018–January 2019 issue)

3.1.3. Tourist hierarchy of States In terms of tourism, Central America is the southern slope of one of the three most significant tourist basins in the World. The combination of the presence in the

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north of two prosperous and de facto highly tourist societies, with an absolutely seductive tropical climate in the eyes of urban dwellers in the northern United States and Canada, suffering from a harsh winter, largely explains the touristic nature of Central America, in addition to other socially constructed attractions as well. Mexico, with nearly one-third of the frequency of places mentioned in TO catalogs, is the region’s leading tourist destination, ahead of Costa Rica, which is around 13%. Two island States, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, follow, accounting for 12% and almost 10% of the frequency of these places, respectively. After Jamaica, Panama and Guatemala are between 6 and 3%, the other countries are at less than 2%. Several States have very few or no visitors, including Haiti among the island States, or El Salvador and Honduras in the isthmus. Our method probably minimizes the actual tourist activity of many small islands to which access is not a problem. Tourist flow is organized from the World’s metropolises without going through an intermediary, which we did not require because of our method. Selfsegregation within a society of privileged people also explains the small number. Moreover, the small area does not require the use of an on-site tour operator. Nevertheless, the hierarchy is quite clear. However, while Mexico dominates the region and receives half the numbers of travelers (32 million out of 67 according to the UNWTO), its number of visits is stagnating. Indeed, the average annual rate was slightly less than 3% between 1995 and 2015. The position of this country in Figure 3.1 shows this clearly, at the far right, marked by low growth and a high workforce. In addition, there is a marked contrast between the south, especially the east, which is very popular, the center, dominated by Mexico City, and especially the north, which is not very popular with tourists. We note in particular the divergence that has emerged between Cancún and the Riviera Maya, which occupy the highest ranks, and Acapulco, which has been neglected by international customers, while the two places share the same history of a development project supported by international bodies. The high tensions that affect the country around the issue of drug trafficking, and which spare Yucatán relatively well, explain this. Costa Rica is the other major and ancient destination in this region. With a stable political regime since 1949, (which makes it an outlier) and as one of the few demilitarized States in the world, its reputation is very positive and its number of visitors is steadily increasing. We will see that, in addition, this small country (51,100 km2 and 5 million inhabitants) has a very strong tourist image built on the development of natural parks. Central America is marked by a recent spread of tourism, since the late 20th Century, outside its older strongholds, Mexico and Costa Rica. Historically nontourist States, such as modern day Haiti and Nicaragua, have joined the group of

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71

countries that integrate this social practice and its economic sector. Figure 3.1 shows the new destinations in the upper left part of the figure. The contrast between the two nations that share Quisqueya is particularly sharp. To the west of the island, the successor to the French colony has an HDI (Human Development Index) in 2016 of 0.493, which places it within the so-called Low Human Development group, and its tourism is low. In contrast, to the east, the Dominican Republic reaches 0.722 and has experienced rapid tourism development since the 1980s. The western part of the island experienced its first economic development based on sugar plantations, exploiting Haitians in an inhuman way, in the shadow of its powerful North American neighbor, supporting it both economically with preferential and political agreements, notably for the benefit of the dictatorship exercised by President Trujillo for 30 years, until 1961. The liberalization of the world economy has led to the arrival of competitors and the collapse of prices. Under the impetus of the Consejo Estadal des Azucar (the State Sugar Council), which owns the land, the conversion to tourism began in the 1980s, at the same time as the advent of democracy. Major hotel groups have invested heavily in tourist posts, including the Accor group, which in 2002 decided to relocate its assets from the French West Indies, due to their views on the quality of hospitality, low costs, and moderate social demands in the Dominican Republic [THE 04]. Cuba is also part of this movement. The Castro regime, which was an ally of the Soviet Union in 1959, had the same prejudices against tourism as its model, especially since a first development during the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship was based on gambling and depended heavily on the United States, particularly because of the prohibition of casinos and of alcohol that were introduced there in 1919 [HER 12]. Visits to the island were reduced for a long time before tourism appeared to be a palliative to the end of the support granted, due to the political changes that occurred in Moscow3. The island, which in 1985 hosted only 240,000 international travelers (UNWTO), exceeded 3.5 million in 2015. The development of tourism is based on the State’s desire to diversify its economy, and in particular the sectors that provide foreign exchange. A first change occurred in the mid-1980s, when the centralized development model showed signs of exhaustion, then intensified with the collapse of the Soviet bloc from 1992 to 1993 onwards. As a result, external tourism revenues have continued to increase while those of the sugar sector have collapsed [HER 12]. However, the business model favors basic and low-cost services [MAR 97]. The comparison between the United States and Cuba outlined by President Obama, which could have boosted the tourism sector [PAD 07], seems, however, to have been challenged by President Trump. 3 Cuba also marked the history of the Cold War with the Cuban crisis, which was triggered in October 1962 by its American neighbor after the discovery, because of aerial photographs of the installation on the island’s territory, of missiles installed by the USSR. The two superpowers eventually reached an agreement that avoided direct confrontation.

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Similarly, Nicaragua has made significant progress and appears to be an exemplary case for the region. The history of this small country is marked, after its independence in 1821, by alternating dictatorial regimes and democratic periods, with foreign intervention and pressure from the United States. In particular, in 1979, the arrival in power of the Sandinista, a socialist-inspired movement born in 1961 and which took the name of Sandino, leader of the popular movement launched in 1926, marked the end of the dictatorship exercised by the Somoza family since 1937. The new leaders carried out social reforms and brought the country closer to the USSR, which provoked hostility from Ronald Reagan (US President from 1981 to 1989), who put an end to economic aid and supported the opposition. The organization of elections in 1990 brought a liberal, President Violet a Chamoro, to power. Sandinista eventually accepted parliamentary democracy, and through elections, returned to power in 2006. Sandinista Daniel Ortega is still in power. This period was marked by economic renewal and a reduction in social inequalities. As a result, passenger arrivals increased from 281,000 in 1995 to nearly 1.4 million in 2015. But tensions have been heightened since mid-2018, due to economic difficulties, political tensions and the return of the United States into the game4.

Figure 3.1. Changes in “tourist” numbers in Central American and Caribbean countries from 1995 to 2015 (source: UNWTO). The vertical axis shows the growth rate between 1995 and 2015 as an annual average while the horizontal axis shows visit levels in thousands of “tourists” in 2015

4 Géo magazine devoted a feature to Nicaragua in issue 473, pp. 24–40, July 2018.

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3.2. Touristicity of places The region lends itself to a wide variety of practices, as well as sophisticated combinations. The tropical climate, the quality of the coasts and the insularity make it possible to offer seaside resorts, while the legacies of pre-Columbian civilizations and the colonial period lend themselves to discovery. Costa Rica, while benefiting from these dominant features, is playing an original card through the enhancement of landscapes and biodiversity, which is not widely used elsewhere in this part of the World. 3.2.1. Seaside region The first tourist destinations in this region were seaside resorts. Indeed, the presence in the north of the United States and Canada, countries characterized by a high average standard of living and cold winters in a large part of the territories, ensures a clientele eager to take advantage of climatic disparities. We will note that Europeans are also sensitive to it, especially since the colonial period has forged links and dependencies have persisted. All the countries of the region offer paradisiacal beaches according to Western representations. This is the case for the isthmus countries, which benefit from two oceanic coasts, such as Mexico, whose Atlantic coast is more frequented than the other. The Caribbean coast is very popular, especially in the south of the Yucatán peninsula. According to our study, Cancúnis ranked as the most visited place in the region. The complex known as Riviera Maya by tour operators is ranked fourth and Playa del Carmen is ranked sixth. It should be noted that this last seaside resort is one of the elements of the façade mentioned above. The diffusion continues eastward under the name Costa Maya. Costa Rica has a rather opposite asymmetry, whereas Panama values both coasts more equally. Smaller island States, with the exception of a few places, are mainly oriented toward this practice. For example, in the Dominican Republic, the capital Santo Domingo is the subject of marginal attendance (244th place), while the old city is classified by UNESCO. In addition, a space combining several seaside resorts close to an airport often concentrates island traffic. Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic is ranked second in the Central American region and Bavaro Beach eighth. Montego Bay in Jamaica is in fifth position. Cuba is the only island that is the scene of diversified tourist practices. Visits to the beach have their place in Varadero, classified as the third most popular tourist destination in the region, or Cayo Santa Maria, which ranks 20th. The authors may point out the vulnerability of the “tanning machine” [THE 04], but it is doing well. The risk associated with the success of the

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3S model (sea, sex and sun) is an “evergreen” in the scientific literature. In fact, this century-old model passes the time well (see Chapter 1, section 1.3.2). Although the attacks of September 11, 2001 disrupted tourist activity in Cuba, it quickly resumed: in 2015, according to UNWTO statistics, attendance was second only to Mexico with 5.6 million tourists compared to 2.9 million in 2000 and 4 million in 2010. In fact, the Caribbean island arc has had and still profits from several advantages in terms of tourism development, appreciated from the point of view of tourists and according to current practices [GAY 00a]. First, the Caribbean is the closest to a major emitting basin, notably the United States. This is particularly true for the northernmost regions, such as the Bahamas, since the 1930s, then Cuba and Jamaica in the 1950s, which were invested in early, while other regions of the world, particularly the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, also marked by strong insularity, had to wait for the arrival of more efficient aircraft in the 1950s. Furthermore, the multiplication of islands close to each other, varied both culturally and by their landscapes, offers cruise passengers ideal conditions: “every morning when they wake up... [they] discover new landscapes” [GAY 00a, p. 20]. Finally, political fragmentation has encouraged and stimulated the multiplication of tourism development policies, with the creation of airports, airlines, hotels, etc., all of which rely on the driving force of tourism to stimulate the economy [GAY 00a]. The situation is more contrasting for Overseas France – “the palm trees of France” [GAY 09]. On the one hand, the two largest islands, Guadeloupe and Martinique, are characterized by a sluggish tourist activity, which has not progressed much. Transfers of resources from the metropolis are sluggish, while one-off actions such as tax exemption5 have eventually diverting investments toward real estate operations. The most popular places, the most popular tourist destinations, have evolved into residential suburbs such as Le Gosier, a town of nearly 30,000 inhabitants that borders Pointe-à-Pitre. The most prestigious hotels have become residences offering apartments to the inhabitants, or they are simply abandoned. But at the same time, other hotels have taken over and tourist activity is still ongoing in Le Gosier. Urbanization also affects small towns such as Saint-François in Guadeloupe [GAY 09, GAY 11]. Saint-Barthélemy, on the other hand, is a model of success where luxury accommodation is combined with the short length of the airport runway to control arrivals and to encourage self-segregation among a select tourist clientele. The devastating effects of Cyclone Irma, which hit the island on September 7, 2017, have brought this dynamic to a halt. Reconstruction seems to be under way to improve the island’s development. However, the model has limitations. Tourism workers are experiencing increasing difficulties in finding

5 Tax advantages granted for investments, particularly in the overseas territories from 1986 onwards via the Pons Act.

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housing [GAY 09]. This is a classic process in tourist destinations, linked to the land pressure induced by the arrival of tourists, who are more fortunate than the locals. Elsewhere, this tends to push housing away with rents or purchase prices that are accessible inland, but on an island, reserves are limited. The island appears at the bottom of the ranking (first mention in 82nd place) but this is due to both its small size and its exclusivity. 3.2.2. A region also dedicated to discovery The practice of discovery is based first of all on historical legacy. First came the testimonies of the Mayan civilization, spread between southeast Mexico and especially the Yucatán peninsula, Guatemala and Belize. Indeed, Mesoamerica has been a multiethnic cultural center that has known a particular effervescence since 2000 years before our era, following the meeting between the Nahuan nomads from the north and the Otomis, sedentary farmers. The fusion of beliefs and the homogenization of social practices gave rise to a first flourishing with the Mayans, whose apogee was located between 200 and 900 years after Christ. Tourists visit the pyramids, located in the center of Mayan “cities”. They were built to mark the place where offerings were buried and where human and animal sacrifices were made in order to symbolically appropriate the territory and ensure harmony between the forces of nature and humanity. The main places visited are located in Mexico, in order of the highest number of visitors, Tulum, which is ranked 13th among the places in the region, which benefits from its coastal location and therefore from the proximity of the busiest beaches, while the site is not classified unlike the others selected by UNESCO, Chichen Itzá, which is ranked 22nd among the places cited in the catalogs, Palenque ranked 33rd and Uxmal ranked 40th. In Guatemala, two UNESCO sites exist: Tikal ranks 65th, while Quiriga does not appear in the catalogs. Finally, Copan, located in Honduras, is ranked 69th. Other testimonies are very confidential such as Calakmul (360th place). Listed by UNESCO and possessing one of the highest pyramids in the Mayan world, it is relatively isolated in the jungle near Mexico’s border with Guatemala. An ongoing tourism diversification in the region is based on the demand for the persistence of a Mayan culture and the welcome given by the inhabitants [JOU 18]. West of the Tehuantepec isthmus, the Aztecs took control of the city network. Their capital Tenochtitlan was founded on an island in the dry lake of Texcoco. Today, it is one of Mexico City’s attractions. The city of Teotihuacan, located 40 km northwest of the capital, was the most important between the 11th and 19th Centuries. Like most cities, it was multiethnic. It is ranked 40th the UNESCO list. Other more or less well-known pre-Columbian civilizations give rise to discovery, but this remains attached to the presence of large-scale constructed legacies more in line with the representations of Westerners who dominated world tourism until the

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end of the 20th Century. However, this is also due to the lack of strategies for the enhancement of intangible cultures or those that have been less spectacular in terms of their tangible manifestation. The legacies of Spanish colonization are also the subject of interest to tourists. Colonial architecture is admired in both Havana and Mexico City, but also in smaller cities from north to south Mexico, Merida (ranked 21st), nicknamed the white city, Oaxaca (69th), Puebla (76th) or San Miguel de Allende (142nd), and other States in the isthmus or Caribbean. The old Hispanic districts thus contribute to visits of Panama City or Trinidad on the island of Cuba. Antigua, the former capital of Guatemala, remains very popular (24th place) despite the destruction caused by the earthquakes of 1773 and 1976. On the contrary, as we have already noted, one of the oldest Spanish and European foundations in America, Santo Domingo, remains little visited. It was after the failures of the first settlements, La Navidad and La Isabela, along the northern coast, that Bartholomew Columbus created the future capital in 1496 on the southern coast. The Spanish colonial legacy resides in buildings that symbolically display power, both civil (palaces) and military (forts) or religious (cathedrals, churches or convents), in particular, as well as urban life. The cathedrals are particularly remarkable for their Baroque style, described as “colonial”. Developed in Spain in the context of the CounterReformation movement from the 16th Century onwards, it was enriched by the contributions of European artists of all nationalities but also by those of indigenous craftsmen. In the French islands, the cities still display the buildings of the town hall and the church, often organized around a rectangular square, largely planted with trees. Second, the construction of States has also given rise, mainly in capitals, to architectural demonstrations. The different powers were staged in palaces such as Buenos Aires, which was transformed in the 19th Century. Artistic manifestations of the performing arts or the visual arts are much less in demand, with the notable exception of tango dance, in the latter city. Finally, there is less but significant interest in traditional activities, particularly in agriculture. The cultivation of sugar cane and the production of rum on the islands, in Cuba, Guadeloupe, Martinique, as well as tropical fruit plantations which enhance tours or are the focus of excursions. Among the tourist development of economic activities are visits to the Panama Canal and its locks. We note the original character dedicated to the memory of slavery located in Pointe-à-Pitre, the ACTe Memorial, and a center for the expression and memory of the slave trade. It is an establishment with an ambitious architecture, and houses rooms that evoke the life of slaves and the emergence of an original culture developed by the populations transplanted by force. In Guadeloupe there is this

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political will to promote a spectacular culture in a commemorative space without a constructed legacy that is not found elsewhere in the region, as we have already pointed out, concerning the least known pre-Columbian cultures. 3.2.3. Costa Rica, a special case This small State of the isthmus occupies, as we have noted, an original place in the geopolitical space of the isthmus due to its political stability, the democratic and peaceful nature of its regime [RAY 07] and its relative prosperity (HDI: 0.776). But it is also a specific destination within the region that has built its reputation on the enhancement of its biophysical attractions through a conservation policy. Indeed, the original biodiversity, due to the isthmus situation which has favored the circulation of species [RAY 07], applies to all countries in the region, but it has been seized by the State. Natural parks are the country’s most frequented places and are in a good position in Central America. Protected areas represent 26% of the territory [KNA 11]. The Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal region, the country’s leading tourist destination, is ranked 10th in front of Tortuguero National Park, which is ranked 11th, whereas Monteverde Cloud Forest and Manuel Antonio National Park are ranked 16th and 19th, respectively. The capital, San José, visited for its heritage, also acts as a gateway and distributor of flows within the country. It ranks 12th among regional destinations. In fact, the richness of biodiversity – due to a combination of the variety of environments, two very close coasts, high altitudes and the circulation of species along the isthmus – is an essential factor but has been revealed by a policy that has been trying since the late 1980s to regulate the decline of the forest facing the spread of coffee and banana plantations, which are also objects of visits [NIC 06]. Thus, the creation of natural parks is relatively recent, at the end of the 1980s, and has stimulated the growth in attendance, while the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism was created in 1956. All favorable factors have made the system what it is. Political openness has promoted the circulation of scientists from the 19th Century onwards and connections with universities and parks in the United States. This invention by researchers, which is not exceptional but which locally renews a recurrent process since the origin of the practice of discovery, has prepared the introduction into tourism, which has been carried out mainly since the mid-1990s [BOU 16]. The State has promoted this increase with a view to economic development in order to cope with the decline in income from coffee or banana plantations. After a period of deforestation linked to this agricultural orientation, the country moved to a phase of planting and conservation [KNA 11]. The fees paid to access the parks finance 70% of the environmental conservation policy [BOU 16], not to mention the indirect economic benefits which, we can add, via tax revenues, also feed the State budget. The rest has been done by entrepreneurs, from local very small businesses such as

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in La Fortuna, a city that controls access to the Arenal volcano, to larger or even international ones along the coast [BOU 16]. However, according to some authors, serious threats appear, such as the lack of a comprehensive environmental policy [NIC 06], which seems questionable [RAY 07, KNA 11] alongside the real increase in violence linked to drug trafficking6. 3.2.4. Typology of tourist places7 This region of the world is characterized by the position of seaside resorts, resorts and tourist posts, which occupy the first places in the ranking according to the frequency of the mentioned places. They thus occupy the first six places. The indices vary little, staying around 1, which indicates the frequency of stays, particularly in Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), along the Maya Riviera (Mexico), Montego Bay or Negril (Jamaica) or Bavaro Beach (Dominican Republic). Day trips Country

Overnight stays

Location

Index Rank

Frequency

Rank

Frequency

Mexico

Cancún

1

1,396

1

803

1.15

Dominican Republic

Punta Cana

2

1,312

2

652

0.99

Cuba

Varadero

3

922

4

507

1.10

Mexico

Riviera Maya

4

849

6

428

1.01

Jamaica

Montego Bay

5

763

8

381

1.00

Mexico

Playa del Carmen

6

747

7

403

1.08

Cuba

Havana

7

702

3

548

1.56

Dominican Republic

Bavaro Beach

8

554

13

281

1.01

6 The website of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, consulted on 13 July 2018, places the country on increased vigilance. 7 We use here the typology of tourist places presented in Chapter 1 (section 1.3.6).

Central America

Mexico

Mexico City

9

535

9

367

1.37

Lake Arenal Arenal Volcano

10

512

10

358

1.40

Tortuguero

11

434

12

285

1.31

San José

12

427

5

441

2.07

Mexico

Tulum

13

394

16

204

1.04

Panama

Panama City

14

380

11

327

1.72

Jamaica

Ocho Rios

15

365

17

182

1.00

Costa Rica

Monteverde Cloud Forest

16

327

15

207

1.27

Jamaica

Negril

17

325

19

161

0.99

Cuba

Trinidad and Tobago

18

283

18

176

1.24

Costa Rica

Manuel Antonio National Park

19

266

23

150

1.13

Cuba

Cayo Santa Maria

20

250

24

135

1.08

Merida

21

249

14

215

1.73

Chichen Itza

22

243

63

50

0.41

Puerto Vallarta

23

232

28

110

0.95

Guatemala

Antigua

24

232

20

155

1.34

Dominican Republic

Bayahibe

25

207

32

101

0.98

Costa Rica

Mexico

79

Table 3.3. Main tourist places in Central America distinguished by the rank and frequency of citations of day trips and overnight stays, and by the tourist typicity index in tour operator catalogs. The ranking is based on the frequency of citations of places for day trips

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Tourist cities come next with Havana and Mexico City. These two urban areas combine a magnificent heritage and their function as a national tourism hub, as shown by their indices of close to 1.5 (1.56 and 1.37, respectively). Less-visited cities – both in the urban hierarchy and in the accumulation of tourist objects, and therefore in tourism – actually cause shorter stops, in the order of one night, and obtain intermediate indicators such as Trinidad (1.24) or Santiago de Cuba (1.28). In addition, Trinidad, along with Antigua, is a touristified city, as tourism has become the driving force of the city. Cancún plays a special role because, through its airport, it is a tourist metropolis for southeast Mexico, welcoming tourists and visitors also travelling along to Yucatán. It is therefore no longer a resort in the strict sense of the term, and already a tourist city (index 1.15). Tulum presents a slightly different case, since the beach’s assets are complemented by the presence of one of the most famous Mayan sites, in addition to being easily accessible. The other capitals act as gateways for tours generally dedicated entirely to each State, particularly when colonial legacies do not have spectacular dimensions, as in Panama City (index 1.72), or when the territory also has much greater attractions than the city itself, such as San José (index 2.07) for Costa Rica. The latter two cities can therefore be described as stopover cities, i.e. tourists sleep there more than they visit them. Mayan legacy, often isolated, is the typical case for tourist sites and is identified with indices well below 1. To visit Chichen Itzá (index 0.41) deep in the forest, most tourists stay in Merida. Uxmal reaches 0.72 with a relatively small number of hotels (five on Booking.com consulted on May 30, 2018). Teotihuacan has an even lower index of 0.02. The places where biophysical heritage is discovered are shared between sites, when they do not offer accommodation, and bars if they do not. The former are the most restricted, and the latter the most frequented, such as the already mentioned Costa Rican national parks. In Arenal Park (index 1.40), accommodation is provided along the shores of the lake, dominated by the volcano. Accommodation can also be provided in cities near the entrance to the parks, such as La Fortuna, located near the same Arenal Park. This touristified city ranks 40th in the list of places mentioned. It is presents an alignment along a stretched main avenue and a few short adjacent restaurant streets, six according to a 2008 plan8, with five hotels, some shops and services (six banks, two supermarkets, two pharmacies). The other parks also have indices above 1: Tortuguero 1.31; Monteverde Cloud Forest 1.27; and Manuel Antonio 1.13. They are authentic bars.

8 www.arenal.net/map/la-fortuna-costa-rica-map, accessed May 30, 2018.

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3.3. Societal practices Tourism practices in the region are quite similar between different societies, but nuances appear that often betray political legacies (see the maps in section 3.5). 3.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies Mexico welcomes all Western societies. However, some nuances appear. According to our approach, Americans and British people value beaches and access cultural places more through excursions from a seaside resort than through tours, unlike other Westerners, Germans, the French and the Spanish. While all favor southern Mexico and especially the southeastern Yucatán peninsula, we note that northern and central Mexico are ignored by the British and Germans, more valued by the Spanish and French while the Americans are neutral. Mexico City is a significant but not major destination for the Spanish and French, notable for the Germans and Americans but not very visited by the British. Among the micro-States of the isthmus, Costa Rica and Panama have significant populations and are also frequented by all former tourism societies. Cuba and the Dominican Republic present an almost identical situation. Indeed, two particular cases appear. Cuba is largely ignored by the Americans, due to the political hostility that has animated relations between the two countries since the overthrow of the Batista dictatorship by Fidel Castro in 1959, and the island’s integration into the Soviet sphere of influence. In addition, the United States has welcomed many emigrants fleeing the regime. The economic embargo against Cuba of 1962 not only severely limited tourist arrivals from the United States, at least directly, but above all prohibited American investment on the island. In fact, Cuba stands out for having higher rates of tourists who come from Canada and Europe rather than from the United States [HER 12]. The hotel groups established are in particular the large chains of Spanish origin such as Barcelo and Melia. The current situation is uncertain. On the one hand, the normalization initiated by President Obama, who restored diplomatic relations in 2015, was followed by the mistrust shown by President Trump. On the other hand, the regime could continue to evolve, but nothing is certain. Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, recently handed over some of the orders in 2018 – though he remains the leader of the single party – to Miguel Diaz-Canel, a loyal member of the regime, representing the new generation, who is gradually succeeding the revolution’s architects, but who seems to want to pursue a moderate transition. Indeed, since 2008, the regime has been liberalized. Private entrepreneurship is no longer totally prohibited and Cubans have been able to visit restaurants and hotels previously reserved for tourists since 2010. The Dominican Republic, which now hosts more than 5 million international

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travelers, 10 times more than in the early 1980s (UNWTO), and is in stark contrast to Haiti, a State that shares the island, is not visited by the Spanish. Next we find other island or isthmus States which, in addition to a less flattering ranking in the hierarchy of destinations, share a less generalized relationship with tourism societies, as shown on the maps. Indeed, privileged links have been established between the islands dependent on the French State and the metropolis: Guadeloupe and Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin. Low internationalization, together with poor tourism and harsh social conflicts, are the major characteristics of the French islands. The importance of financial transfers from the metropolis explains why inhabitants and elites do not feel the need for them, which is the essential driving force behind tourism, despite the measures taken by the French State [GAY 09, GAY 11]. However, Nicaragua and Belize also mainly welcome French people. Antigua and Aruba mainly welcome the British and Americans. Honduras and El Salvador, which are ranked lower, host French and Spanish people. Also, there is a group of islands that is frequented only, or mostly, by British people, namely Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands. Between the two situations, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Panama, Guatemala and Saint Lucia occupy an intermediate situation: these States are not frequented by all societies but by a majority of them. The Spanish stand out among the former tourism societies. This society is the only one to place discovery at the top of its practices in front of the combinations dominated by seaside resorts. Indeed, the high places of discovery hold the top spot, whether it is cities like Mexico City which occupies first place, Havana which follows, or the natural parks Tortuguero and Arenal of Costa Rica. Riviera Maya only ranks fifth and is interspersed between the above-mentioned places and again cities (San José, sixth, then Santiago de Cuba, ninth) and parks (Monteverde Cloud Forest and Manuel Antonio, seventh and eighth). The alternation between seaside resorts (Varadero, 11th, Cayo Santa Maria in Cuba, 16th) and places of discovery (Guanacaste, 10th, Chichen Itzá, 12th, Merida,13th, etc.) then continues. 3.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies Russians frequent the Central American region fairly closely to that drawn by Western societies, but characterized by smaller flows. The same destinations are found in the isthmus. Mexico dominates, followed by Costa Rica and Panama, and then the other countries. For the islands, only Cuba in particular and to a lesser extent the Dominican Republic are frequented. The Russians prefer to discover in this part of the world. The most visited places are Mexico City, Teotihuacan,

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Havana, Chichen Itzá, Merida, Trinidad before the Riviera Maya, Cienfuegos (Cuba), Taxco (Mexico), Cancún and Panama City. The Chinese do not frequent this region of the world very often. Some 20 places appear in the catalogs. Unlike the Russians, the practice of discovery dominates, but Cancún occupies first place, more for contemplation and walking than for resting and exposure to the sun – partly perhaps because of popular beauty goals related to having fair skin. 3.3.3. World connectiveness The analysis of the World connectiveness of places highlights several particularities that characterize this region of the world. First of all, the category of universal places in the world is poorly represented – only two places are included and they clash. Although Cancún and Havana can be characterized as tourist metropolises as they are highly frequented and by individuals from many societies around the world, in this case all those that have been included in the analysis, they are by no means global metropolises at a generic level. Moreover, even in a tourism approach, they are incomplete metropolises since they redistribute little flows beyond a small territory – Yucatán for Cancún and Cuba for Havana. Similarly, Mexico City’s relegation to a subordinate position, the eighth, is surprising. Special circumstances reflect this situation. Mexico’s capital suffers from an economic situation, but also from the social tensions that affect the country. Cancún was originally a seaside resort created as part of a public policy involving the government and major funding agencies. The place is evolving toward a city whose economy is still very dependent on tourism but is in the process of diversification. However, the economic context (that of a long developing country that is now emerging) has not allowed the implementation of diversification and metropolization processes, as in Nice for example. With regard to Havana, the geopolitical context characterized by the nature of the regime and the hostility of the United States explains why the influence of Cuba’s capital remains limited. We note in particular the low presence of American tourists in the main tourist places of this island. Globality Universal places or all worlds

Places Cancún Havana Mexico San José

Quality

All worlds

Quantity More frequented Moderately frequented

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The Tourist Places of the World

Places of a large part of the worlds

Places of a world

Punta Cana

French, Americans, Germans

Varadero

British, French

Playa del Carmen

Germans

Montego Bay

British, French

Riviera Maya

British, Spanish, Germans

Arenal Tortuguero NP Monteverde Cloud Forest NP Panama City Tulum

Spanish, French, Americans, Germans

Moderately frequented

Manual Antonio NP

Spanish, French, Americans, Germans

Less frequented Moderately frequented

More frequented

Negril

British, Americans

Bavaro Beach

British

Ocho Rios

British, Americans

Cayo Santa Maria

British, Spanish, Germans

Bayahibe

French, Germans

Guadeloupe Martinique

French

Very little frequented

Haiti

–

–

Places outside the World

Less frequented

Table 3.4. World connectiveness of the main tourist places in Central America

3.4. Conclusion Central America is the southern part of the tourism area that extends from the metropolises of North America to the Caribbean. It is therefore an integral part of one of the three largest and most touristic areas in the world. The practice of resting beside the sea dominates in the face of the discovery of pre-Columbian legacies and the colonial period. Costa Rica, which has built its tourist image on the enhancement of landscapes, fauna and flora, stands out within this complex. A process of diversification is at work on the basis of claims emanating from somewhat forgotten societies such as the Mayans of today, and the revival of a painful buried past, such as slavery and the forced relocation of populations from Africa.

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3.5. Atlas9

Map 3.1. Main tourist places in the Central American region according to the frequency analysis of British TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 3.2. Main tourist places in the Central American region according to the frequency analysis of French TO catalogs, years 2015–2018 9 For color versions of the maps in this section, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip.

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Map 3.3. Main tourist places in the Central American region according to the frequency analysis of German TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 3.4. Main tourist places in the Central American region according to the frequency analysis of Spanish TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Central America

Map 3.5. Main tourist placesin the Central American region according to the frequency analysis of American TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 3.6. Main tourist places in the Central American region according to the frequency analysis of Russian TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

87

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Map 3.7. Main tourist places in the Central American region according to the frequency analysis of Chinese TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

4 South America

On the world tourist map, South America appears as a continent that is not visited much. A relative distance from the main source of tourists in Europe and East Asia, certainly a little less from North America, at least for the northernmost part, is added to the low population, which started late as with North America, which effectively limits the number of tourists coming from the region1. The practice of discovery dominates and is generally organized on the periphery of the continent as shown in the maps in the atlas in section 4.5. 4.1. Overall, not very touristy With 2.8% of the total number of tourists, South America is one of the least visited regions in the world. 4.1.1. Far from the center and a sparsely populated continent As we have developed in section 1.2.2, tourism relationships are mainly based on proximity. Low population is already a handicap (Table 4.1). After national spaces, inhabitants first frequent nearby countries. Yet this continent is the least populated in the world after Oceania, with 422.5 million inhabitants in 2016 (North America, 579 million, Europe, 741 million). The States here are sparsely populated (Table 4.1), both because of a late initial settlement, as in North America, and because of the extermination of indigenous people as a result of European colonization from the late 16th Century onwards. The forced incorporation of populations from Africa, and the emigration of Europeans, has not been sufficient to compensate for the 1 However, as we pointed out in Chapter 1, non-resident tourists come first and foremost from the region in greater numbers.

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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initial disadvantages. Brazil has 207 million inhabitants, but with 8.5 million km2, the fifth largest State in the world has only 24 inhabitants per km2 (five times less than France). The low number of inhabitants actually leads to weakened tourism, since in all regions of the world, the majority of visitors come from inside the region, as we noted in section 1.2.2 and as shown by UNWTO2 statistics. Second, this continent is located at least 8 h by plane from the richest and most populous countries in the world (Table 4.2). The external contribution is therefore also difficult to mobilize. Country

Inhabitants in millions

Density in inhabitants per km2

Brazil

207.65

24

Colombia

48.65

42

Argentina

43.85

16

Peru

31.77

24

Venezuela

31.57

34

Chile

17.91

24

Ecuador

16.39

57

Bolivia

10.89

10

Paraguay

6.73

17

Uruguay

3.44

19

Guyana

0.77

3

Suriname

0.56

4

Table 4.1. Populations and population densities of the States of South America in 2016

2 Of which we recall that they are produced with a very broad definition of “tourism”, which includes unrelated mobility, such as business travel.

South America

Flights from Paris to...

Cost

Time

Rio de Janeiro

Around 1,100 euros

8 hours

Lima

Around 900 euros

15 hours

Buenos Aires

Around 1,100 euros

11 hours

Bogota

600 to 900 euros

11 hours

Rio de Janeiro

2,800 euros

32 hours

Lima

2,600 euros

35 hours

Buenos Aires

1,900 euros

31 hours

Bogota

2,500 euros

38 hours

Rio de Janeiro

1,200 euros

10 hours

Lima

800 euros

8 hours

Buenos Aires

1,400 euros

20 hours

Bogota

1,400 euros

9 hours

91

Flights from Tokyo to...

Flights from Atlanta to...

Table 4.2. Flight time by plane between the world’s main source markets and the main destinations in South America (source: research conducted in August 2018 based on flight comparison websites)

Moreover, the political instability that marked the 20th Century in this part of the world, as well as economic difficulties and high social inequalities, are obstacles to the development of intraregional mass tourism. In addition, national elites have long developed tourist practices toward European metropolises, and it has taken the distancing of relationships due to the world wars to change these tendancies [BER 14]. The situation of insecurity can be added, which tarnishes the image of the continent: “Endemic violence feeds the unease of the population and weighs on the economy. Crime costs the countries of the region and the Caribbean 3.5 per cent of their annual GNP3”. Along with Central America (see Chapter 3), this region of the world remains one of the most violent in the world.

3 De Vergès M., “En Amérique latine, un prix du sang très élevé”, Le Monde, November 11, 2018.

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The Tourist Places of the World

Like Central America, the current States resulted from the break-up of the former Spanish empire, first of all, thanks to the occupation of Spain by Napoleon’s France. Then, the Creole elites at first were loyal and supported the metropolis against Joseph I, Napoleon’s brother [THI 18]. But the lack of recognition of this role, in particular through fair representation of Americans in the Spanish Assembly, aggravated the situation and pushed the Creoles to independence. The unitary dream carried out by the first liberator Simon Bolivar in particular did not resist secessionist attempts. “The Libertadores were soldiers” whose ambitions added to political differences and local interests to feed fragmentation [ROU 18, p. 90]. Argentina proclaimed its independence in 1816, Gran Colombia in 1817 (which later split into three States: Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador), Chile in 1818, Peru in 1821, Bolivia in 1825 and Uruguay in 1828. Brazil is distinguished first by its historical ties with Portugal and then by its peaceful independence. By the Treaty of Tordesillas signed in 1494, the Pope put an end to the tensions between the two Latin powers and effectively attributed Brazil to the Lusitano people. The emancipation of the American colony was progressive. The invasion of the metropolis by Napoleonic troops in 1807, which caused “the royal family, the government, and some of the elites” [END 18] to flee, was the first act. King John VI’s refuge in Rio changed relations between Brazil and Portugal in the direction of a rebalancing, particularly when, after the departure of the French in 1811, the court refused to return. The metropolis tried to close the episode, but exhausted by the war, ruined by the loss of the trade monopoly with its colony, it no longer had the means to pursue its policy. A liberal revolution in 1820, which required a constitution and the king’s return to Lisbon, failed John VI but not his son, the Prince Regent of Brazil, Pedro I, who declared independence in 1821 [END 18]. Brazil did not fragment, despite the weak connections between the south and the north in particular, which was only possible by sea until the middle of the 20th Century. The development of coffee cultivation was accompanied by the transportation of slaves from Africa. Abolition was not proclaimed until 1888. The continent is marked by significant social inequalities. These tensions have paved the way for bloody military dictatorships, “with tactical support from the US” [PAN 15, p. 13], which have had negative effects on economic, social and cultural development. In the late 1980s, parliamentary democracy was restored everywhere. 4.1.2. Hierarchy of States Latin America has established itself in the European imagination as a paradise and an El Dorado since the early days of conquest. An abundant literature has been available since the middle of the 16th Century [PAN 15]. But many obstacles limit

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the development of tourism. In 2012, Latin America received fewer tourists than France alone4 [OLI 15]; in addition to the effects of distance from the main markets, several factors limit the expansion of the sector, including weak public policies, social inequalities and the violence they generate, the lack of skilled labor and economic instability [SAN 15]. South America shares with southern Africa the highest Gini coefficients in the world5. This continent also manifests itself in the rate of intentional homicides (mortality outside wars) [VER 18b]6. “The Gini coefficient or index is named after the Italian statistician and demographer Corrado Gini (1884–1965). It is a dispersion indicator that mainly makes it possible to assess inequalities in the distribution of a territory’s wealth. It varies between zero and one, zero being the situation of perfect equality (each citizen is exactly as rich as his neighbor), one being the situation of perfect inequality (one citizen has all the wealth, the others none). The countries of the world are thus ranked between 0.25 (Scandinavian and Central European countries) and 0.70 (emerging countries in Latin America and Central Africa).” Box 4.1. The Gini coefficient measures social inequalities 7 (source: Samuel Depraz in Géoconfluences )

The current distribution of tourists in the continent favors Peru and Argentina: each of them concentrates around 20% of the places mentioned. Brazil and Chile follow at around 15%, followed by Ecuador at around 10%. Colombia and Bolivia are around 6–7%. The other States are not visited very often. Venezuela does as much as Antarctica, just under 2%, while Uruguay (just under 1%) and especially Paraguay and French Guiana (less than 0.5%) are secret destinations. Suriname and Guyana are never mentioned. This hierarchy combines the social attractions that motivate tourists with the risks, including political instability, that prevent their realization. From this last point of view, the situation in Colombia has recently improved dramatically after years of civil war waged by the FARC against the government. In Venezuela, the situation is far from stabilized. This general approach is qualified according to the societies. For German TOs, Peru, Argentina and Chile are ahead of Brazil and Ecuador, followed by Bolivia and Colombia. In Spanish catalogs, Colombia ranks third ahead of Chile and Brazil, which ranks fifth only

4 The author uses UNWTO data and considers Latin America in the traditional sense of the word, Central and South America combined. 5 www.populationdata.net/cartes/monde-coefficient-de-gini. 6 See also the map: https://atlasocio.com/cartes/societe/criminalite/carte-monde-tauxhomicide-volontaire-en-2016_atlasocio.png. 7 http://geoconfluences.ens-lyon.fr/glossaire/coefficient-gini.

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The Tourist Places of the World

ahead of Ecuador. The French put Brazil in first place ahead of Peru and Argentina. Chile comes next in front of Ecuador, followed by Colombia and Bolivia, and finally Venezuela. The British are distinguished by the second place given to Antarctica, which competes with Argentina, but Peru is the top of the list. Brazil and Chile follow. Among Americans, the first destination is Ecuador, followed by Peru and Argentina, then Chile and Brazil. Russian TOs offer Brazil before Peru, followed by Argentina and Ecuador, before Colombia and Venezuela. The Chinese, for their part, opt for Argentina ahead of Brazil and then Peru. 4.2. Touristicity of places The distribution of tourist places in South America is marked by a strong peripheralization. The high places are located near coasts (Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Ushuaïa), but they are not always coastal (Cuzco and Machu Picchu in Peru). This situation is due to the history of the continent. First, the civilizations that constituted the most powerful States and developed the most spectacular physical constructions, most closely corresponding to tourist representations, developed on the highlands of the Andes Cordillera that join the continent to the west, along the Pacific Ocean coast. On the contrary, the heart of the continent to the north is occupied by the Amazonian rainforest a place where less structured and less numerous societies have been created and which have not developed large constructed monuments. Then, the conquest and settlement by the Europeans took place from the coast. This system was extended on a long open basis. Argentina escapes this pattern somewhat, as the Patagonian prairie is more suitable for human occupation, but the interior places are less well known. Discovery is by and large the dominant practice, including in Rio, because individuals do not cross oceans to simply sit at the beach. It can support cultural or biophysical objects. 4.2.1. Atlantic Coast Two metropolises stand out for the diversity of their attractions, combining heritage and modernity: Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. In this order, they dominate tourism on the continent. In addition to Rio, there is the exceptional dimension of the site crowned by the famous Corcovado and raised by Sugarloaf mountain, accessible by cable car. The well-known beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana complete the stay with the Botanical Garden and the colonial districts of the center, which testify to the status of the historic capital of Brazil from 1808 (United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves) until 1960. The mobilization of private and public actors, marked by several successive plans, has led to a diversification and expansion of the city’s tourist area. In addition to the old social

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95

attractions of a coastal city, and to the carnival born at the end of the 19th Century, we can add museums, the discovery of the historic center, visits to peaceful favelas, etc. [FRA 15]. Buenos Aires possessed tango and its architectural achievements from the 19th Century, but also the pampas to be discovered during excursions. The Argentine capital benefited in particular from the organization of the 1910 International Exhibition, on the occasion of a centenary of independence, to enhance its architectural prestige [BER 14]. In the north, Salvador de Bahia (9th on the continent) and Cartagena (11th) then emerged ahead of a string of coastal sites in the Brazilian Northeast, Colombia and Venezuela. Further inland and further south, the Iguaçu (in Portuguese) or Iguazú (in Spanish) Falls visited on both the Brazilian (8th place) and Argentinean (seventh place) sides of the continent are the most important biophysical sites on the continent. Secondary places, on the tourist level, also appear. Thus, Sao Paulo, the country’s economic capital, occupies a modest rank (85th on the continent). Similarly, Brasilia, the recent political capital built ex nihilo within the country according to the decision taken in 1956, does not enjoy a number of visitors commensurate with its architectural value (101st place). Thanks to Lucio Costa, the planner, and the architect Oscar Nemeyer, who designed most of the buildings, the very homogeneous urban complex is an exceptional testimony to the architecture of the second half of the 20th Century. The UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987 was not enough to elevate it to the status of a major tourist attraction. 4.2.2. The Andes and the southern cone In this western part of the continent, large cities also organize flows as gateways for arrivals and departures, as distribution hubs, most often according to channels dedicated to each country and for their own attractions. An exceptional situation prevails in Peru where the current capital, Lima, in fourth place in the region, is competing with Cuzco, which is imposing itself as an intermediate center and precedes it in the ranking. Santiago plays this role in Chile (fifth place) as Quito in Ecuador (10th place) and La Paz in Bolivia, which is less frequented (19th place). 4.2.2.1. Discovery of ancient civilizations This practice is spreading to the North. But while TOs highlight ancient civilizations, the framework in which they were deployed also counts in the relationship with tourists. According to Daniel Lévine, the Andes have hosted “a chain of civilizations” [LEV 18, p. 39]. However, the reason for tourism is mainly linked to the Incas.

96

The Tourist Places of the World

In Peru, the Inca heritage dominates trips (Table 4.3). It is seen in tourism through a system that associates Lima, which is the gateway to and from many heritage places. Cuzco, capital of the centralized Incan State, occupies third place on the continent in the frequency of citations. Rebuilt by Pachacutec, the first ruler of the era marked by Inca domination over the people of the region, the city is home to the Temple of the Sun where the mummies of the ruler’s ancestors were kept and worshipped, according to Andean tradition. Machu Picchu comes next and ranks sixth. The Sacred Valley complex, which includes several archaeological sites, and the citadel of Ollantaytambo are also well visited (respectively, 17th and 20th on the continent). The secondary administrative centers that used to relay the Inca power are subject to limited tourist numbers, such as Cajamarca, located in northern Peru (389th place), or even further down Vilcashuaman, in central Peru (not mentioned in TO catalogs). The Incas gradually unified into a group, Tahuantinsuyu – the four parts in Quechua – which extended from the south of present-day Colombia in the north, to the Aconcagua Valley in the south (northern Chile and Argentina). The empire took a slender shape, extending to the nearby Pacific coast, but little to the east, reaching at most the foothills. This centralized system based on domination did not resist the Spanish conquest which, from 1532, played on the discontent of the submissive peoples. Cuzco was conquered in 1533; the rebel prince Tupac Amaru was beheaded in 1572 and the last resistances were defeated in 1574. Other civilizations are less valued, but nevertheless present (notably the Aymaras, see Table 4.3). They are also less well known to the general public. This does not really correspond to a historical reality of alternating between powerful empires, whose remains would be more monumental and therefore visible, and periods of political fragmentation, such as the period from −200 to +800, characterized by the fragmentation into multiple regional cultures. Certainly, the Inca phase corresponds to a period of unification and power that has left more spectacular remains. But conversely, the pyramids and sacrificial platforms built during a centralization phase from −100 to 1,000 are not very frequented in Tiahuanaco (cited eight times, ranked 315th) or ignored in Huari. Conversely, the monumental geoglyphs of the Nazcases, drawn during the fragmentation of the community phase between −100 and +600, rank 54th. Cahuachi, which was their main center, is rarely mentioned (two mentions). For a long time an enigma, only the invention of aviation made it possible to understand them, and two serious hypotheses now account for the interpretation of these figures. They could be a set of ritual paths followed by the Nazcas. At the extremities, excavations revealed the presence of sacrificial altars. Maria Reiche, who was the first to study them scientifically, studied an astronomical and agrarian calendar. It was also at the origin of the classification as a World Heritage Site and the construction of an observation tower, at the same time ensuring the protection of the figures [DUC 18]. The remains of other pre-Incaic civilizations are even less considered in tourism. For example, the royal tombs of Sipan, which bear witness to the Mochica culture,

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97

appear only in French TO catalogs, at 669th place with two mentions. The Paracas site, located on the Peruvian coast near Tambo Colorado and built by the culture that was later extended by the Nazcases, is a little more popular (58th place, 76 mentions). At Lake Titicaca, we find the combination of quality of the environment and originality of the societies (Table 4.3). Access to the region is controlled by Puno, which stands at 22nd place, just in front of the lake. However, some of the tours extend to Bolivia. The most frequented place within the lake complex is Taquile Island (ranked 40th), famous for textile production among the inhabitants, classified by UNESCO as an intangible cultural property. Then, the floating islands of the Uros, hamlets built on reed rafts, listed in 46th place, are another major cultural attraction. This population disappeared in the 1950s and the tourist development of this culture is perpetrated by the Aymaras of Puno [RAS 54]. Sun Island is also visited (106th place) for its Incaic remains, including the Temple of the Sun. The legacies of the Spanish occupation are also highlighted by tour operators (Table 4.3). They are concentrated in the major colonial cities, some of which have become capitals of the independent States, including Lima. Arequipa combines two forms of heritage since the destination is frequented for the Santo Domingo convent, but which was built on the ruins of the Temple of the Sun, revealed by the earthquake of 1950. Day

Place

4

Sillustani

5

Lake Titicaca, night Puno

6

Raqchi

7

Cuzco

8

Chincheros

Pre-Inca heritage

Inca heritage

Touristic objects Stop on the road to Puno. Funeral traditions of yester-year, pre-Inca archeological site Uros floating island built on reeds by the Aymara Indians “where the peaceful life of the inhabitants and customs have not changed since the dawn of time” Route from Puno to Cuzco Viracocha Temple Inca heritage: Qorikancha temple “remnants of an Inca residence”, Tambomachay ruins, Puca Pucara, Kenko, Sacsayhuaman Feast of the Sun “Inti Raymi” each year at summer solstice included in June trips “Folk dinner with chants and dancing” Village “where inhabitants wear multicolored clothing and carry out a unique craft”

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The Tourist Places of the World

Colonial heritage

8

Olantaytambo

Fortress considered “as the capital of the Peruvian Indians”

9

Machu Picchu

Access by train to “visit and discover the sacred city of the Incas, the most renowned in South America”

2

Lima

Colonial historic center: government palace, cathedral, Santo Domingo monastery

3

Arequipa

Colonial city, “a true gem of the 17th Century” in white stone, covering Santa Catalina, “Arab-Spanish decor”

6

Andahuaylillas

Church

Cuzco

Colonial heritage: Plaza de Armas, cathedral

2

Lima

San Isidro Quarter, headquarters of transnational companies, embassies Miraflores Quarter, commercial and festive

7

Cuzco

“An afternoon free to discover the beauty of the city and its popular neighborhoods as you wish”

2

Lima

Viewing bridge in El Parque del Amor view of the “Pacific Ocean and its cliffs”

4

Vers Puno

“Mountain road… through breathtaking landscapes”

5

Lake Titicaca

–

6

Col de la Raya (4,318 m)

Road from Puno to Cuzco, view of the Andes

10

Puerto Maldonado

In the morning, a flight from Cuzco to Puerto Maldonado, an afternoon hike in the tropical forest

11

La Copa de Loros

“Hundreds of multicolored parrots”

11

Monkey Island Lake Sandoval

Trip in a canoe and “night safari to observe the caimans and the sunset”

7

Modernity

Countryside, biophysical elements

Table 4.3. Distribution of the themes of discovering Peru on a trip proposed by Nouvelles Frontières in 2019 (source: catalog, author’s design)

4.2.2.2. Discovery of biophysical elements The other tourist places in the Cordillera enhance biophysical heritage. The southern part is rather the theater, unlike the northern part, which is marked by

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99

cultural legacies, particularly the Incas. However, the biophysical world is also involved (Table 4.3). The discovery highlights three elements: the landscapes of the high mountains along the ridge, the high plateaus and salt deserts in the central part, in Bolivia and Chile, and finally, in the south, the glaciers are the main attractions along with the fjords and the coast on the Chilean side, such as the Torres Del Paine Natural Park (16th place on the continent), and at the southern end of Argentina. These biophysical objects are accessible via towns in the foothills that are rarely visited for themselves, but the catalogs do not always specify that they are places of departure for excursions. El Calafate, which governs access to the glaciers on the Argentine side, ranks 14th on the continent as a whole and has an index of 1.3. San Pedro de Atacama (17th place) sends tourists to the salt deserts of the Chilean highlands. Ushuaïa (18th place) also plays this role to access Tierra del Fuego National Park or to approach Cape Horn. However, the city is not lacking in attraction, particularly the Museum of the End of the World inaugurated in 1979, and reaches an index of 1.01. The site is magnificent, at the end of Tierra del Fuego Island, surrounded by high mountains and bordered by the Beagle Channel. The city also enjoys the title of the most southern city in the world. 4.2.2.3. Discovery of wine-growing regions Complementary elements appear here and there, such as vineyards in Argentina. Vines were introduced to Argentina in the 16th Century. Several theories were put forward for this, but it seems that colonizers introduced them for religious reasons. For a long time, the wine produced, particularly in the Mendoza region, at the foot of the Andes, was of poor quality, consumed cut with water or lemonade. In the 1990s, under the influence of the world market and the arrival of capital, quality improved and Argentine wine was exported. Landowners quickly seized the opportunities offered by tourism and now offer various services, while the public authorities have been supporting and structuring the wine tourism sector since 2010, in particular by building dedicated roads. Two-thirds of the attendance is made up of Argentines from Buenos Aires and one-third of foreigners [SCH 15]. 4.2.3. Tourist suburbs of the continent La Selva is an inner periphery in the sense that it constitutes a hollow in the frequentation of the continent. The Amazonian forest is accessible to tourists (Box 4.2), partly as part of tours in Brazil (52nd place, 81 citations) organized mainly around Manaus (33rd place for TO citations with a total of 122 citations). The city was founded in 1669 on the Rio Negro above the confluence with the Amazon, but it expanded rapidly as part of the rubber cycle that animated the region from the mid-19th Century. The city then ordered the exploitation of rubber trees by the seringueros who roamed the Amazonian forest in search of precious trees.

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The Tourist Places of the World

The urban development was then spectacular, as shown by the famous opera Teatro Amazonas, inaugurated in 1896, where the famous Enrico Caruso performed. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the city’s decline was caused by competition from plantations developed in Malaysia and Indonesia, following the fraudulent export of seeds by a British explorer. But the Andean countries also offer an experience in the lush forest both in Ecuador (100 citations, 38th place) and Peru (114th place, 34 citations). An extended stay in La Selva (days 10 and 11) is therefore proposed as part of the tour in Peru proposed by the TO Nouvelles frontières (Table 4.3). Cruises on the Amazon and its tributaries, natural routes of penetration, are the main mode of discovery. An adventure... on the edge of the Amazonian forest “Manaus, known as Paris dos Trópicos (Paris of the Tropics), is the gateway to the Amazon rainforest with over 2 million inhabitants, a seemingly out-of-place pocket of urbanity in the middle of the jungle. One must not miss the local cuisine, with its exotic dishes, such as local fish, fruit, and soup prepared traditionally. Most recently receiving attention for hosting four World Cup matches in 2014 and six matches during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Manaus is an urban gem that shot up right in the middle of the rainforest. Once you have transferred by boat to your hotel deeper in the basin, you will spend days immersed in the immensely beautiful and striking Amazon Rainforest, with its biodiversity and colors amazing you at every turn. See monkeys in their natural habitat, learn what it is like for the natives who live off the banks of the River, go fishing, and take a night tour in a canoe. Get ready for an adventure of a lifetime in one of the world’s true natural wonders. From $1,699 based on double occupancy … Spend two full days immersed in the Brazil Amazon Rainforest and take part in multiple activities: Meeting of Waters tour, Nature Hike, Monkey Forest, ‘traditions and customs of local Amazonians’, fishing tour, night tour in canoe.” Accommodation: First Class, Tropical Manaus Eco-resort, situated “at the entrance of the majestic Amazon rainforest on the banks of the Rio Negro”; Standard: Amazon Ecopark Jungle Lodge. Comment: In reality, from “deeper” or “middle of the jungle”, the brief incursions will only take tourists a few hundred meters from Manaus (e.g. the Tropical Manaus Ecoresort is located on the edge of Rio Negro but also on Coronel Teixeira Avenue) or 26 km from Manaus for the standard category on the banks of the “Tarumã Açu River... Tributary [bank] left of the Rio Negro, which it enters just west of the city of Manaus”. Box 4.2. A discovery of the Amazonian forest facilitated by the proximity to Manaus, the Paris of the tropics, 5 nights stay, including 2 days in the forest. A proposal from the American TO Pacific Holidays (source: Wikipedia, article "Tarumã Açu River" consulted on March 18, 2019).

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Asuncion (144th place and 27 citations), the capital, and missions in Paraguay are exceptions in this little-frequented country. The latter are urban groups founded by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in the 17th and 18th Centuries in order to evangelize the natives but also to remove them from slavery, which allowed the preservation of traditions. The architectural style combines European and local elements. The best known, listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, are the Santisima Trinidad del Paraná, although not very popular (301st place, nine citations), and Jesús de Tavarangue (876th place, two citations). The Pacific islands, the Galapagos and Easter Island, are the subject of cruises from either Guayaquil (boat or plane) or Quito (plane) in Ecuador for one or Santiago for the other. Galapagos is a province of Equador. An archipelago of about 40 islands, only the four largest Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, Isabela and Floreana are inhabited and the most visited. Volcanic activity is intense at the intersection of several divergent tectonic plates. The national park and marine reserve are classified as World Heritage Sites. The presence of abundant fauna, especially iguanas, supports tourist visits. Darwin stayed there in 1835. Thus, the archipelago as a whole ranks 57th, whereas Santa Cruz ranks 31st with 127 citations, Isabela 42nd with 92 citations, Floreana is much less cited and San Cristobal never cited. However the archipelago is classified on UNESCO’s list of sites in danger. Easter Island is one of the most isolated places in the world. This does not prevent it from being ranked 47th among the places visited. It was subject to the furthest east and the latest migrations by Polynesians (between 400 and 1200 according to interpretations). The island is famous for the statues, the moai, erected by the first Polynesians who arrived on the island. Around the 16th Century, in connection with an environmental crisis, the cult evolved and the erection of these sculptures made of volcanic tuff ceased in favor of the cult of Makemake and the bird-man Tangata manu. Antarctica is mainly frequented by cruises departing from Ushuaïa and approaching and sometimes allowing a landing at different locations on the Graham Peninsula. 8

4.2.4. Typology of tourist places

The continent is home to two major tourist metropolitan areas, Rio and Buenos Aires (Table 4.4), whose indices 1.14 and 1.37 reveal that they are both visited for themselves and that they constitute the main hubs for the redistribution of tourist

8 We use here the typology of tourist places presented in Chapter 1 (section 1.3.6).

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The Tourist Places of the World

flows. Tourist cities such as Lima and Santiago also function as stopping places, so their indices are higher, respectively 1.7 and 1.88. The Chilean capital is thus the gateway and the obligatory passage for the country. Both the excursions to Valparaíso and Vina del Mare leave from there and the discovery of the whole country from north to south involves going back through this central hub. In addition to its attractions, including colonial legacies, the Peruvian capital benefits from the obligation for tourists to adapt to the altitude. A touristified city, in the sense that tourism has become its main activity, Cuzco, the former capital of the Incas, suffers from competition from Lima on the one hand, and from Machu Picchu, discovered in 1911, on the other. It is in fact a host city as shown by the index of 1.95. These five cities are the most popular for day visits and also the first for overnight stays. Other cities we can then point to are Quito, Cartagena, Salvador de Bahia, Bogota and La Paz. Ushuaïa (index 1.73) has its own reputation and attractions, such as the nearby Tierra del Fuego Park, but also acts as a gateway to the South Pacific, with cruises from there to the Beagle Strait, overlooking Cape Horn, and to Antarctica. Indeed, the city is the closest port to the tourist part of the continent. Other cities are emerging as stopovers (Table 4.4). They allow access to the sites but are rarely visited for themselves, or during a rest period. El Calafate (index 2.4, seventh place for overnight stays compared to 14th place for day trips) commands access to the glaciers of the Argentinean Andes. San Pedro de Atacama (index 2.15, 11th place for overnight stays, 17th place for day trips) is the ideal place to visit the Chilean highlands and salt deserts. Puno controls access to Lake Titicaca and is the only way to reach it and Bolivia, after visiting the Incan remains further north. Thus, the index reaches a high value of 4.43 and the city ranks 6th for overnight stays compared to 24th for day trips. Similarly in the south, the city of Puerto Natales, from which the Torres del Paine Park is reached, has an index of 2.64 and ranks 19th for overnight stays compared to 28th for day trips. Puerto Varas, which also enables access to the mountain range, has the same accentuated profile (2.65, 24th place for overnight stays and 53rd place for day trips). Machu Picchu, although a small agglomeration of hotels is located nearby, functions as a site because many forms of accommodation are scattered in the Urubamba Valley, or Sacred Valley, or concentrated in Cuzco, from which day trips are organized to the Inca sacrificial center. As a result, this high place, ranked sixth for days, only ranks 75th for overnight stays and has an index of 0.31. The Iguazú Falls, in Spanish on the Argentine side, or Iguaçu Falls in Portuguese on the Brazilian side, is a site in itself but is visited from nearby cities, where concentrations of hotels welcome tourists. As the falls are located on both sides of the border between Brazil and Argentina, and close to the borders of the latter two States with Paraguay, the creative geopolitical situation has boosted three cities: one in Paraguay, Ciudad del Este, which has more than 320,000 inhabitants and is the

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country’s second largest city, the other in Brazil, Foz do Iguaçu, 253,000 inhabitants, the last, in Argentina, is smaller but closer to the waterfalls, Puerto Iguazú, with 32,000 inhabitants. Most biophysical places are sites. Torres del Paine National Park, 16th place for day trips, has an index of 0.8 (while Puerto Natales, which is its gateway, has a three times higher index, as noted above). Day trips

Country or continent

Place

Brazil Argentina

Overnight stays Index

Rank

Visits

Rank

Visits

Rio

1

1,747

1

997

1.141

Buenos Aires

2

1,287

2

882

1.371

Cusco

3

828

3

809

1.954

Lima

4

779

4

664

1.705

Chile

Santiago

5

579

5

545

1.883

Peru

Machu Picchu

6

487

34

75

0.308

Argentina

Iguazú

7

459

8

280

1.22

Iguaçu

8

445

10

267

1.2

Salvador de Bahia

9

386

13

261

1.352

Ecuador

Quito

10

374

9

270

1.444

Colombia

Cartagena

11

363

12

264

1.455

Peru

Arequipa

12

322

14

251

1.559

Colombia

Bogota

13

300

16

221

1.473

Argentina

El Calafate

14

299

7

359

2.401

Antarctica

Antarctic Peninsula

15

254

22

127

1

Torres del Paine

16

252

25

101

0.802

San Pedro de Atacama

17

247

11

266

2.154

Peru

Brazil

Chile

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Argentina

Ushuaïa

18

233

17

202

1.734

Bolivia

La Paz

19

226

18

195

1.726

Peru

Sacred Valley/ Urubamba River

20

209

15

238

2.278

Bolivia

Lake Titicaca

21

180

57

42

0.467

Puno

22

174

6

385

4.425

Ollantaytambo

23

170

81

24

0.282

Peru

Table 4.4. Main tourist places in South America distinguished according to the rank and frequency of citations for day trips and overnight stays and according to the tourist typicity index in tour operator catalogs. The ranking is based on the frequency of citations of the places for day trips.

4.3. Societal practices The different societies studied are not very different in terms of the tourist practices they implement in South America, where the discovery of fairly shared objects clearly dominates. However, as we will see, some nuances appear (see the maps in the atlas in section 4.5). On the contrary, the main places of regional seaside tourism do not appear in TO catalogs. Thus, the large Argentine resort of Mar del Plata, launched in the 1890s, is totally absent. Natural parks are more shared by Argentinean and international customers [BER 14]. Similarly, in Brazil, Argentines tend to frequent the beaches of the southern States (Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Parana), which are well connected to Buenos Aires and closer than Rio. Brazilians themselves are spread throughout the country and also favor all coasts [LEB 10]. For all societies, the dichotomy between a relatively marginal center and a more touristy periphery is essential. Similarly, the structure of trips is strongly influenced by the map of States. Only a few routes escape it, especially those that, from Lima, offer a terminal escape to Bolivia, via Puno and Lake Titicaca. 4.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies French TOs offer all of South America in their catalogs, including the least touristy States (notably Colombia, Venezuela and Paraguay) and the opposition between the less frequented heart and the coastal periphery in the west, especially the Andes in the east, appears to be very marked. Rio dominates more widely than

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for other societies (1,005 citations, more than twice as many as Buenos Aires, which has 489 citations). With the exception of the Iguaçu Falls, disadvantaged by their border situation – they also appear in Argentina – Brazil is then frequented by a large number of fairly dispersed places and from which none in particular emerges, except Salvador de Bahia (fifth place, 278 citations). There follows a rather remarkable concentration in Peru dominated by Cuzco (third place, 332 citations) and Lima (fourth place, 295 citations), then Arequipa (eighth place, 202 citations) and the famous Machu Picchu site (ninth place, 195 citations). Then, two other concentrations appear in Argentina, in the south, around Ushuaïa, and along the mountain range, around El Calafate, which controls access to it, and Santiago on the Chilean side. Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and, to a lesser extent, Venezuela come next, with no real site except Cartagena. The TOs of Spain are distinguished by a smaller presence in Brazil, which is obviously due to the absence of historical links, which, on the contrary, structure relationships with other countries on the continent. Thus, Buenos Aires ranks first place for this market (230 quotations) while Rio only appears in fourth place, after Lima (141 quotations) and Cuzco (136 quotations). In fact, Peru has a concentration of high places, all less frequented than the Argentine capital but more numerous. The offer remains very much divided between cultural monuments and biophysical sites and landscapes, even if the Incan and colonial legacies are supplanted by the Argentine capital. For the British, the Antarctic peninsula dominates ahead of Buenos Aires (147 quotations), and Cuzco (124 quotations) ahead of Rio (92 quotations) and Lima (79 quotations). Venezuela and Colombia are not very frequented. For the United States, Rio (155 citations) and Buenos Aires (157 citations) are equal9 ahead of Santiago (78 citations), Quito (74 citations), and Lima (73 citations). Ecuador is relatively more present than other societies, showing a relatively greater interest in biophysical landscapes, but Incan sites are not forgotten (Machu Picchu, seventh place and Cuzco, eighth). For the Germans, Buenos Aires wins (164 citations) ahead of Rio (139 citations). Then come the high places of Peru dominated by Cuzco and Lima. Biophysical interests follow, notably Torres del Paine (6th place) and Iguazú (9th place), after the cities that allow them to be reached (Santiago, fifth place, La Paz, seventh or Quito, eighth).

9 We do not accept the proposal of a part of the literature that places, particularly for the United States, Sao Paulo on a par with Rio as a major tourist destination. This is an effect of the lack of critical distance from institutional statistics, which do not distinguish business mobility from real tourism mobility, and thus promote Brazil’s economic metropolis.

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4.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies Chinese TOs focus on a smaller number of places, as in most other regions of the World. Buenos Aires dominates, but the Iguazú Falls comes before Rio, where the Chinese walk to admire the beaches rather than venture into the water. Manaus and Sao Paulo, respectively, in fourth place (33rd place all companies combined, 37 out of 122 citations for all catalogs) and fifth place (85th place overall, 32 citations for the Chinese out of 49 in total) occupy unusual places for these cities. For the first, the notoriety of the place in Chinese representations is based on the memory of emigration triggered in the past by the rubber cycle, while the economic capital of Brazil benefits from the interest shown by the same society in modernity and shopping. Russian TOs are characterized by a lower interest in Buenos Aires, cited 20 times and in ninth place. Rio is by far the number one (176 citations). Incan legacies are well represented in catalogs, as well as high biophysical sites. 4.3.3. World connectiveness of South America’s tourist attractions World connectiveness

Places

Universal places or all worlds

Rio Buenos Aires Cuzco Lima Santiago Machu Picchu Iguazú/Iguaçu Salvador de Bahia Quito Carthagène

Places of a large part of the worlds

Arequipa Bogota El Calafate Torres del Paine Sacred Valley Ushuaïa

Quality

All worlds

No British, Russians, or Chinese No Chinese No Germans, Chinese or Russians No Americans, Chinese or Russians No British or Chinese No British or Russians No Chinese or Russians No Russians or Chinese No Russians or Americans

Quantity

More frequented

Moderately frequented

Less frequented

South America

Places of one or two worlds

San Pedro de Atacama La Paz Puno Salta Lac Titicaca

Places of one or two worlds

Places outside the World

Ollantaytambo Cuenca Perito Moreno

107

French and Germans

French, Americans, Russians French, Americans

Less frequented

French, Spanish

Manaus

French, Russians, Chinese

Paraguay Guyana Suriname

–

–

Table 4.5. World connectiveness of South America’s tourist places

The World connectiveness of South America’s tourist attractions is dominated by the continent’s metropolises. The two most frequented, Rio and Buenos Aires, are complete metropolises that are visited for themselves and distribute the flows across the continent. Two others owe their rank to the particular geographical circumstances already mentioned, Lima, as the gateway to the Incaic Andes, allowing adaptation to altitude, and Santiago, due to the latitudinal stretching of the country against the mountain range. Cuzco is more unexpectedly positioned as a place that is both touristified and demonstrates strong World connectiveness, which is a rarer configuration in the world. Machu Picchu and Iguazú as sites, one cultural, the other biophysical, follow. 4.4. Conclusion South America remains a continent with little tourism despite strong images. This is due to the isolation in the southern hemisphere and therefore to the distance from the main sources of tourists. The political and economic histories, as chaotic as they both are, also explain that since independence, which occurred early on, on a global scale, hopes for development have never really been realized, so that intraregional tourism remains uncommon. Discovery is the main and essential practice and focuses on a variety of objects, from the testimonies of pre-Columbian societies, especially the Incas, to the metropolises and high biophysical sites, such as the Iguazú or Iguaçu Falls, or the glaciers of the southern Andes mountain range.

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4.5. Atlas10

Map 4.1. Main tourist places in the South American region according to the frequency analysis of British TO catalogs, years 2015–2018 10 For color versions of the maps in this section, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip.

South America

Map 4.2. Main tourist places in the South American region according to the frequency analysis of French TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

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The Tourist Places of the World

Map 4.3. Main tourist places in the South American region according to the frequency analysis of German TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

South America

Map 4.4. Main tourist places in the South American region according to the frequency analysis of Spanish TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

111

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The Tourist Places of the World

Map 4.5. Main tourist places in the South American region according to the frequency analysis of American TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

South America

Map 4.6. Main tourist places in the South American region according to the frequency analysis of Russian TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

113

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Map 4.7. Main tourist places in the South American region according to the frequency analysis of Chinese TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

5 Central and Northern Europe

This region of the World located to the north of the Mediterranean tourist basin is nowadays, globally, more like a tourist margin. It benefits from being part of the second most populated tourist outbound area in the World, but it was downgraded as a major tourist destination when, at the beginning of the 20th Century, the practice of rest was combined with warm seas, sun and tanning. The gradual adoption of this new model has oriented major tourist flows toward the south [DUH 09], while the former resorts on the Channel coast were moving toward university functions (such as Bournemouth or Brighton), the organization of all kinds of events (again Brighton), or residential events in the orbit of the London metropolis. These places effectively became cities with tourist and leisure functions, rather than resorts. As a result, historic cities have become the main tourist destinations, as shown in the maps in section 5.5. 5.1. Northern margin of a very touristic continent Tourism was invented in North Western Europe in the 18th Century at the same time as the Industrial Revolution. The beach was integrated into society in the mid1800s [KNA 00], but the practice of changing from cold baths and white skin aesthetics to hot baths and tanning devalued the region. As a result, most of the inhabitants preferred the southern margins. How did the practice of tourism take place there? 5.1.1. World Region, the birth of tourism According to historians, notably Marc Boyer [BOY 96] and Laurent Tissot [TIS 00], tourism appeared in England at the end of the 17th Century and in the 18th

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Century, before spreading to Western Europe, France1 and the Holy Roman Empire in Germany in particular2. This invention was profoundly linked to the Industrial Revolution, which provided the means for tourism by increasing economic wealth tenfold, and making it possible to devote part of it to an expensive social practice, and by deploying means of transport that were far more advanced to what existed, particularly in the long term, in the mid-19th Century, before the railways. Economic change also gave full meaning to this mobility, which was part of two major changes. On the one hand, in metropolitan areas, tourists redirected transformations, such as electricity, for recreational purposes, particularly in the context of universal exhibitions. On the other hand, on the outskirts of society, they conquered spaces seen as undiscovered, not transformed by the Industrial Revolution. In doing so, they invented new territories: the beach and the high mountains. 5.1.2. Hierarchy of States The United Kingdom is the most popular tourist State in the region with 20% of all occurrences. In TO (tour operator) catalogs, the use of the name of nations is essential in the presentation of trips, i.e., in order of frequency, England (11.5% of the places cited, and first destination), Scotland (nearly 7%), Wales and Northern Ireland (each just under 1%). The western part of the region is more frequented than the eastern part. The United Kingdom therefore, but also Norway (second country with 8% of occurrences), Austria (third country, just under 8%), Germany, fourth country, and Ireland, sixth country (7% for each country), as well as Iceland (5.4%) attract tourists. The Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark appear to be less frequented at State level, but there is a significant effect3. Switzerland and Finland follow with just under 4%. Central Europe appears to be less visited. Only Russia ranks fifth (nearly 7% of occurrences) in the top 10, and Poland is well ahead of Hungary and the Czech Republic. The other States are much less frequented, especially Ukraine and especially Belarus and Moldova, which remain highly restricted destinations. Certainly this observation can result from our choice to analyze World connectiveness from TOs working in Western European societies. This is because a proximity effect can play a role since tourist mobility suffers from the tyranny of 1 In this book, we have chosen to respect the limits of the States, so that France is entirely treated within the Mediterranean European region while only the southern part of the country is covered in the strict sense. 2 Germany, as a unified State, was created in 1870. 3 Like in this passage, we rely on the cumulative frequency of appearances of place names in catalogs, this method of calculation benefitting the largest countries.

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distance and, moreover, the use of a TO is a function of otherness. However, WTO (World Trade Organzation) data on traveler flows confirm this opposition between a more touristic Western part and the less touristic East. This may be the legacy of the Cold War, which divided Europe in two and weakened ties within the old continent between the post-World War II era and the break-up of the Soviet Union and its alliance system with “sister countries”. The restoration of free movement within the continent has promoted the reintroduction4 of tourism in Eastern Europe, but time has not yet made it possible to completely erase this discontinuity. The easternmost fringe of the continent appears to be less frequented. Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine constitute a generally less visited margin, although disparities exist between tourism societies. Poland, Slovakia and the Baltic countries also complete this relative but less marked gap, while Hungary, the Czech Republic and eastern Germany join Austria and Switzerland to form a dense group. 5.1.3. Three models of tourist space The spatial patterns of tourism in these countries are divided into three models. The first is characterized by a clear opposition between a busy capital and a marginalized national space. This is the case in Sweden, Denmark, where the mainland is largely ignored, and the Czech Republic, where Prague clearly dominates. The second distinguishes between a more frequented region and a much less frequented one. In Germany, the south, from the banks of the Bodensee to Bavaria and the Alps, is in contrast to the center and the north, where only Berlin emerges as a tourist hub. In Norway, the coast, famous for its cruises, and the capital, Oslo, stand out from the interior of the country. In Finland and Sweden, the south is more visited by tourists than the north, despite the success of Rovaniemi, Santa Claus’ village, and its emulators because the idea has inspired actors in other villages. In the latest model, the entire space is used. The British Isles, Iceland and Austria are covered by it, but the last two States are smaller. 5.2. Touristicity of places Tourism practices in the north and east of the European continent clearly, if not exclusively, promote discovery when it comes to cross-border mobility. However, 4 Tourism development is the process by which a space or place becomes a tourist destination. As this part of the continent was touristic before the Second World War, we take the liberty of using this neologism to describe the restoration of tourism links between the two parts of Europe.

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play practices, which involve the body, are not absent and are underestimated because of the method we use. 5.2.1. Large cities, the main object of discovery Indeed, the first 25 places mentioned in the catalogs are large cities, 17 of which are State capitals. Vienna and London lead with 1,158 and 1,071 citations, respectively. Prague, Budapest and St. Petersburg follow with around 700, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Moscow and Stockholm with 600, Oslo and Dublin follow (respectively, 533 and 496) and Munich with 460. This classification of metropolises does not exactly correspond to that established by Tim Freytag [FRE 07]. While the places cited are the same, the order is different. Indeed, according to this author, London and Paris5 dominate ahead of Rome, Berlin, Prague and Madrid. Finally, a third group is composed of several cities including Manchester, Vienna, Munich, Amsterdam, Dublin and Budapest for Northern Europe. The gap we see can come from two sources. On the one hand, Freytag used the statistics of the European body Eurostat, which does not distinguish between overnight stays for tourism, in the sense that we have defined it, and those for business travel6. The order is therefore influenced by the consideration of business travel primarily. On the other hand, our method uses TO catalogs, but as we noted in section 1.6.2, it makes sense with a degree of otherness. As a result, and particularly for Europeans, individuals do not necessarily use a TO to stay in these cities, with direct bookings made with service providers, in particular for transport or accommodation, potentially leading to a time lag to the detriment of the busiest cities, which in fact have less otherness. The discovery of cities focuses on monuments divided into two main categories: those that are part of the heritage, tangible and intangible, and those that bear witness to modernity [DUH 07]. However, this dual face seems to cause problems, as highlighted by the fact that the city center of the Austrian capital is classified on the list of “World Heritage in Danger”7 (Box 5.1). In addition, there are activities and cultural life. Beyond these proposals, which constitute a common and shared group between all cities, diversity is complementary but is a challenge for social attraction. Thus, Vienna stands out for its image linked to music and in particular to the Strauss waltzes; London highlights the splendor of the monarchy, from visits to 5 In our approach, we distinguish Northern Europe from the Mediterranean basin, therefore some cities such as Paris and Rome are not covered in this chapter. 6 Remember that we have based our work on a definition of tourism based on the intention of individuals, i.e. on the meaning they give to their mobility, and therefore business-related travel is constrained in the sense that it is induced by work, commissioned by a company or organization in order to achieve a strategic goal. Moreover, the individual does not bear the costs. 7 Vienna was still on this list on March 3, 2019.

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palaces, to the Changing of the Guard; Prague is seen as a somewhat outdated capital of Central Europe, planted in a country that has become too strict; Moscow and St. Petersburg are seen as a couple, one opening onto the Baltic Sea, flanked by baroque buildings and palaces, the other more austere, made of red bricks, which houses the magnificent Kremlin, the Red Square, the curious St. Basilica opposite the Goum, the department store inherited from the Soviet period. Heritage and modernity do not always mix well for experts “How beautiful Vienna is”, Barbara sang in 1972. So beautiful that in 2001, UNESCO declared the Austrian capital a World Heritage Site. However, 16 years later, it was threatened with relegation. This is because tall buildings are growing like mushrooms and are beginning to disfigure the city center, distinguished for its medieval, baroque and art nouveau architecture. On July 6, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) awarded the social-democratic and ecological municipality a yellow card. It dared to include the historic center of Vienna on the list of “World Heritage in Danger”. A gesture considered bad taste, motivated by the green light given to a real estate project – a “skating club – intercontinental hotel-concert hall” – whose height exceeds by 23 m the height authorized by UNESCO: 43 m. Vienna thus joins the list of 54 sites in danger (out of 1,052 classified), most of which are located in war zones or destroyed by natural disasters. Box 5.1. “Pour l’Unesco, Vienne est en péril” (meaning, “For UNESCO, Vienna is in danger”), article signed by Blaise Gauquelin, correspondent in Vienna (source: Le Monde, September 11, 2017)

The waltz, one of Vienna’s monuments “Is the waltz to Vienna what tango is to Buenos Aires? ‘It is the reference in this field, of course’, says Philippe Chevalier, professor and choreographer. In France, even if traditionally it is still a waltz that opens wedding parties today, this couple’s dance has become obsolete. So let us go to Vienna. As soon as the plane lands, barely a foot in the taxi, Strauss sets the pace. Only 3 beats are required for this spinning dance, which is much easier on the legs than the famous Tango, the ‘sad thought that can be danced’ according to Argentine poet Enrique Santos Discépolo. “This frenzy owes everything to the Strauss family, father and son, who turned up the musical turbo. From the beginning of the 19th Century, the waltz became the driving force behind Viennese dances, the ‘carnival’ of the Austrians, whose season took place from November 11, the day everyone found themselves gambling on the Graben, one of the capital’s central streets, until Ash Wednesday, and even until spring...

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“More than 450 balls take place in Vienna. In 2018, according to the tourist office, they attracted nearly 500,000 people, 55,000 of whom came from abroad. In the clothing shops that rent long dresses and tail-coats – almost mandatory for most evenings – amateurs arrive from Puerto Rico, India or Japan. But the most chic Viennese razzle-dazzle explodes, involving joyfully eating a sausage and plunging it into mustard with your fingers. “For its 78th edition, on January 24, the Wiener Philharmoniker Ball, one of the most popular after the opera, brought together nearly 3,600 people of all ages. ‘It gets solds out very quickly’, commented one participant. ‘The calendar of events should be studied from October to November 11 at the latest to have a chance to get a ticket. But there are also balls whose tickets remain available until the last minute... “The ball season is not only one of the Austrian capital’s tourist attractions but also one of its socioprofessional bases. All professions, from coffee baristas to chimney sweeps to technicians, hold their evenings in different places such as City Hall, the Imperial Palace, etc. The top tier consists of the Opera Ball, the Wiener Philharmoniker Ball and the Life Ball, for the benefit of the fight against AIDS. And there is the confectioners’ one, which is accompanied by a pastry competition while the BonbonBall, at the Konzerthaus, ends with the election of a ‘Miss Bonbon’ receiving her weight in sweets. Economically, balls are important. According to the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, they raised 139 million euros in 2017–2018, each spending on average about 275 euros for the occasion. It is time to waltz!” Box 5.2. “À Vienne, la valse mène toujours le bal” (meaning “In Vienna, the waltz still leads the ball”), article by Rosita Boisseau (source: Le Monde, February 2, 2019)

According to the American TO Globus (Box 5.3), the discovery of a metropolis like London focuses on the city’s main monuments, which bear witness to its rich past, particularly its political role as a capital, as well as on cultural life. The staging of the monarchy also plays a major role. No one wants to escape the spectacle of the Changing of the Guard ceremony on the main square in front of Buckingham Palace. But the palace is only open for visits in August and September, when the Queen retires to Balmoral, Scotland, due to the summer heat. This small annoyance is, however, compensated by the particular atmosphere that reigns in an inhabited royal residence, where the ceremonial rooms seem to be waiting only for the arrival of rows of heads. In addition, you can visit museums, such as the famous British Museum, do some shopping or have a cruise on the Thames. But the metropolitan function also means that excursions to the surrounding area are close enough to be carried out during the day, with a return to London every evening to spend the night there. Thus, TO Globus also schedules the famous but rival university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, the “mysterious and prehistoric” site of Stonehenge, and the Elizabethan city of Stratford-upon-Avon where

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Shakespeare grew up. During this last escape, tourists will cross the “Cotswolds Hills... [famous for their] picturesque villages and idyllic English landscapes”, again according to the TO Globus catalog. To extend the stay, an escape to Bath is essential, a famous Georgian city but above all the first tourist resort in the world built in 1700, and already visited during Roman times. The ancient thermal establishment is the subject of a remarkable stay that immerses the visitor in the atmosphere of the time. For their part, the upscale resorts of the golden age, of the cold bath and the aesthetics of the white body, such as Brighton, have evolved between the persistence of a local seaside resort and the affirmation of a practice of discovering tourist heritage (Box 5.4). Three days in London, a tourist metropolis “The first day is dedicated to the flight and arrival at London Airport and then getting to the hotel. A walk is suggested for relaxation before dinner in a restaurant recommended by the tour director. “The second day is dedicated to visiting the most remarkable monuments: Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret’s Church, all appearing on the UNESCO World Heritage List, a label promoted by the TO. Then, a detour is proposed to a more secret place, the underground bunker that sheltered Winston Churchill during the Second World War. Finally, a visit to the Tower of London, which houses the crown jewels, and a show in the West End, after dinner, to complete the day. “The third day can be devoted to a walk and, but only in August and September, to discovering Buckingham Palace, strolling through the magnificent reception rooms used by the royal family for official ceremonies and receptions.” Box 5.3. Discovery of London proposed by TO Globus (source: catalog consulted March 2, 2019, translation by the author)

Brighton, a day trip, from the practice of cold bathing to the discovery of tourist heritage Brighton, founded by the good doctor Russel, around 1750, who recommended enjoying the waters there, is the first tourist resort in the World. The finest of the British aristocracy came here to take cold baths while shielding themselves from the sun. The change in practices has since changed. However, it is still frequented, among other things for its heritage inherited from the prosperous period, notably the Royal Pavilion designed between 1815 and 1822 for the

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future King George IV by the architect John Nash, who was inspired by exotic architecture, Indian for the facades and Chinese for the interior decoration. The Palace Pier8 is also still very popular, especially for its fairground and restaurants. However, the West Pier, classified as a historical monument in 1975, was destroyed by fire in 2003 – only its metal skeleton remains today. Box 5.4. Brighton, a new tourist life

The discovery practice also includes biophysical objects. The Norwegian coast and its fjords are thus crossed by cruises that allow you to contemplate these sculpted valleys. Iceland exposes its volcanoes and lunar landscapes as it invites you to hot baths, especially at the Blue Lagoon, located only 20 minutes from Reykjavik airport. 5.2.2. Play The Alps region, which borders Central Europe to the south, is home to practices that engage the body. In winter, downhill skiing dominates other physical practices and variants – snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or more diversified practices such as visiting swimming pools, spas or saunas. The other mountain ranges, particularly the Scandinavian Alps, benefit less from international traffic. As a result, they appear little on the maps. Mountain tourist sites are ranked after cities. It is necessary to wait for the 31st place to find the first one, Innsbruck, a city mentioned 131 times. The capital of Tyrol, with a population of almost 200,000 within the city limits, was twice the host of the Olympic Winter Games, in 1964 and 1976. Lillehammer, Norway, where the 1994 Olympic Winter Games were also held, ranks 83rd. Overall, the Alps are manifested by a cloud of moderately frequented places, because our method does not capture the dominant domestic and local customers. A too rapid analysis has led some authors to value the “Tyrolean model” of mountain tourism based on a welcome by inhabitants in small units located in the villages at the bottom of the valley and, conversely, to denounce the dominant choice in Savoie, France, characterized by high altitude resorts qualified as ski factories. In fact, there are also many touristified9 villages in Savoie, for example Megève or Morzine, but above all the orientations taken in Tyrol or Savoie result from different historical contexts, as Rémy Knafou has shown [KNA 93, KNA 04].

8 Piers are long jetty structures built perpendicular to the shoreline. They provide places for walking and entertainment. 9 We call touristified villages those places that were not created by tourism but whose economic activity is now mainly driven by it.

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Austria, created from the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the First World War and the redesign of the map of Europe orchestrated by the victors, led to a denser population by regrouping the Austrian people in a smaller territory. The country has found in tourism an opportunity for economic enrichment. In contrast, in the northern French Alps, hit by a rural exodus at the end of the 19th Century, communities were exhausted and salvation could only come from outside by capitalist companies that allowed the construction, at high altitude, of resorts dedicated to skiing. In some cases, a division into two has even occurred, such as Avoriaz, launched by Gérard Brémond, founder of the Pierre & Vacances group, which was built in the mountain pastures10 of the municipality of Morzine. 5.2.3. Typology of tourist places11 The most frequented tourist places are essentially tourist metropolises, i.e. historic localities invested in by tourism. The indices12 vary little around 1, which characterizes places that are frequented solely for visits. Innsbruck in Austria also has an index close to 1: it is a tourist city in the sense that tourism plays an essential role in its economy but does not dominate it, unlike touristic cities such as Rothenburg in Bavaria, 134th place, where the index of 0.67 indicates a predominance of overnight stays in equivalent numbers. Reykjavik is distinguished by a value well above 1 (1.54). This is due to the isolation and insular situation that leads to a necessary detour through the capital which, added to a minimum flight time of three and a half hours, effectively implies a stay before starting a tour across the country, or at the end, before returning. Day trips

Overnight stays

Index

Country

Place

Rank

Total

Rank

Total

Austria

Vienna

1

1,158

1

592

1.02

England

London

2

1,071

2

469

0.88

Czech Republic

Prague

3

703

4

313

0.89

10 Mountain pastures are high altitude meadows where the herds are led, by transhumance, during the summer period. 11 We use here the typology of tourist places presented in Chapter 1 (section 1.3.6). 12 The index is calculated by dividing the number of overnight stays by the number of day trips. It therefore varies around 1.

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Hungary

Budapest

4

699

6

295

0.84

Russia

St. Petersburg

5

696

9

289

0.83

Denmark

Copenhagen

6

619

7

295

0.95

Scotland

Edinburgh

7

612

3

351

1.15

Russia

Moscow

8

610

14

242

0.79

Sweden

Stockholm

9

597

8

290

0.97

Norway

Oslo

10

540

10

284

1.05

Ireland

Dublin

11

533

5

301

1.13

The Netherlands

Amsterdam

12

496

11

277

1.12

Germany

Munich

13

460

12

273

1.19

Finland

Helsinki

14

366

15

178

0.97

Poland

Warsaw

15

357

17

151

0.85

Iceland

Reykjavik

16

334

13

258

1.54

Poland

Krakow

17

323

16

160

0.99

Norway

Bergen

18

301

18

146

0.97

Austria

Salzburg

19

289

23

102

0.71

Belgium

Brussels

20

264

20

128

0.97

Estonia

Tallinn

21

254

22

106

0.83

Germany

Berlin

22

223

21

114

1.02

Scotland

Glasgow

23

218

19

133

1.22

Latvia

Riga

24

204

25

84

0.82

England

York

25

147

31

68

0.93

Table 5.1. Main tourist sites in Central and Northern Europe distinguished by the rank and frequency of day trip and overnight stay citations, and by the tourist typicity index in tour operator catalogs. The ranking is based on the frequency of citations of the places for day trips

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Three cities stand out for their high index, which reflects a function as a stopover city due to a good service, particularly in terms of air transport, but less prestigious in terms of heritage, such as Frankfurt (index 1.2) as Germany’s financial capital, but also the cities born of industry such as Liverpool (1.3) in the UK and Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, well-located as a link between the others and the most prestigious capitals of Central Europe. However, the Beatles’ notoriety is not enough to compensate for the aura of the royal family. Traditional elites attract more than the most modern showbiz stars. 5.3. Societal practices Tourism practices appear to be slightly different from one society to another. For all of them, the practice of discovery dominates and distinguishes cities, especially State capitals, which are numerous due to political fragmentation and rich in heritage. 5.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies Former tourism societies differ in their relations with destinations in Northern and Central Europe in two ways. On the one hand, the French, British and Americans visit the entire continent, but with a preference for the western part. On the other hand, Germans and Spaniards show a more pronounced preference, which is a nuance, in favor of the eastern part. Certainly, for Germany, there is undoubtedly a proximity effect. For Spain, tourism links with Central Europe could stem from heritage. Indeed, Spain was integrated into the Habsburg Empire, originally an Austrian dynasty, and Emperor Charles V, crowned in 1519, was first crowned Charles I of Spain. In addition, Miguel Ségui Llinas [SEG 95] informs us that the Spanish hotel group was the first capitalist group to invest in Prague in 1992, after the break-up of the Eastern bloc13. American TOs propose tours of Europe that transcend the distinction we have chosen to make between Central and Northern Europe, on the one hand, and Southern Europe assembled with North Africa in a group described as the Mediterranean basin, on the other hand. Indeed, this division is based on the distinction between a whole, in the north, where a practice of discovery predominates, and another, in the south, where the seaside resort contests its supremacy. However, Americans come to Europe mainly for discovery. The

13 One of the names used during the Cold War to describe socialist Europe composed of the Allied States of the Soviet Union.

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analysis of 29 trips proposed by the American TO Contiki (Table 5.2) shows that the countries most often passed through are the countries located in the west of the continent. Number of day trips

Number of overnight stays

Average number of overnight stays per trip

Italy

27

144

5.3

France

29

120

4.1

Germany

20

45

2.3

Greece

7

44

6.3

Spain

15

37

2.5

The Netherlands

19

35

1.8

Austria

19

32

1.7

Switzerland

14

27

1.9

Czech Republic

7

14

2.0

Croatia

2

7

3.5

Hungary

3

6

2.0

Turkey

2

5

2.5

England

25

3

0.1

Poland

1

2

2.0

Slovenia

2

2

1.0

Bulgaria

2

1

0.5

Serbia

1

1

1.0

Albania

2

0

0.0

Belgium

18

0

0.0

Macedonia

1

0

0.0

Slovakia

1

0

0.0

Table 5.2. Frequency of crossings and overnight stays in European countries in the European tour schedule proposed by American tour operator Contiki in 2018

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127

Italy (present in 27 day trips out of 29 and cumulating 144 overnight stays) and France (29 day trips out of 29, but 120 overnight stays) clearly dominate ahead of Germany (20 day trips and 45 overnight stays), Greece (7-day trips and 44 overnight stays) and Spain (15 day trips and 37 overnight stays). Two countries are distinguished by their number of day trips but by a low number of overnight stays, as in England, or even by their total absence, as in Belgium. In the first case, this is due to the fact that London is the most frequently used gateway to start a tour of the continent. Thus, tours do not include overnight stays in this metropolis. Americans can easily add a few nights on site before their departure. In the second case, Belgium is only crossed to reach Amsterdam. In Mediterranean countries and regions, discovery is the essential practice, even in seaside regions. Tours across Europe take two main forms. The most numerous, 11 trips out of 29, draw a large tour of Europe completing a route that extends, diagonally, from London to Rome or sometimes as far as Athens, via Paris and via a return that takes place through Austria (Tyrol and Vienna) Germany (Berlin and the Rhine Valley) and finally the Netherlands (mainly Amsterdam). Then come equally, at the rate of 8 trips out of 30, those that form a single route from London to Rome or Athens via Paris, and 7day trips out of 30, those that double this figure by a return via Austria or Switzerland and Germany, and the Netherlands. The other forms are in the minority: two Mediterranean arcs, from Spain to Italy via the French Riviera, a London–Paris– Barcelona route and a final north arc, London–Paris–Berlin. In total, Greece has the highest average number of overnight stays per trip (6.3), ahead of Italy (5.3) and France (4.1) (third column of Table 5.2). 5.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies Russia is closer to the first pattern of a balanced distribution between the west and east of the continent. However, the former sister countries are not very frequented, with the notable exception of Hungary and especially its capital. Indeed, neither the Baltic States nor Ukraine appear in the catalogs of Russian TOs. Poland is present, but only a little, like Belarus. In the case of Ukraine, recent tensions cannot reflect the situation as mapped because the mobilized TO base predates the outbreak of the conflict. Overall, it seems that the legacy of the Soviet Empire is a heavy one to bear. The Chinese travel across the continent but show a strong preference for the United Kingdom, particularly for London. This society’s appetite for shopping is probably a factor. On a smaller scale, this orientation leads to the use of the city’s most commercial streets (Box 5.6). This society is also characterized by a greater concentration in a smaller number of places, primarily targeting the largest cities with a high reputation. This clearly indicates a more recent appropriation of tourism practice.

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Amsterdam: comparative visits from tourists from China and the United States Americans and the Chinese wander around Dam Square and the red light district, take a cruise on the canals or visit the city’s famous museums. The Diamond Center and the windmills come next. But Americans go to cafés more than the Chinese and, above all, unlike the Chinese, who ignore them, they go for bike rides and enjoy local cuisine and cheeses. Box 5.5. Discovery of Amsterdam, a comparison between Chinese tourists and American tourists, analysis of TO catalogs

London: comparative visits from tourists from China and the United States Americans and the Chinese share many interests in London. Of the 21 institutions cited by the TOs of the two societies, they have 12 in common. Places of power, the monarchy, Buckingham Palace, or the historic London Tower, Westminster and the famous 10 Downing Street, are the main ones. In addition, there is Covent Garden, the Thames River cruise and the British Museum. But the connotations attached to these different monuments vary. While Americans are impressed by the dimensions (Buckingham is “extraordinary”, Westminster Palace is “imposing” and the cathedral holds architectural “wonder”), the Chinese are more interested in the events that mark the life of the royal family: Buckingham Palace is thus “the British royal residence”, Westminster Cathedral is “Prince William’s wedding venue”, as well as “one of the symbols of London”, and Saint Paul’s Cathedral is “Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ wedding venue”, at the same time as it is the “second largest domed church in the world”. But every society has its own secret gardens. The Americans also visit the Imperial War Museum, the Shard (the “tallest building in Western Europe”), and Borough Market (“the most renowned London food market”), as well as Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square, which are not mentioned in Chinese TO catalogs. On the contrary, the latter cite Oxford Street and Regent Street for their commercial activities, the prospects of shopping in department stores in particular, but not only this: the Tate Modern is also a great interest. Box 5.6. Discovery of London, comparison between Chinese tourists and American tourists, analysis of TO catalogs

5.3.3. World connectiveness of tourist places in Central and Northern Europe As shown in Table 5.3, tourist places in Central and Northern Europe are mainly tourist cities and half of them are visited by all societies in the world. Two stand out because of their global international influence but also their tourist influence: London and Vienna. A second group of cities is characterized by an average level of

Central and Northern Europe

129

touristic influence but also universal tourism. Similarly, a last, less visited group follows. World connectiveness

Universal places or all worlds

Places of a large part of the worlds

Places Vienna London Prague Budapest St. Petersburg Copenhagen Edinburgh Moscow Stockholm Oslo Dublin Amsterdam Munich Helsinki Reykjavik Oxford Innsbruck Belfast Lucerne Warsaw Krakow Bergen Salzburg Brussels Berlin Glasgow York Bratislava Killarney Frankfurt

World places

Tallinn Riga Vilnius Manchester Liverpool

Quality

Number of tourists More frequented

Moderately frequented All worlds

Few Chinese, Russians Few Chinese Few Americans Few Chinese, Russians Few Chinese Few Russians, Chinese Few British and Americans

Less frequented

Europeans Russians and Chinese

Table 5.3. World connectiveness of tourist places in Central and Northern Europe according to the use of tour operator catalogs

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The places of many of the worlds and the places of a world are quite heterogeneous categories where lesser known cities and urban places of post-Soviet States mix. As a result, they are rarely, if ever, visited, both because of the tensions and poorly closed wounds between the old satellites and Russia, and because of a lesser notoriety that explains their absence in Chinese TO catalogs. 5.4. Conclusion This region of the World has undergone a profound evolution in the tourism practices of which it was the scene. The seaside resort was born there and has led to the creation of resorts that are now a little outdated, now frequented for their heritage, at least for distant societies, because the closest ones continue to swim there, while discovering the biophysical world of the coasts from the Channel to the North Sea and the Baltic. The discovery took over, especially in the metropolises where it also appeared very early, and in the Far North. 5.5. Atlas14

Map 5.1. Main tourist attractions in the Central and Northern Europe region according to the frequency analysis of British TO catalogs, years 2015–2018 14 For color versions of the maps in this section, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip.

Central and Northern Europe

131

Map 5.2. Main tourist sites in the Central and Northern Europe region according to the frequency analysis of French TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 5.3. Main tourist attractions in the Central and Northern Europe region according to the frequency analysis of German TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

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Map 5.4. Main tourist attractions in the Central and Northern Europe region according to the frequency analysis of Spanish TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 5.5. Main tourist attractions in the Central and Northern Europe region according to the frequency analysis of American TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Central and Northern Europe

Map 5.6. Main tourist attractions in the Central and Northern Europe region according to the frequency analysis of Russian TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 5.7. Main tourist attractions in the Central and Northern Europe region according to the frequency analysis of Chinese TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

133

6 The Mediterranean Basin

In this chapter, we have chosen to focus on the southern part of Europe and northern Africa throughout the Mediterranean basin, respecting the borders of the States, so that France is fully integrated into it. This choice is based on the homogeneity of the practices that dominate the whole. The combinations are dominated by discovery and rest, but both are rarely exclusive. Yet even the historic nature of rest fuels contemporary discovery through the range of great hotels, casinos, villas, even the Anglican church in Hyères or the Orthodox cathedral of Saint-Nicolas built in 1903 in Nice. Through this approach, we also restore the unity of the area of ancient civilizations, particularly Greek and Roman, which, through their heritage, also play a major part in the discovery process. 6.1. One of the three most touristic areas in the World Together with the North American-Caribbean and South-East Asia-East Asia basins, this is one of the three regions that welcome the most tourists in the World. This conjunction is due both to the close presence of a site sheltering one or more prosperous, and thus more traveled, societies, and to the quality of the places, which, as we have developed in section 1.3.1, is assessed according to the representations of tourists. 6.1.1. The first tourist destination in the world This group is presented by the WTO as the first tourist destination region in the World. The data compiled by this institution are questionable because they depend heavily on political fragmentation which, like accounting at borders, mechanically increases the number of travelers. However, the combination of several factors reflects a strong touristicity: between the economic prosperity established in north-

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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western Europe since the Industrial Revolution, and its spread, particularly southwards (Iberian Peninsula and Italy), a protection system that grants the longest paid holidays in the World (Figure 6.1) and tourist practices that promote sun, hot baths and beaches, on the one hand, and the heritage of ancient civilizations developed around the Mediterranean, on the other hand. In addition, Europe, particularly Western Europe, is the second largest population center after Asia, and as we have pointed out on several occasions, the number of tourists depends on the number of people living in a region, because tourist relationships are first and foremost based on relative proximity.

United States Mexico Canada Israel Japon Australia South Kodea Chile Germany Spain France United Kingdom 0

5

10

Paid holidays

15

20

25

30

35

40

Public holidays

Figure 6.1. Minimum paid holidays and number of public holidays per country in 2016, based on full-time employees for 12 months of service (source: OECD, cited by statistica.fr). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/tourist places.zip.

6.1.2. Specific context The analysis of the hierarchy of States according to their touristic characteristics must take into account an effect related to the method we use, based on the use of TO catalogs. Indeed, the use of an intermediary is an effect of otherness and distance, the latter assessed not only in terms of the number of kilometers but also in terms of the time required to cross said distance, to which is added the time

The Mediterranean Basin

137

induced by trip interruptions imposed by spatial discontinuities, such as those caused by maritime crossings in particular. As a result, the high influence of European TOs, and in particular French TOs, in the sample influences the results1. Indeed, selforganized trips are all the more frequent when familiarity is high and distance, in all its dimensions, is low. Thus, the first destination of the British, like the French, outside their own borders, is Spain. To take a step back, we will add a look through Japan’s TOs, and an approach that distinguishes European TOs from others will be taken. Moreover, the age of tourism in this region of the World, which appeared in England in the 18th Century and spread in France and Germany during the same period, implies that the populations have collectively acquired an experience that pushes back the obstacles and limits to autonomous practices. In fact, the influence of French TOs in the sample also implies that the case of France should be treated separately. Then two geopolitical phenomena must be considered. One is structural and the other is cyclical. Several countries in the region have historically chosen to reject tourism as a lever for development. Thus, in independent Algeria and Libya, governments claiming to be part of socialism refuse to develop tourism for ideological reasons, because the activity is considered “bourgeois”. But the richness of the subsoil makes it possible to favor oil extraction as an economic base. On the contrary, Morocco and Tunisia, countries that are rather lacking in fossil resources, base their development, in part, on tourism. This is a stinging demonstration that the so-called tourist potential only marginally explains the differences in tourism; on the contrary, actors’ strategies are fundamental. Political conditions also influence the performance of states and places. In December 2010, and especially in spring 2011, a wind of protest spread from Tunisia to the whole of North Africa. Called the “Arab Spring”2, this event resulted in political instability that Islamist groups tried to use to spread their ideals. The direct effects on tourism attendance vary from state to state. In the north, in the countries bordering the Mediterranean, Morocco has been little affected; King Mohammed VI has managed to manage the situation by integrating the disputing parties into Parliament. In Tunisia, the situation remains unstable. A democratic regime struggles to assert itself through the contradictions between a part of society

1 It should be noted, however, that this approach does not constitute an unacceptable bias for our objective, which is to analyze the global nature of places and not that of States. While the latter are addressed, it is as spatiality that can influence the dynamics of places, and not as an end in itself. 2 The designation draws its inspiration from the “Spring of Nations” that shook Central Europe in 1848. However, while democratic demands are present, the national dimension – the demand for the creation of nation states – is not reflected in the more recent event.

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worked by the ideals of individual freedom3 and another which displays a social conservatism based on their interpretation of the Koran, while the pressure of Islamists manifests itself in attacks that target tourists in particular4. In Libya, the situation remains confused, tense and the country is divided between several factions. This country therefore continues to be a blind spot for tourism. In Egypt, the protest movement led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak on February 11, 2011. Elections were won by the Freedom and Justice Party, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood movement, and brought Mohamed Morsi to power, which was quickly challenged. The army then intervened with a coup d’état on July 3, 2013 to dismiss him. A period of unrest followed and, following new elections, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, former Marshal and Morsi’s former Defense Minister, became President. Egypt, a major destination and the first country outside Europe at the end of the 19th Century, disappeared from the TO catalogs until 2017 as a result of this long period of unrest. However, this return in 2017 carefully avoided the more tumultuous north, notably Cairo and the pyramids of Giza, to focus only on the south. Thus, cruises along the Nile offered by TO TUI-Nouvelles Frontiers are limited to travel from Luxor to Aswan. In the south, the Saharan countries are experiencing high instability due to both ethnic disputes and the strong presence of Islamist terrorist groups, reinforced by armed contingents from Libya. Thus, Mali is no longer as established, and Mauritania was only re-opened to tourism in 2018. However, the indirect effects are still significant. This is because if countries have become inaccessible, or have experienced a significant drop in their visit rates because they are considered unsafe, tourists have turned to more hospitable destinations. The countries bordering the northern Mediterranean, like the nearby archipelagos, the Canaries in particular, have on the contrary experienced a decade of high visit rates. Thus, TO Marmara reconfigured its offer (Table 6.1). Beyond the variations in numbers that can be explained by a strategic redeployment on a smaller number of establishments but with greater capacity, and the exit of the Dominican Republic and Mauritius, we note above all that the destinations of the Muslim world have greatly decreased (Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia, the top three, accounted for 56% of offers in 2011, 65% with Egypt) in response to the affirmation, in 2019, of those on the northern shore (Greece, Italy, Spain and the Canary Islands account for nearly 70%, Tunisia is now in third place with 11.6%, Egypt has disappeared). Indeed, the strategy of low prices condemns this TO to a very high concentration in relatively close countries, otherwise the volumes are too small, but with enough otherness for the mediation of a TO to be relevant for individuals.

3 It should be recalled that the first president elected in 1957, Habib Bourguiba, implemented a bold policy in favor of education and the emancipation of women. 4 In particular, the attacks of March 18, 2015 in front of the Bardo Museum in Tunis and the attack of 26 June 2015 inside the Riu chain hotel in El-Kantaoui.

The Mediterranean Basin

2011

Stays

Tours

Combined

Total

%

Morocco

29

5

0

34

21.7

Turkey

25

7

1

33

21.0

Tunisia

18

2

3

23

14.6

Greece

14

2

6

22

14.0

Egypt

7

2

5

14

8.9

Spain

10

1

3

14

8.9

Mauritius

7

–

–

7

4.5

Dominican Republic

6

–

–

6

3.8

Italy

3

0

1

4

2.5

Total

119

19

19

157

100.0

2019

Stays

Tours

Combined

Total

%

Greece

8

2

2

12

27.9

Italy

7

2

–

9

20.9

Tunisia

3

2

–

5

11.6

Spain

4

1

–

5

11.6

Canary Islands

4

–

4

9.3

Morocco

2

1

–

3

7.0

Montenegro

1

1

–

2

4.7

Corsica

1

1

–

2

4.7

Croatia

1

–

–

1

2.3

Turkey

–

–

–

0

0.0

Egypt

–

–

–

0

0.0

Mauritius

–

–

–

0

0.0

Dominican Republic

–

–

–

0

0.0

Total

31

10

2

43

100.0

139

Table 6.1. Reconfiguration of the network of tourist services, stays and tours, from TO Marmara between 2011 and 2019, according to the analysis of catalogs

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6.1.3. Consensual state hierarchy Overall, Greece is the country with the highest frequency and the highest number of places. This position is related to the more frequent use of a TO due to distance and trip interruptions, especially when it comes to visiting the islands. The continental route is long, about 2,900 km, or 27 hours, from Paris to Athens, and the maritime routes via Ancona or Bari, which relieve drivers, involve many hours of crossing (Table 6.2) to Igoumenista in the north or Patras in the Peloponnese. Next is Spain and Italy, which benefit from the aura of the Vatican – the smallest state in the world (Box 6.1) – and the Canary Islands and Turkey. The latter two destinations, together with Greece, benefited from the “Arab Spring” mentioned above, establishing themselves as safe havens in the face of the instability in Tunisia and Egypt. Turkey5 seems to have been spared after the failed coup d’état of July 15, 2016 and the tightening of the regime imposed by President Erdogan. According to initial results provided by the WTO, the decline in 2016 was not confirmed for 2017, but did not return to the level of 2015. Port of departure Ancona

Bari

Port of arrival

Crossing time

Igoumenitsa

16 hours

Patras

21 hours 30 minutes

Igoumenitsa

12 hours 30 minutes

Patras

16 hours 30 minutes

Table 6.2. Time to cross the Adriatic Sea to connect Paris to the main ports of arrival of the Adriatic Sea in Greece

As far as the European countries of residence are concerned, the ranking is not very different: Greece, Spain and Italy dominate. The order changes for the German TOs for which Spain is ahead of Italy, then Turkey and finally the Canary Islands ahead of Croatia and Egypt. Germany’s more central position in Europe and historical ties reflect the more favorable position of Turkey and Croatia. For the British, Cyprus – a divided island (Box 6.2), again for historical reasons6 – ranks 5 The data used here for Turkey are taken from the publication of the WTO Tourism Highlights, which, in its latest edition of 2018, released provisional results for 2017. In 2010, the country’s attendance exceeded 31 million international admissions and just under 39.5 million in 2015. In 2016, it fell to 30.3 million and then increased to 37.6 million in 2017. 6 Cyprus became a British protectorate in 1878 following the war between Russia and Turkey (1877–1878) and was attached to the Crown as a colony in 1914. Upon gaining independence in 1960, the British have retained two military bases.

The Mediterranean Basin

141

fifth, while Italy appears sixth ahead of Portugal and Madeira. For the French, Portugal precedes Turkey, followed by Morocco, Croatia and Tunisia. Spain stands out more, Italy dominates ahead of Morocco, followed by Egypt, Greece and Tunisia. Everywhere the effects of distance, historical links and geopolitical context are combined. The Russians favor Croatia over Spain, Italy and Portugal and then Turkey. The Vatican, the smallest state in the world, a major tourist destination, not listed in the WTO directory “Vatican City has all the symbols of a state: the Vatican could symbolize a fundamental inequality: the number of tourists is in no way proportional to the number of inhabitants, the size or the wealth of nations. The smallest state in the world, with 44 ha (one-third of Monaco), receives many tourists, but we do not know how many, because this state does not appear in the statistics of the World Tourism Organization, which includes San Marino, Liechtenstein and Monaco. The ratio between the number of tourists and the number of inhabitants is staggering since the Vatican has only 800 inhabitants, of whom only 450 are citizens (source: Vatican City State website)! But the Vatican is not just St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican Museums and the gardens. Indeed, three basilicas and a small dozen buildings located in Rome are under the control of the Vatican, while another 10 buildings house administrative services but do not have any special status. Better still, the Popes’ summer residence, located in Castel Gondolfo, like the 400 hectares of Vatican Radio (10 times the size of the Vatican City in the strict sense!) are under the sovereignty of the Vatican. This institutional quirk was concocted in 1929 to settle the dispute between the Pope and the Italian Republic, opened by the takeover of Rome (1870) and its introduction as the capital of Italy”. Box 6.1. The Vatican, a state that is both landlocked and scattered in Rome and overflows outside the city (source: [VIO 09])

Non-European companies tend to position Italy first, while Egypt is not for the Chinese. Greece and Spain follow. Americans then favor Portugal and Egypt; the Japanese, Turkey and Croatia; the Chinese, Tunisia and Morocco. We therefore observe that there is a consensus among the various tourism societies on the most popular destinations at state level, namely Italy, Spain and Greece, ahead of Croatia and Egypt. France should also be added. The island of Cyprus is divided between the northern part, controlled by Turkey since 1974, and the Republic to the south. This situation results from the intervention of the Turkish army on the pretext of protecting the Turkish minority on July 20, 1974 in order to put an end to the attempt to attach the island to Greece, orchestrated by a Greek extremist movement supported by the colonels’ dictatorship. This is a residual issue that

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The Tourist Places of the World

has caused tensions since the island’s independence between the two communities, Greek and Turkish, due to the redrawing of the borders between Greece and Turkey after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire7. The latter saw its territory reduced by the Treaty of Sèvres (1920). In a second phase, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk overthrew the Sultan, established the Republic and reconquered part of the territories allocated to Greece (Treaty of Lausanne, 1923). Cyprus, a British country since the 1877–1878 war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, remained so until independence in 1960. The failure of the attempt, which precipitated the end of power in Athens, did not call into question Turkey’s military occupation, which led to a de facto partition, not recognized by the United Nations. The situation remains unresolved despite the fact that both countries are members of NATO, and has been a stumbling block in Turkey’s application for integration into the European Union, of which the Republic of Cyprus has been a member since 2004. Box 6.2. Cyprus, an island with tensions

6.1.4. The case of France, the World’s leading tourist destination The method we use, and especially the choice to give more space to French TOs, implies treating the destination separately. According to WTO statistics, France is the World’s leading tourist destination. On the one hand, this fact is not self-evident; it is the result of a historical situation, as the top of the ranking was previously occupied by the United States (1950s), then by Italy (1970s). On the other hand, it is also due to the political fragmentation of Europe and the country’s position as a crossroads between the departure points from north-western Europe and the highly valued destinations in the Mediterranean basin. This led to a relatively short average length of stay without it being possible to decide because short stays for various places in France, and in particular for the capital, are also frequent8. In 2017, France welcomed nearly 87 million non-residents9. This record followed 2 years of decline marked by the deadly attacks of 2015 and 2016, including the one in the Bataclan on November 13, 2015, which killed 130 people and injured 413. In 2016, the number of non-resident tourists was reduced to 82.5 million. The country’s commitment to the fight against the Islamic State in particular, and terrorist movements in general, particularly in North Africa, reflects the frequency of attacks on the territory.

7 Greece, gradually integrated into the Ottoman Empire from the 14th Century, gained independence in 1830. 8 Beyond that, the question of ranking does not matter. 9 Provisional data from the publication Tourism Highlights 2018 published by the WTO.

The Mediterranean Basin

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

% in 2016

143

Change in yearly average 2016/2012

Europeans

68,554

69,388

68,323

67,037

64,486

78.1

−1.2

United Kingdom

12,134

12,549

11,751

12,236

11,938

14.5

−0.3

Germany

12,564

13,393

12,909

11,478

11,389

13.8

−1.9

Belgium, Luxembourg

11,040

10,376

10,660

10,808

10,724

13.0

−0.6

Italy

7,388

7,171

7,358

7,594

6,731

8.2

−1.8

Switzerland

6,092

6,499

6,480

6,010

6,035

7.3

−0.2

Spain

6,131

5,398

5,933

6,125

5,812

7.0

−1.0

Netherlands

6,296

6,496

5,424

5,063

4,125

5.0

−6.9

Rest of the World

13,426

14,246

15,378

17,415

18,084

21.9

6.9

United States

2,888

2,968

3,153

3,622

4,167

5.0

8.9

North Africa

1,631

1,694

1,714

1,927

2,234

2.7

7.4

China

1,292

1,595

1,655

2,197

2,005

2.4

11.0

Near Middle East

859

1,011

1,099

1,352

1,252

1.5

9.2

Canada

861

998

1,023

1,013

1,125

1.4

6.1

Brazil

1,088

1,074

1,299

1,162

1,031

1.2

−1.0

Australia

1,048

1,210

1,272

1,267

1,008

1.2

−0.8

Russia

674

766

699

620

586

0.7

−2.6

India

267

309

360

524

552

0.7

21.3

Japan

708

661

777

682

411

0.5

−8.4

Total non-residents

81,980

83,634

83,701

84,452

82,570

100.0

0.1

Table 6.3. Trends in the number of non-resident travelers to France between 2012 and 2016 (source: Memento du tourisme, Direction générale des entreprises, ministèrefrançais de l’Économieet des Finances)

As we noted in the analysis of the World tourism map in section 1.4.1, the effect of distance induces that the largest number of non-residents comes from Europe. But the trend is for the continent’s population to stagnate and for more distant countries, whether the United States or societies in emerging countries, to grow faster (Table 6.3). Indeed, the very rapid growth in the number of travelers from China (+11% on average each year since 2012), supported by the government that has liberalized the granting of visas, but also from India (+21%) and the United States (+8.9%), reflects the overall increase (84.5 million in 2015 against 82 million in 2012), despite the

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decline in 2016, while flows from Europe are suffering a further decline due to the effects of terrorist attacks. As the share of resident tourists leaving the metropolis for a tourist experience remains relatively low, compared to neighboring countries of comparable economic level, the balance of tourism is at a high level, which varied from 12.9 billion euros to 21.3 each year between 2005 and 2015. However, departures are increasing and the decline to 12.9 was realised in 2016, for the reasons mentioned above. 6.2. Touristicity of places The touristic nature of the region’s places is structured by two main practices, play as a dominant practice is less frequent. As discussed in section 1.1.2, the analysis highlights combinations of practices dominated by one of them, while sociability is multidisciplinary. 6.2.1. Discovery, a dominant practice Discovery is the dominant practice in Mediterranean Europe. Visits to ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean basin primarily concerns cities such as Rome, the first place cited (3,979 out of 138,183 citations, or 3%). Certainly, the case of this city calls into question, is it a religious place, the major place of Catholic Christianity, a seat of pilgrimage, or a tourist city? The analysis of practices shows that Rome is both (Box 6.3), as it combines several functions, even defining the tourist city, starting with that of the political capital of Italy. Barcelona comes second (3,138 quotations), where the Gothic city is extended by the works of Gaudi, the Sagrada Familia, Parc Güell and the residential buildings, La Pedrera and Casa Batlló, the museum dedicated to Picasso, as well as Las Ramblas, a famous street. Venice (fourth place cited, 2,538 citations), Lisbon (sixth place, 2,219 citations) and Florence (seventh place, 1,849 citations) follow. Then come Madrid (ninth place, 1,528 citations), Athens (14th place, 1,378 citations) and Dubrovnik (16th place and 1,278 citations). A temporary resident in Rome: a pilgrim or tourist? “Taking into account both the fundamental nature of tourism, a shift from normal routine for recreation and the dynamics that renews it, how then can we distinguish among the crowds that temporarily inhabit Rome and the Vatican, the pilgrim from the tourist. Observing what people are doing with places and in the actual practices deployed in situations makes it possible to put forward a proposal. Saint Peter’s Basilica and its surroundings are an ideal place to build such an observation.... Outside, temporary residents are mixed up in the same queue. Some signs sometimes make it possible to make

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distinctions. Above all, tourists and pilgrims, grouped in the same space and waiting, contrast with the inhabitants and workers of the Vatican. Among the latter, some are particularly visible. Thus, the Swiss guards posted in a precise, inaccessible place, like the cardinals who move around as they please, and split the line of visitors with a decisive step while letting themselves be photographed: no one is mistaken, they are part of the place and they enhance their presence with souvenir photos. “Inside, there are two distinct ways of being. A photograph taken at St. Peter’s tomb, the epicenter of the basilica, reveals them. In the foreground, individuals stand in a prayerful posture and speak aloud. Some join hands in prayer. In the background, a tourist photographs the tomb. Arriving “with her nose in the air”, she briefly observes before adopting the position characteristic of shooting with a digital camera. She demonstrates no religious signs. These two attitudes reflect the two extreme behaviors of a continuum that goes from the pilgrim whose time and gestures are punctuated by rituals to the tourist who shows a detachment from the rules of religion to on the contrary investing in a contemplative attitude. Between these two postures, all nuances are possible. Observation thus makes it possible to highlight that individuals alternate moments of pilgrimage with other tourists. For these, only the highlighting of the primary intention behind mobility will make it possible to determine whether they are pilgrims or tourists. We therefore distinguish pilgrims who give themselves moments of relaxation and leisure in a rather religious project, tourists who, when visiting monuments related to their religion, perform rituals in accordance with their beliefs, but for whom religion was not the main reason for choosing to come.” Box 6.3. Tourist practices in Rome, a continuum between two extremes apparently exclusive of each other: tourism and pilgrimage (source: [VIO 09])

The discovery is organized according to tours, and more rarely city breaks, especially in metropolitan areas whose tourist offer justifies them. This practice does not exclude places located along the coasts, but it includes inland cities in tourism, whereas rest is essentially coastal, as we will see below. For European tourists, these tours are more likely to be part of a single country presented as a tourist destination, or even a single region. This is the case in particular for Scotland, which is frequently individualized in TO catalogs because of its strong national image. But this is only possible when the distance to the countries of residence is shorter and the image is strong. For Italy, France or Spain, tours offered to the British and Germans suggest exploring Tuscany, the Riviera or Andalusia. Rome, a tourist city “The tourism area in Rome is a restricted space. Only part of the city is frequented by tourists. The city frequented by tourists is the historic city. It is then a discontinuous space. Partial appropriation of the city by tourists and discontinuity led Duhamel and

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Knafou to propose the concept of the Central Tourist District (2007), by analogy with the Central Business District of metropolitan areas. In Rome, the CTD is twofold. It is made up of two extremes. To the west the Vatican and to the east the forums. This is how the destinations of Rome and the Vatican are confused. Between these two epicenters, the historic city is punctuated by high places, the Treviso fountain or the Pantheon, near which tourists flock. Blogs and websites accumulate repetitive complaints about the crowds that gather there but at the same time all have visited them and recommend going. Beyond the two nodal points, tourists frequent the outskirts, such as the thermal baths of Caracalla, or even the peripheral sites, but the very condition of the tourist, a temporary resident, hardly gives him time to get lost. Among these areas that have become tourist attractions in Rome, two types appear. Some have retained their versatility, others have not. Part of the area frequented by tourists and which constitutes the historic heart of the city remains multi-purpose. Because if it is punctuated by monuments and establishments very popular with tourists, it is populated by permanent inhabitants. The tourist and nontourist functions are intertwined. In particular, as a capital, Rome is home to the establishments of the Italian Republic: the presidential palace, the residence of the President of the Council, ministries, embassies, etc. “The Vatican as a whole is also of the first type, but this character is only really evident around and within St. Peter’s Basilica. Tourism is contained within it. Areas are closed to tourism or reserved for other practices, including religious ones. Outside the Basilica, the space is strictly delimited. The outskirts are devoted to traffic [...]. To the north, the queue of visitors waiting to enter the Basilica stretches on. To the south, the exit route runs along the arch. It is also the route to the Vatican Post and the Swiss Guard Post, two attributes of the Pontifical State. These areas delimit inside the square in front of the gantry a vast space dedicated to religious gatherings and where chairs are permanently placed. In the Basilica, a space is reserved for religious practices. Strictly defined, access is controlled. Similarly, religious time continues to determine the rhythm of tourism in the Vatican since visits to the Basilica, but also to the Vatican Museums, are prohibited during religious holidays and most Sundays, and are heavily regulated on every fourth Sunday during which access is only allowed in the morning [...]. The religious order therefore controls tourism, including in space, since what the Vatican State agrees to show is only part of its territory. Modest clothes are also required. The shoulders of women and men as well as the thighs must be covered.... This organization of space-time is found in all places of Catholic practice throughout the world. “On the contrary, the forums and esplanade surrounding the Colosseum, like this monument, constitute touristified groups, within which tourism has established itself as the dominant or even exclusive practice. The whole is closed and structured by a sense of visit. The viaduct dedicated to pedestrian routes contrasts with the city plan. The area is fully equipped for tourism. The routes are designed for visiting. Views have been developed.... No clothing restrictions are imposed. It is not even forbidden to roll heavy suitcases along the esplanade, which testify to the embarrassment in which tourists are left between the opening hours of hotel rooms and those of trains to leave the city, possibly to the airport...

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These fragments of the tourism area are connected by footbridges, linear spaces that tourists do not visit but that they frequent, sometimes assiduously because it is there that they sometimes crowd together, waiting to access the most frequented spaces or establishments. Thus the Via di Porta Angelica, which joins the Basilica and the Vatican Museum along it [...]. Tourists are looking to make the waiting time shorter [...] or even more comfortable, like this individual who travels with his folding bag [...]. Some, however, are gateways at the same time as vistas. They provide access but also offer a perspective on monuments. The Via de la Conciliazione [...] thus offers an unobstructed view of the Basilica but also allows buses to stop and groups to get off. Tourists use their in situ mobility to build a tourism area in networks linking the hubs with the highest number of visitors.” Box 6.4. The structure of a city’s tourism area: the example of Rome (source: [VIO 09])

6.2.2. Rest comes next The seaside resort also characterizes the region practically alternating with discovery. The switch from cold to hot baths that affected beaches occurred in Europe from the 1920s onwards. Until then, in France, the Normandy coasts were the most frequented and the Riviera10 deserved its name, in the full sense of the word, namely a coast frequented during the winter season. The transformation is linked to the installation of American artists in Paris after the First World War, who frequented the Côte d’Azur during the summer and spread the American model of hot baths and tanning [BOY 00, MIT 05, DUH 09]. On a regional scale, some places are both places of discovery and rest, such as Heraklion, while others are more clearly dedicated to seaside resorts, such as Rhodes (fifth rank, 2,358 citations), Funchal in Madeira (eighth rank, 1,650 citations) and Paphos in Cyprus (12th place, 1,428 citations), but also the coasts of continental Spain, highlighted by tourism at the end of the 20th Century (San Sebastian, Basque coast) before the Second World War for the Costa Brava [BAR 66]. While the Balearics were visited by travelers as early as the 19th Century, the number of visitors increased sharply in the 1960s, from less than 300,000 in 1959 to 2.7 million in 1970, then 4.7 million in 1980 and 6.5 million in 1990 [SEG 95]. This orientation is reflected in the locations along the coasts and on the islands, which are very visible on maps (see atlases in section 6.5). However, rest is the dominant practice in often more subtle combinations. In Lanzarote, for example, there are several excursions to discover the landscapes and villages (Box 6.5).

10 The name Côte d’Azur was only given at the end of the 19th Century following the publication of Stéphen Liégeard’s (1830–1925) book in 1887.

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“It was a beautiful day”, excursion to Lanzarote “If it is no match for Corfu or Ibiza in the crazy techno afternoon holiday sector, neither is Lanzarote in a position to offer ecotourism for obvious reasons. There is, however, a third possibility open to the island: cultural tourism – the sort of tourism of which retired teachers and other mid-market OAPs are so fond. On a Spanish island in the absence of nightclubs, one might expect to find some vestiges of civilization (baroque convents, medieval fortresses). Unfortunately on Lanzarote, all of these beautiful buildings were destroyed between 1730 and 1732 by a succession of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions of unparalleled violence. So, cultural tourism, nada” (Chapter 3, p. 11). “However, Lanzarote’s tourist attractions are few and far between; there are two of them. The first, a little to the north of Guatiza, is the ‘Cactus Garden’. Various specimens, chosen for their repulsive morphology, are arranged along paths of volcanic rock. Fat and prickly, the cactus symbolizes perfectly – not to put too fine a point. The ‘Cactus Garden’, in any case, is not very extensive; the visit, as far as I am concerned, could have been over in less than half an hour; but I had chosen the group excursion, and I had to wait ages for a mustached Belgian tourist...” (Chapter 3, p. 15). “Lanzarote’s second tourist attract is on a larger scale; it is the high point of any holiday there. I refer to Timanfaya National Park, which is situated at the centre of volcanic activity. Do not be deceived by the words ‘national park’; over the twelve square kilometres of the reserve, you are more or less certain not to encounter a single living thing apart from a couple of camels laid on for tourists. In the hotel’s chartered minibus, I found myself sitting next to the man with the moustache. After several kilometers, we took a road which ran perfectly straight, carved through the stony chaos. The first photo stop was planned just before the entrance to the park. About a kilometre in front of us lay a plain of black rocks with sharp cuts; there was neither a plant, nor an insect. Immediately afterwards, volcanoes crossed the horizon of their red slopes, in places almost purple. The landscape had not been softened, shaped by erosion; it was totally brutal...” (Chapter 3, p. 18). “The rest of the excursion followed the same pattern. The road was exactly marked, to the nearest centimetre, between sharp rock walls; every kilometre, an esplanade had been bulldozed out, signalled in advance by a sign representing a gusseted photographic camera. We stopped, then... The climax of the excursion – as much in the topographical as in the emotional sense – was the stop at the Mirador de Timanfaya Watchtower. To fully appreciate the possibilities of the structure, we had been allocated two hours of free time. It all began with a short animation, presented by a site employee, designed to highlight the volcanic nature of the environment. Through a crack opening into the ground, chops were introduced; they came out roasted. There were screams and applause...” (Chapter 3, p. 19). “It was a beautiful day. I thought to myself as I investigated the contents of the minibar back in my room. A beautiful day, really... Already it was Monday night. A week

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on this island would probably be bearable after all. Hardly fascinating, but bearable” (Chapter 3, p. 21). In Chapter 4, the author also mentions an excursion to Fuerteventura by hydrofoil and in Chapter 6, the market of Teguise, a touristified village in the interior of the island. Box 6.5. Discovery practice in a popular idleness spot, Lanzarote, according to Michel Houellebecq (source: Houellebecq M., Lanzarote, Vintage, London, 2004)

In contrast to discovery, the practice of rest involves settling for a longer period of time in a single place. The most common stay is 1 or even 2 weeks and is available in different formulas (full board which includes all meals, half board which is limited to breakfast and one meal, usually the evening meal, or only breakfast). This practice has been supported by the implementation of a powerful tourism system combining charter or low-cost airlines with fully dedicated tourist posts11 (Box 6.6, section 6.3.1). 6.2.3. Other practices Even if the practices operate in combination and are most often dominated by discovery and rest, some places derive most of their notoriety from another practice, although this does not always correspond to the reality of overall attendance. Thus, the island of Ibiza, which comes alive during the day with a generally family use of the beaches, changes at night with the unbridled activity of the nightclubs that have given it at least continental fame. This specialization in night entertainment is the result of the strategy of a local businessman, Matutes, who invested in this activity while Spain was living under the control of the dictator and very Catholic general Franco [SEG 95, MIT 05]. The municipality of San Antoni testifies to this, which reaches 17th place in the list of places cited (1,194 citations). In a completely different field, scuba diving, Hurghada, a resort on the Red Sea coast, has also earned a strong reputation (19th place, 1,162 citations). 6.2.4. Practices of non-Europeans in France: essentially discovery Writing for a French audience, we have favored French TOs for the analysis of previous regions. As a result, and as the use of TO is a function of otherness, we 11 In the typology of tourist places developed by the MIT team [MIT 02, part 3], the tourist post is a place created by and for tourism, closed, managed by a single operator. It does not include a permanent local population on site, unlike resort cities, also created ex nihilo but with permanent inhabitants.

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have chosen to treat France separately. In addition, in order to further shift the focus, we have added Japanese TOs (see atlas maps in section 6.5). Moreover, among Europeans, we have retained only the Spanish and Russian TOs, considering that, for different historical reasons, access to tourist France was more recent for these societies, so that the hypothesis of a more frequent use of a TO, unlike the English and Germans, could be advanced. The results clearly highlight the prevalence of the practice of discovery over the other dominant ones within the combinations. This discovery clearly favors the capital, which has a frequency of 1,218 half-days and 683 overnight stays, representing 42% of the total number of half-days spent in France and 57% of overnight stays. Nice, which ranks second, follows by far with 156 half-days and 81 nights, or 5.4 and 6.8%. These two centers structure two regional spaces, one northern and the other southern. This function justifies that the share of overnight stays in the national total be higher than that of half-days because individuals travel from these centers to places in the region that are or operate as sites. To the north, the tourism area extends as far as Normandy and Brittany in the west and the Loire Valley castles in the south. It includes sites, including Versailles (fifth place for half-days and index of 0.08), Mont-Saint-Michel (10th place and index of 0.45), the beaches of the Omaha and Juno D-Day landings (13th place), Amboise which functions as a site (26th place and index of 0.31), and Chenonceau and Chambord (16th place ex aequo with 29 quotations without any overnight stay). Tours clearly plays a role as a stopover city as shown by the very high indices (3.58 for the first, more cited for overnight stays than for half-days, 34 against 19) while Blois is more of a tourist city, visited for itself, but with an index of 1.17 (12 against 7 overnight stays), which reveals a second-rate regional role characterized by excursions to nearby castles. In the south, a similar concentration is found along the coast, mainly in the east. While Nice has an index of 1.04 and Cannes of 1.30, other places are more frequented by day such as Marseille (34 half-days, 15 overnight stays, index 0.88), Monaco (third place cited, 83 half-days and 24 overnight stays, index 0.58) and Arles (13th place, 32 half-days, no overnight stay), Grasse (20th place exaequo, 25 half-days, no overnight stay) or the Pont du Gard (24th place exaequo, 23 half-days, no overnight stay). Other places appear along less frequented roads, notably between the capital and Provence, by Burgundy and the Beaujolais mountains. Dijon is a must as a stage along the way.

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6.2.5. Typology of tourist places12 Tourist attractions in the Mediterranean basin are divided into two main types (Table 6.4). On the one hand, cities that dominate the ranking and have an index higher than 1 or are close to it. Rome and Barcelona reach 0.99. This shows that they are visited for themselves but also for their close environment, such as Florence for Tuscany (index 1.04), or Madrid (1.01), with which Toledo is frequently associated, whose index is only 0.2513. The latter effectively functions as a site, with tourists accessing it during the day from the Spanish capital. To reverse this situation, Toledo’s actors have enhanced the historic center, perched on the Alcazar hill. The aim was to retain visitors so that they could spend the night there. It does not seem to have worked. A theme park project is therefore being launched in partnership with the Puy du Foupark, located in the Vendée region, which has based its development on the staging of French history. The aim is to strengthen the proposal in order, here too, to get tourists to consider spending the night – at last – in Toledo. Venice comes next in fourth place, then Rhodes, Lisbon, Florence, Madrid, Marrakech, Istanbul, Corfu, Athens, Dubrovnik, etc., all cities that bear witness to the ancient civilizations developed around the Mediterranean basin. Among the latter, several can be qualified as tourist cities in the sense that tourism has become the main economic driving force of the city: Florence, Venice and Dubrovnik, as well as Toledo, in particular. On the other hand, the practice of seaside rest promotes tourist resorts that come after cities and have index values around 1, which reflects the frequent practice of staying in almost equal numbers, combining overnight stays and day trips. However, here too, excursions are offered to nearby places which, in fact, are sites, since tourists do not spend the night there. Indeed, tourist practices work well in combination, the dominant rest activity is complemented by various possibilities such as games (water sports, scuba diving, discovery of the environment, etc.). As a result, the main seaside resorts have indices close to 1, such as Funchal (index 1.04) or Benidorm, which obtains the highest number of citations (1,304, 15th place) for a tourist resort, a place created from scratch instead of a fishing village, in the 1960s. Tourist resorts then abound in the ranking, particularly those in the Canary Islands, which benefit from their remoteness and geographical discontinuity to be better included in this ranking than other resorts to which many tourists access by themselves. It is necessary to wait until the end of the ranking (for this region, 35 places have been selected) with Porto and Malaga for the smaller tourist cities to appear again. 12 We use here the typology of tourist places presented in Chapter 1 (section 1.3.6). 13 Index calculated on the number of overnight stays divided by the number of day trips, a value of less than 0.9 therefore reflects a loss of overnight stays to a nearby place that accumulates them. With 0.25, the city of Toledo is therefore positioned as a place that tourists visit but in which they do not spend the night or less frequently do so.

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Places like Heraklion in Crete benefit both from nearby beaches like Amoudara or Stomio – the city itself is mainly a port – and from the discovery with the Minoan archaeological park in Knossos, in the suburbs. The ruins of the palace bear witness to the brilliant civilization that flourished in the Bronze Age in several periods, from 3,000 to 1,000 years before our time. Frescos depicting bulls evoke the myth of the Minotaur, a man with a bull’s head locked in the labyrinthine palace by King Minos. The same combination of beach and discovery can be found from Crete to Paphos or from the Canary Islands to Funchal. Egypt is a special case. Indeed, while seaside resorts are well represented with an index that reaches a value slightly higher than 1, notably Hurghada, the first place cited14 for this country with 1,162 citations (19th place, index 1.03) ahead of Marsa Alam (404 citations and 78th place, index 1.04), cities have lower values than in other destinations. Luxor has a value of 0.81 (543 citations, 56th place) while Cairo has a value of 0.84 (512 citations, 59th place). This particularity is due to the practice of cruising along the Nile which, in fact, reduces overnight stays in cities in favor of those spent on board ships. Only Aswan is doing well, as evidenced by the index of 1.15. Its location in the south, which avoids the strong tensions that affect Cairo, and its site before the first wave of tourism, ensure its role as a starting point for visiting cruise ships. Country

Places

Italy Spain Greece Italy Greece Portugal Italy Madeira Spain Morocco Turkey Cyprus

Rome Barcelona Heraklion Venice Rhodes Lisbon Florence Funchal Madrid Marrakech Istanbul Paphos Corfu Athens Benidorm Dubrovnik San Antoni

Greece Spain Croatia Spain

Days Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Total 3,979 3,138 2,902 2,538 2,358 2,219 1,849 1,650 1,528 1,511 1,441 1,428 1,405 1,378 1,304 1,268 1,194

Overnight stays Rank Total 1 1,974 2 1,552 3 1,452 4 1,274 6 1,174 5 1,233 7 964 8 858 9 838 10 805 12 719 13 702 14 700 11 749 15 652 16 651 17 598

Index 0.99 0.99 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.11 1.04 1.04 1.10 1.06 1.00 0.98 1.00 1.09 1.00 1.03 1.00

14 It should be recalled that political instability has led to a decline in the number of visitors to the country since 2011.

The Mediterranean Basin

Greece Egypt Turkey Canary Islands Portugal Canary Islands Turkey Canary Islands Morocco Greece Canary Islands Portugal Spain Canary Islands

153

Kos Hurghada Bodrum

18 19 20

1,188 1,162 1,159

19 18 20

592 598 579

1.00 1.03 1.00

Playa Bianca

21

1,075

21

537

1.00

Faro Corralejo Playa del Ingles Playa de Las Americas Antalya Adeje Puerto de la Cruz Agadir Mykonos Marmari

22 23 24

1,028 996 980

22 23 24

511 497 490

0.99 1.00 1.00

25

959

25

477

0.99

26 27 28 29 30 31

946 896 873 871 851 850

26 28 29 27 31 32

472 448 437 460 426 425

1.00 1.00 1.00 1.06 1.00 1.00

Puerto del Carmen

32

834

33

417

1.00

Porto Malaga

33 34

811 808

30 35

433 408

1.07 1.01

Teguise

35

798

37

399

1.00

Table 6.4. Main tourist sites in the Mediterranean basin distinguished according to the rank and frequency of citations of day trips and overnight stays, and according to the tourist typicity index in the catalogs of tour operators.The ranking is based on the frequency of citations of places during day trips

6.3. Societal practices Societies are distinguished by radically different practices, but the distinction between old and new tourism societies, which is successful despite everything, takes a few digressions in this region. First of all, we can observe that a major distinction divides European societies between north and south, while the Chinese operate more like the Americans in favor of discovery, and the Russians are positioned between the two. 6.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies in Northern Europe Societies considered to be touristic are characterized by spatial means and often very contrasting practices. On the one hand, Germans and Britons frequent beaches and resorts in the Mediterranean and the nearby Atlantic (Canary Islands, Madeira). This does not mean that they are impermeable to cultural sites, but that the presence

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of seaside resorts in TO catalogs is relatively more marked. This is of course due to the domination among Europeans of the social codes that associate hot baths and tanning, which have been established since the 1920s under the influence of the United States [BOY 00]. Without these characteristics found along their own national seas and oceans, they are forced to move more. This has supported the development of an efficient tourism system, based on frequent and relatively lowcost air links, which has made it possible to considerably lower prices and thus open up access to Mediterranean beaches for the middle classes. This fact informs us about the causes of the ascendancy of the British and especially German TOs over the European tourism system. Beyond that, this domination of restful activity does not exclude complementary practices of discovery or play. But the British and Germans stand out when it comes to destinations, both for reasons of proximity and because of historically constructed relationships. The latter favors Turkey, the first three places being occupied by Side, Bodrum and Belek (356, 230 and 194 citations) ahead of the Balearics (Playa de Palma, fourth place with 174 citations and Palma de Majorca, fifth place with 146 citations, then Costa Adeje and Cala Ratadja). The British rank first continental Spain (Benidorm, 1,274 citations), then the San Antoni Islands (1,050 citations) and Adeje (868 citations), as well as Cyprus (Paphos, 1,050 citations, second place), Madeira with Funchal (854 citations) and Greece (Laganas). These different destinations also differ in social terms (Box 6.6), which have to be refined according to the prices of stays advertised in catalogs in particular. As a result, the high places of discovery occupy less flattering places in the ranking. Thus for the Germans, Marrakech, which is positioned as the first place with a high discovery component even if rest is not excluded, ranks sixth (144 citations) ahead of Venice (10th place with 136 citations), then Madrid and Rome (respectively, 11 and 12th places with 122 and 116 citations). Lanzarote “invaded by the British” “It wasn’t as though Chelsea wanted to go to Lanzarote anyway. Lanza-grotty, as the girls in her office all called it, had never featured high on Chelsea’s list of places to see before she died. Chelsea was sure she knew everything there was to know about the tiny island. It was a volcanic dust bowl with nothing but slate-grey beaches. It was overrun with Brits15. Every once passably beautiful bay or romantic cove now sported a burger bar and an Irish pub with an enormous flat-screen TV showing non-stop Sky Sports. The

15 The reader will learn later, in Chapter 6, that it is also “full of Germans”: “It was worse than the Battle of Britain to save sun loungers”, Dave wrote.

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airlines that flew to Arrecife Airport said it all, as far as Chelsea was concerned. British Airways did not go there. Serena, Chelsea’s colleague at Society, the monthly fashion and gossip magazine where Chelsea was assistant features editor, said one should never fly to an airport that is not served by British Airways, with the exception of Mustique. “Chelsea had not even told Serena she was going to Lanzarote. She just said ‘Spain’ and let Serena and the other uber-posh girls in the Society office imagine a carefully refurbished finca16 in an orange grove just outside Cadiz. Serena would have recoiled in horror at the very idea of the Hotel Valcan in Playa Brava, with its sports bar, mini-gofd and ‘Kidz Club’. Its functional bedrooms with their wipe-clean walls would never feature in a coffee-table book by Mr. and Mrs. Smith, that’s for sure.” Comments While the happy memories of the Benson family’s holidays are set in the “outdated” (sic) resort of Littlehampton, Sussex, as the album of stripped family photos in the prologue reminds us, everyone will find themselves in Lanzarote. Indeed, the parents, Dave and Jacqui, invite their two daughters to spend a week there on their birthday. Ronnie, the eldest, will be accompanied by her husband and children. Pregnant at 17, she gave up school and shares the life of the lower middle class, working part-time to support a reduced standard of living since Mark was sentenced to part-time work “following the crisis”. Chelsea, their second daughter, has an intense professional experience with a fashion magazine (Society). Jealous of Ronnie, she nevertheless occupies, at 31 years old, a status of exploited precariousness that she combines with a celibacy barely brightened by a few adventures. This excerpt highlights the tourist divide between the destinations, even the islands, of the middle classes and those of the elite, which are much more affluent. So Chelsea prefers to let her friends think that she will be staying on a farm (finca) [...]. When the middle class favors beaches, the bourgeoisie opts for so-called rural tourism but in fact in a renovated and highly connected building. Similarly, at the airport, Chelsea observes: “How different they were from the Boden-clad17 queue waiting to board the flight to Pisa, which departed from the gate next door” [...]. As Chelsea misses the charter flight because of the professional pressure on her, everything starts badly, but as everyone knows, the tourist experience recreates18 the individuals and the family bond, and everything ends up for the better. Box 6.6. Lanzarote, a destination of the British middle classes mentioned in Chrissie Manby’s novel, A Proper Family Holiday, from Chapter 1, Hodder & Stoughton, 2014 16 Estate or agricultural property, the term emphasizes that the tourist experience is set in the countryside, but not anywhere... in a neat landscape and with all the urban amenities. 17 British fashion brand. 18 Recreation is the term proposed by the MIT team in 2002 to describe the effects of tourism and highlight its role in industrial civilization.

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6.3.2. Practices of former tourism societies in Southern Europe and the United States For their part, the French and especially the Spanish can better satisfy this desire for hot baths and tanning along their national beaches, in relative proximity, which saves them long, painful and relatively expensive journeys. As a result, places of discovery are at the forefront. The Spanish thus place Marrakech first, before Rome, the high places of Pharaonic Egypt (Cairo in third place, Luxor in fourth place, then Aswan in 11th place) after Venice, Athens and Fez, then Florence and Istanbul. No seaside resort comes top in the rankings. For the French, the domination of discovery is less clear-cut, either places associated with seaside rest are very well classified, such as Heraklion and Rhodes (second and fourth rankings), or the resorts of the southernmost areas are doing well because of winter or off-season traffic such as Faro, Hurghada, Djerba, Bodrum or Playa Del Inglès in the Canary Islands. However, Rome is in the lead, ahead of Barcelona, Venice, Florence and Athens, Istanbul, Madrid and Marrakech. Americans behave in a similar way to Southern Europeans, but for completely different reasons: when it comes to enjoying the heat and sea, they have destinations close by that are up to par, in the United States itself – Florida, California, even Hawaii – in Mexico and Central America – Panama and Costa Rica – or in the islands near the Caribbean. As a result, the trip to Europe is driven by the desire to discover the culture of the old continent from which several million people came to populate the New World in the 17th Century, the 18th Century and especially the 19th Century. American tourism in the Mediterranean basin is therefore essentially driven by the desire to discover: Rome (140 quotations), Florence (105) and Venice (84) for Italy are ahead of Cairo (65) and Luxor (49). Next are Lisbon, Barcelona, Madrid and Seville. There is no doubt that the number of visitors to Egypt is disadvantaged by the current tensions. Paris competes with Rome for the first place in Europe; travel is more frequent there but the duration, the number of overnight stays, is more significant in the Italian capital. In fact, for the Americans, the distinction adopted in this book between Central and Northern Europe on the one hand, more dedicated to discovery, and a Southern Europe extended to the Mediterranean basin on the other hand, divided between discovery and seaside rest, does not hold, as we have developed in Chapter 5. 6.3.3. Practices of new tourism societies Russians have an intermediate profile. As Northern Europeans, they frequent the beaches of the Mediterranean on a massive scale, as do the British and Germans. However, they express a clear preference in favor of Croatia. But like the

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Americans, discovery competes with rest. Barcelona, which also benefits from the Costa Brava, dominates in front of the Croatian Kvarner, but then comes Dubrovnik, Madrid and Rome in front of the capital Zagreb and Opatidja, a former seaside resort founded in the middle of the 19th Century and which was a posh beach for the European aristocracy, especially the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Chinese, on the other hand, clearly favor discovery. Like the Americans, their continent offers many renowned seaside destinations, particularly in Thailand and Indonesia. However, Hurghada is not misplaced (third place with 206 citations), but as we have seen for Rio de Janeiro, the practice is more oriented toward walking than bathing. Egypt has preferred destinations, Cairo (first place, 250 citations) and Luxor (second place, 216 citations) come first. This shows that the Chinese are less sensitive to the country’s political situation19. The Chinese government is not engaged in the fight against Islamist terrorists. Moreover, the tensions induced by historical relations arise from proximity, so China is much more concerned by those with Japan. Then comes Italy with Rome (fourth place, 164 citations), Venice (fifth place, 101 citations), Florence (eighth place) and Milan (ninth place) – the latter probably benefits from the shopping on offer. Barcelona (seventh place) and Madrid (10th place) are interspersed. For the Chinese, Paris is also in competition with Rome. Barcelona under the gaze of the Chinese and Americans A detailed and comparative analysis of the discovery of a city like Barcelona by the Americans and the Chinese reveals a great similarity. In both cases, the monuments occupy the main square, including the Gothic cathedral and Gaudi’s works, including the Sagrada Familia. Modernity is also captured through the Olympic Park. Yet Americans spend more time walking the pedestrianized streets and along the famous Las Ramblas. However, clearer distinctions are emerging. The Chinese enjoy a visit to the Roca Village, which is a gigantic outlet20 with more than 130 shops in the northeast of the city. This is another testimony to the Chinese appetite for shopping, which has become a tourist practice. On the contrary, Americans ignore this place but visit the Montserrat monastery, which does not appear in Chinese TO catalogs. The same system is found in Rome, where gastronomy is added for both societies. Box 6.7. Comparative practices of Chinese and American tourists in Barcelona, based on TO catalogs

19 The work on Chinese TOs was carried out in 2014–2015, i.e. during the troubled period. 20 Outlets are commercial spaces specializing in the sale of luxury and branded products that were unsold during the previous season.

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6.3.4. France to non-resident tourists The societies studied favor a dominant discovery approach and this practice significantly distinguishes the same regions, as shown in Maps 6.8–6.12 (section 6.5) of the atlas. Differences appear in a secondary way as nuances in the intensity and density of the places in each space. First, there are major extremes shared by all populations. Paris, in first place, always dominates, flanked by a few satellites such as Versailles, always present in programs, or more rarely the castles of Vaux-le-Vicomte or Fontainebleau. Two secondary extremes appear to the south, one emphasizing Provence around Avignon, the other along the Côte d’Azur, led by Nice. A fourth one adds Mont-Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo. Then, lines are drawn. The first, through Dijon, joins the Saône and the Rhône through Lyon. The second, along the Loire Valley between Angers and Orléans in its largest extension. A third extends along the Seine and the Normandy coast, from Honfleur and Deauville to the landing beaches. A last one highlights the coasts of southern Brittany. Beyond that, it is more a question of more isolated places such as Cognac or Bordeaux and further afield Arcachon and Biarritz, or in Périgord and Champagne, or Strasbourg. The differences are first of all of density because Chinese society, which has had more recent access to tourism and to which France opposes the most otherness, frequents fewer places than others. Then, specific relationships appear, which history explains such as, for Americans, the history of the Normandy coast and some places inherited from the First World War in northern France. The Spanish value Brittany more than other tourists. They are the only ones to design a real route in Alsace and to ensure a link between Brittany and the Loire Valley via Nantes. This is probably a proximity effect. 6.3.5. World connectiveness The universal places of all worlds are essentially metropolises, notably Paris and Rome (Table 6.5). As in Central and Northern Europe discussed in Chapter 5, the historical state routes reflect a distinction between centralized countries within which a single metropolis is clearly established, and those that have evolved toward federalism where several large cities compete. In the first case, the concentration of powers allows the capital to impose itself, if not alone, at least clearly, thus Paris and

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Lisbon as well as London in Central and Northern Europe. In the second term of the alternative, several cities share tourists, Barcelona and Madrid in Spain, as well as Berlin and Munich in Germany, as we saw in Chapter 5. A particular feature of the region is the strong presence of touristified cities among the universal places, notably Venice, which ranks fourth, Florence, Marrakech and Dubrovnik. Two smaller cities follow: Heraklion and Funchal. Most of the other places are tourist resorts, but they are characterized by a lower World connectiveness since their attendance is reduced to European societies. As we have already noted, the practice of seaside resorts is deployed in a smaller area, more on a regional scale in the sense of the continent. Thus, Americans frequent the coasts of California, Florida, Mexico or the Caribbean. Only Europeans enjoy seaside resorts outside their own continent, in connection with the biophysical system which only offers a few nearby tropical destinations, such as the Cape Verde Islands. For winter in the northern hemisphere, due to the Saharan expanse to the south, Europeans visit the Indian Ocean and southeast Asia. World connectiveness

Places

Quality

Number of tourists

Paris Rome Barcelona More frequented

Venice Lisbon Universal places or all worlds

Florence Madrid

All worlds

Athens Nice Monaco Versailles Avignon

Moderately frequented

Marrakech Places of a large part of the worlds

Istanbul

Neither Americans or the Japanese

Dubrovnik Hurghada

Few Japanese, Chinese

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Heraklion Funchal Paphos

The British and the French Moderately frequented

Corfu Benidorm San Antonio Kos

Places of one world

British The British and the French

Bodrum

Germans the French

Playa Blanca

The British and the French

Faro

The French

Corralejo

Less frequented

Playa del Ingles Playa de Las Americas Antalya

The British, French and Germans

Adeje Puerto de la Cruz Mykonos Agadir Places outside the World

Albania Macedonia

–

–

Kosovo Table 6.5. World connectivenessof tourist places in the Mediterranean basin according to the use of tour operator catalogs

6.4. Conclusion For Europeans, the Mediterranean basin is the region of all practices, the ideal place for holidays, resting but also discovery, games and celebrations. This representation has dominated since the 1920s, when hot bathing replaced cold bathing, and when rest competed with discovery. On the contrary, for distant societies, this region is first and foremost a space of high civilizational density that justifies all travel devoted primarily to discovery.

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6.5. Atlas21

Map 6.1. Main tourist places in the Mediterranean basin according to the frequency analysis of British TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 6.2. Main tourist places in the Mediterranean basin according to the frequency analysis of the French TO catalogs, years 2015–2018 21 For color versions of the maps in this section, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip.

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Map 6.3. Main tourist places in the Mediterranean basin according to the frequency analysis of the German TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 6.4. Main tourist places in the Mediterranean basin according to the frequency analysis of the Spanish TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

The Mediterranean Basin

Map 6.5. Main tourist places in the Mediterranean basin according to the frequency analysis of the American TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 6.6. Main tourist places in the Mediterranean basin according to the frequency analysis of Russian TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

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Map 6.7. Main tourist places in the Mediterranean basin according to the frequency analysis of Chinese TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 6.8. Main tourist places in France according to the frequency analysis of the Spanish TO catalogs, year 2019

The Mediterranean Basin

Map 6.9. Main tourist places in France according to the frequency analysis of American TO catalogs, year 2019

Map 6.10. Main tourist places in France according to the frequency analysis of Russian TO catalogs, year 2019

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Map 6.11. Main tourist places in France according to the frequency analysis of Chinese TO catalogs, year 2019

Map 6.12. Main tourist places in France according to the frequency analysis of Japanese TO catalogs, year 2019

7 Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is the least visited region in the World by tourists and there are several reasons for this. It is the poorest part of the region, which, as we have already mentioned, is a disadvantage for tourism development since most tourists come from the nearest countries all over the World. In relation to Asia, especially East Asia, Africa has become the poorest continent in the World: “More than 55% of the poor live in Africa... Of the 27 countries with the [highest] poverty rates, 26 are on this continent...” [VER 18a]. Despite a relative decline in poverty, population growth leads to an increase in the number of poor people. Beyond that, sub-Saharan Africa does not constitute a homogeneous and undifferentiated whole. Talking about Africa poorly masks a great heterogeneity. Historically, several centers of civilization have emerged in this continent [FAU 18]. Today, several areas can be distinguished and tourism is no exception to the rule, which is concentrated in one part of the continent, as shown in the maps in section 7.5. 7.1. A continent still poorly integrated into the world tourism area Historically, sub-Saharan Africa has been a periphery of the meridian belt, linked by trade relations across the Sahara or by the maritime routes of the northern Indian Ocean, while South Africa is part of the small triad of the southern hemisphere [GRA 10]. In this book, we have chosen to distinguish northern Africa by aggregating it with southern Europe in a group called the “Mediterranean basin”, studied in Chapter 6. This choice is justified by the tourist homogeneity of the whole area covered by combinations sometimes dominated by discovery practices and sometimes by rest.

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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7.1.1. A continent on the fringes However, the economic marginalization of Africa, the continent of humanity’s origin, is due to its forced integration into globalization, the forced or trafficked mobility of the population, its colonization and the plundering of its wealth. These historical trajectories have accentuated the effects of natural disadvantages such as the increasing aridification of the Sahara or the constraints imposed by dense forests. “African emergence remains contained” [STE 18]. The real growth of States’ GDP remains low and is based too much on a cash economy that does not promote regional integration and limits the emergence of a middle class, likely to expand domestic tourism practices that point here and there. The analysis of the potentialities attempted by some authors [POU 14] comes up against a question of method, because tourism is fundamentally based within the eyes of tourists and the famous biophysical or human assets that are long term, whereas tourism development is a process that begins at a given moment. However, the region is also hindering mobility, which reduces the arrival of tourists from other continents, particularly Europe. Health risks are higher than elsewhere. Political instability is the rule due, first, to a history marked by colonization by the European powers that has not allowed the region to develop toward more stable political structures. Then, independence left the continent to artificial States confined within borders drawn by nations whose differences had previously been maintained by metropolises applying the principle of division for better rule. Inequality and economic looting have increased social tensions tenfold, fueling chronic instability. In addition, there is weak archaeological evidence. This is due, on the one hand, to low population densities, which in turn can be explained by “an economic basis founded on slash-and-burn agriculture and extensive pastoralism” [GRA 10, p. 94]. On the other hand, the significance of deep leaching in tropical climates leads to the scarcity of stones and earth construction, which is very fragile [GRA 10]. However, tourists are fascinated by monumentality, as we have seen in section 1.3.1. 7.1.2. Strong opposition in favor of the States of the Southeast of the continent Low touristicity does not prevent significant disparities. Tourism in sub-Saharan Africa is clearly characterized by an opposition between the more frequented countries of the Southeast and the rest of the region, from which emerge some destinations such as Gambia and especially Senegal or Ethiopia, and more rarely Benin or the Congo, generally promoted by one or two TOs, notably by specialists from the continent. Tourism is therefore concentrated in a Southeastern area composed of two extremes separated by a more deprived area. In each, one or two flagship countries are

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surrounded by less frequented destinations. The first group, the southern one, is dominated by the Republic of South Africa (RSA), well ahead of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, as is Zambia. In addition, two other countries, Malawi and Swaziland, are landlocked within the RSA. Less frequented, they are also smaller States, and therefore less in demand. In this context, Mozambique, which is rarely visited, remains isolated. The RSA emerged as a tourist destination after the abolition of the apartheid policy in 1991, which was met with international condemnation. The number of international travelers welcomed in the country, according to the WTO, rose from 1 million in 1991 to 2.7 million in 1993, then 6 million in 2000 to 9 million in 2012 (the level at which it remains today). Further north, Tanzania and Kenya constitute a second extreme. Both are also surrounded by much less frequented countries, Uganda and Rwanda. In addition, island States are doing well, with the exception of Madagascar, which is visited but at a much lower level than smaller islands or archipelagos such as Mauritius, the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, or Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe in the Atlantic. Most trips are again dedicated to a single State. An exception is Zimbabwe, which is almost exclusively frequented for Victoria Falls, which are integrated into routes that cross several countries, including Botswana and South Africa. The continent’s high instability is experiencing respite that is affecting individual countries in turn. Thus, the number of visitors to Kenya has declined considerably, unlike Tanzania, which is currently the main destination for safaris, and the satellite States of the RSA or those, like Namibia, that freed themselves from colonialism and stabilized. Similarly, countries such as Mali, on the northern borders of the region, have disappeared from TO catalogs. In particular, the Dogon country was a popular destination [DOQ 08] before insecurity linked to the deployment of Islamist terrorist groups interrupted tourist travel. The system that pits a more tourisic South and East Africa against the rest of the region can also be linked to colonial legacies. Indeed, the majority of the most frequented countries, located to the east and southeast, belong to the former British colonial empire. There are of course exceptions within this southern group, such as the rarely visited Mozambique, but which corroborate the theory, since this State was colonized by Portugal. The indirect administration system implemented by the United Kingdom has, it seems, led to a more active tourism development. In addition, the “British tradition of activism in favor of nature conservation” has probably also played a role [POU 14]. 7.2. Touristicity of places How do tourists invest in this space? Two images are essential, safaris and beaches, but the Republic of South Africa offers a more diversified range of practices.

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7.2.1. Popular places The metropolis of Cape Town clearly dominates the list of places frequented with 1,667 citations, and is an exception in a group that is essentially, for the first ranks, either seaside destinations or the biophysical category. Zanzibar (2nd place cited, 1,231 citations), Praslin (7th place, 652 citations) and Mahé (8th place, 604 citations) in the Seychelles, Santa Maria (15th place, 425 citations) in Cape Verde, Saint-Gilles (16th place, 383 citations) in Réunion, Belle Mare (20th place, 360 citations) on Mauritius and the whole island (21st place and 290 citations)1 dominate the first category. Natural parks are the second group, such as the Serengeti (3rd place, 825 citations) in Tanzania, Maasai Mara in Kenya (4th place, 779 citations), Etosha (10th place, 485 citations) in Namibia, Okavango Delta (14th place, 438 citations) in Botswana or large sites such as Victoria Falls (5th place, 670 citations) shared in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Some cities emerge from time to time, such as Johannesburg (9th place, 515 citations) or Nairobi (23rd place, 263 citations) in Kenya and Windhoek (25th place, 245 citations) in Namibia. 7.2.2. Places and practices, safaris on the continent This tourism development is due to two factors. On the one hand, this group constitutes in the imagination of Westerners a tourist destination linked to safaris: the discovery of wild animals, especially the “big five” of the savannahs and the open forest. The British were particularly active in nature conservation policy through the creation of parks, which at the same time excluded indigenous populations, reserving the practices meant to be deployed in these famous virgin territories for whites only [GUY 04]. Initially, it was to ensure the settlers’ supply of meat. Utility hunting parties gave way to playful versions, then safaris photography, when conservation took over under the pressure of scarcity (the Convention for the Protection of Fauna and Flora met in London in 1933). The infrastructures mobilized near and on the edge of the reserves are essentially lodges – small structures providing great comfort with swimming pools and palm-based decoration. However, the wealth of wildlife that underlies safaris is threatened both by the inability of States to effectively combat poaching and illegal hunting, and also by “population growth and proximity to inhabited areas” [POU 14]. The spaces occupied by the dense forest contain fewer mythical animals, but there are gorillas, and they are also more difficult to see. However, the high plateaus of East Africa are at the origin of a large area of savannah where the Sahara spreads 1 Sometimes TOs offer stays in Mauritius without specifying the exact location.

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more to the northwest and the dense forest to the southwest. Indigenous societies are also mobilized with their cultural manifestations, including arts and crafts, as well as architectural productions, particularly places of power. Their role has thus evolved. Once kept away or even excluded from their ancestral territories, indigenous people are now involved in management and are integrated into tours. However, this development, which began at the end of the 20th Century under the impetus of NGOs and international institutions, is not general. Eric Glon and Anderson Chebanne point out in particular the attempts of the government held by the Bantu majority (80% of the population) to settle San nomads outside their territory, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The same authors point out that tourism is not the central objective of this spatial strategy, but rather the appropriation of the abundant diamond reserves [GLO 12]. This reserve occupies a marginal place in safari destinations. 7.2.3. Resting on the beaches The region is also a destination dedicated to rest, either as a dominant practice or to complement safaris. Rest destinations essentially consist of the islands and archipelagos of the two oceans that border the continent. Mauritius dominates this group, ahead of the Seychelles, Cape Verde and the Maldives, then Sao Tome. The island of Zanzibar can also be added. In addition, it is not uncommon for exhausting safaris to be followed by two or three days of rest at the beach. Indeed, in addition to the rhythm of major movements, as the reserves are far from each other and linked by bad trails, there is the obligation to wake up early in the morning and go out at the end of the day to observe the animals that are active at the coolest hours. In particular, the south coast of Mombassa in Kenya and the island of Zanzibar benefit from this combination of discovery safaris and seaside resorts (Box 7.1). A well-deserved rest “The combination offered by the TO offers a few days of rest after an exhausting day devoted to the big five. Indeed, on the morning of the fifth day, tourists make “road after breakfast to Mombasa. The Kenyan coast... reveals its idyllic scenery: turquoise waters, white sandy beaches, palm trees... A real piece of paradise. Check-in at your hotel and have a free afternoon by the pool or Indian Ocean. “Day 6: a day devoted to one of the sports practiced on the Kenyan coast: relaxing while sipping your favorite cocktail!... Feel free to enjoy the activities offered by our representative, such as scuba diving, because Kenya is probably one of the most beautiful diving spots in the Indian Ocean. “Day 7: last time for sunbathing before the end of your trip and your flight back to France at the end of the day... or extend your stay in Monbasa by a few nights.”

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“Because this rest and relaxation come after three days of intense safari, punctuated by long journeys on bad tracks, between parks, sunrises at dawn and late nights imposed by the stars. “Day 2: Nairobi–Amboseli (250 km, 4 hours). Early departure for the most legendary of African parks, Amboseli National Park. It is with Mount Kilimanjaro in the background that you will make your first animal hunts... Return in the late morning to your lodge2... Lunch then, in the late afternoon, photo safari until sunset. “Day 3: Amboseli–Tsavo West (200 km, 3 hours)... Safari-photo at dawn, the ideal time to observe the wildlife. It is when the weather is cool that animals move more easily and are more visible. Return to the lodge for a hearty breakfast and then drive to the largest of the Kenyan national parks, Tsavo... Stop on the way to visit the springs of Mzima and continue to your lodge. After settling in and having lunch, rest and relax by the pool. At the end of the day, head for the savannah slopes for a photo safari until sunset.” Box 7.1. A combined safari–beach experience proposed by the TO Nouvelles Frontières in its catalog consulted in 2017

On other independent islands, rest is sufficient, or almost enough. The development of the tropical islands is not the result of the development of an alleged biophysical or human potential. Of course, the absence of cold weather and beaches are elements of the places’ quality, but they are assessed with reference to the representations of tourist societies, in this case Westerners and particularly Europeans, who are primarily interested because of their relative proximity. Once the question of accessibility was resolved, generally by the invention of the jet in the 1950s, and then on a case-by-case basis for each island by the creation of an airport and an airline, it is to a set of actors that the development of tourism must be attributed. First, the history of colonization must be considered. Following the British who invented the hills resorts in India, the French set up climatic or spa establishments, but at high altitudes, in order to enjoy the fresh air. The scenes of Salazie (1,000 m) and Cilaos (1,200 m) on Réunion Island, such as Hell-Bourg (900 m), thus welcome well-off people enjoying the waters [GAY 09]. Today, these are stops on tours that travel up the mountain in search of beautiful landscapes: Cilaos (79 citations, 88th place), Salazie (36 citations, 156th place) and Hell-Bourg (16 citations, 268th place). Subsequently, the process spread to the islands and independent States and constituted a historic turning point for 2 The lodge is the emblematic accommodation of parks and reserves, safari theaters. More or less inspired by local architecture, wood is widely used, as the decoration refers to the imagery of colonial hunting. Nevertheless, the place is quite comfortable.

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governments facing increasing difficulties due to the contradiction between strong population growth and the collapse of the few foundations on which economic development was based. It was therefore the decision of governments, taken in a context of social crisis, which was decisive. In the Seychelles [GAY 04], the explosion in the number of inhabitants coincided, at the time of independence in 1976, with the collapse of an economy based on the extraction of guano, whose reserves were exhausted, as well as coconut tree diseases. Tourism was then seized upon as the new El Dorado. The construction of an international airport and luxury hotels launched the destination. Visitor numbers are increasing rapidly and this supports a large social program. However, it remains low compared to other islands. In 2015, Seychelles welcomes 276,000 international visitors according to the WTO, while Mauritius received 1.152 million and the Maldives 1.234 million. In the Seychelles [GAY 04], the government is developing an eco-responsible discourse that advocates limiting the number of tourists in order to preserve the environment. In reality, this masks its failures and does not stand up to analysis; the overcrowding thresholds are regularly increased. In addition, government strategies (Box 7.2) are in line with the research of the privileged among themselves: “the discourse on sustainable tourism is a good fit for this elite that seeks to protect itself in the southern countries... places where it will not be in contact with the masses” [GAY 04]. Self-segregation in the islands, a production of States “In addition to the different configuration of the archipelagos, with greater spacing and opposition between large and small islands in the Seychelles, the choices in terms of tourism location have been contrary. In the Maldives, they are based on moral and religious considerations. This Muslim country has separated tourism from the local population, a task facilitated by the fact that only one-sixth of the Maldivian islands are inhabited. Agricultural small islands, near island villages, have been transformed into tourist destinations. The break with the surrounding islands is therefore very marked. Some island hotels, such as in the Seychelles, even live 1 or 2 hours ahead of legal time in order to offer longer evenings to their guests, including dinner at sunset. “Thus, the increase in the number of hotel islands responds to the concerns of officials, who fear the rise in alcohol and drug consumption and the relaxation of morals. The dispersion of tourists among the population is limited by no longer allowing off-site tourist accommodation, with the exception of the capital – Malé – and Gan, on Addoo Atoll at the southern tip of the archipelago. Although in the early 1980s there were about 50 boarding houses on inhabited islands, today it is necessary to have a permit, which is difficult to obtain, to stay there, except for those near the hotel islands, which are open a few hours a day to tourists to sell handicrafts. But, under the guise of moral considerations, the drastic limitation of operating permits for small family tourist

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structures is also a means of strengthening the authority of the local bourgeoisie over this sector. “In the Seychelles, tourism developed on the main island (Mahé) and then on the inhabited secondary islands (Praslin and La Digue). There was no political will to build hotels on small uninhabited islands, but rather the concern to concentrate everything on the main island. The opening of the first hotel islands in the 1970s was a private initiative. This non-specialization is clearly evident in Desroches, a remote atoll managed by the Island Development Company (IDC), where the Seychelles State has maintained the exploitation of copra, with coconut cultivation having the advantage of keeping the small coral islands shaded and easy to visit. Other islands have been protected, becoming natural parks or even ‘World Heritage’ sites, such as the Aldabra Atoll.” Box 7.2. The strategies of the States are in line with the need for self-segregation of wealthy Europeans (source: [GAY 00b])

For Mauritius, which became independent3 in 1968, it was the fall in sugar prices that prompted private actors to take action, transferring capital and developing coastal lands in the hotel industry, particularly the Beachcomber, Sun and Constance groups, while the government developed an international airport and created an airline in 1967 which, with the increase in services, contributed to the take-off of tourism [PEB 03, MON 14]. From their base, Mauritian hoteliers have spread to the Seychelles, Maldives, Morocco and even France to Beachcomber. The Lux group, less linked to sugar capital, has also internationalized in the Maldives, Réunion Island, Turkey, China and Dubai. Thus, Mauritius asserts itself as a southern country in the global capitalist context [PEB 15]. In the Maldives, the road to tourism has been regulated by the State, which has chosen to locate hotels on uninhabited islands, with the exception of the capital, Malé, in order to limit the effects the relaxation of morals feared by the authorities, who are also making hidden progress here, the challenge being to retain power [GAY 00b]. However, since 2009, the government has weakened its position and accepted housing options for residents [AHM 18]. In all these islands, the option of high-end tourism has been favored, but accommodation with local residents has crept in despite government opposition, creating diversification at the margins.

3 The island, uninhabited, was discovered by the Portuguese in 1507, occupied by the Netherlands in 1638 (the toponym comes from the name stathouder by Maurice de Nassau) then by the French in 1715 (the novel Paul et Virginie written by Jacques Bernardin Henri de Saint-Pierre takes place there) before the British took it over in 1810. They developed sugar cane plantations there, first by transferring slaves from Africa and then, after abolition, labourers from India. The latter community is now the majority and holds political power through democracy.

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In Réunion Island, already underprivileged as we will see in the next section, seaside tourism competes with urbanization. The small agglomeration of SaintGilles-les-Bains/La-Saline-les-Bains has more than 20,000 inhabitants, so the function of residence competes with tourism. The Republic of Cape Verde engaged in tourism much later. Faced with economic difficulties and inhabitants who were forced to emigrate, the government4 began offering tourist activities in 1994. “Special tourist areas” were delimited from 1994 onwards in order to accommodate international investment, then a Strategic Plan for the Development of Tourism in Cape Verde (2010/2013) defined objectives for each island, in order to develop the reception of international tourists, particularly European tourists [CUN 15]. In all these places, mainly dedicated to rest, other practices are being implemented. In particular, many active, sporty activities are proposed. Some also lead onto discovery. In particular, scuba diving provides access to underwater fauna and flora. 7.2.4. Search for diversification Beyond this dichotomy between safaris and beaches, some places and territories are trying to diversify the proposals made to tourists. According to the model proposed by Gay, three concentric rings define the space of the islands. The coastal periphery is dedicated to seaside practices [GAY 09]. The ring become continuous as soon as a lagoon was able to be developed all around it, which characterizes the islands with ancient volcanism. The second ring remains on its largest extent an agricultural space, often dedicated to sugar cane cultivation, but heritage processes take place there, particularly around plantations, such as those of Saint-Aubin or Chamarel in Mauritius. The latter is thus cited 27 times, and is in 192nd place, which is not much, but it is probably underestimated because this discovery is made during excursions that are not systematically offered by all TOs. The availability of space in this rural margin supports peri-urbanization processes as tourism creates jobs and stimulates population growth. But other tourist attractions also appear, such as Casela Park in Mauritius, which offers walking with wild animals, especially lions, or various games, especially summer sledging. Finally, the volcanic heart of the islands offers “imposing mountain landscapes, with lush vegetation, waterfalls and magnificent panoramas” [GAY 09, p. 81]. This is particularly the case for Réunion Island, which compensates, to some extent, for the discontinuity of its lagoon and the poor development of the seaside resort caused by the scarcity of 4 The archipelago of 10 islands was discovered by the Portuguese and integrated in 1456. Independence was proclaimed in 1975.

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beaches combining white sand and coconut palms. A development policy was initiated in the mid-1980s with the creation of marked trails (more than 1,000 km), shelters and lodgings, and concrete roads giving access to the most remarkable sites, in particular Salazie (156th place, cited 39 times) and Mafate (252nd place, cited 18 times). The creation in 2007 of the Hauts de la Réunion National Park completed the process. The effusive volcanism of the Piton de la Fournaise makes for a good spectacle. However, the number of visitors remains more domestic than tourist. 7.2.5. Special case: the Republic of South Africa Only the RSA escapes this dualism. Its level of development, particularly its cities, offers more diversity. Apartheid is now part of history and feeds part of the attendance, whether it is the emblematic places of Nelson Mandela’s life, notably Robben Island where he was detained, an island off Cape Town, or places of collective protest such as Soweto, a township5 located in the western suburbs of Johannesburg, or those of Durban or more generally of KwaZulu-Natal [FOL 10a]. In fact, this destination is the most diversified on the continent (Box 7.3), beyond being the first, without going so far as to plagiarize the slogan of the National Tourist Office – a slogan taken up by many TOs – which proclaims with pride “the world in one country”. Cape Town is the subject of discovery trips that combine, in addition to the urban events themselves, the discovery of the nearby coastline, with in particular the Cape of Good Hope and the penguin colonies on Boulder Beach, or the visit to the nearby wine-growing region (Box 7.3). The latter is not only visited as part of excursions from Cape Town, but also as part of stops along the way to the rest of the country. Some TOs even offer a discovery trip of several days, dedicated exclusively to Cape Town. The urban discovery is completed by a few others, less frequented, such as Johannesburg or Durban. Pretoria, the capital, is in contrast less visited. Cape Town, multifaceted and fascinating “Here you are in the City Bowl, the historic center, the starting point for a walk to the old Cape Town harbor, the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. After a stroll between the shops and the small restaurants and bars, you arrive in front of the Oceans Aquarium. From there, we go by boat to Robben Island, a former prison where Nelson Mandela spent nearly 20 years. In the old town, the Fort of Good Hope (18th Century); City Hall (1905), a short distance from the splendid Mutual Building (Fred Glennie, 1935); Long Street; the History Museum (Old Slave Lodge, 1679); the colorful houses of Bo-Kaap; the Malaysian

5 Townships were the ghettos inhabited by black populations in apartheid South Africa, a segregationist policy implemented from 1948 and abolished in 1991.

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quarter and, a little further on, those of De Waterkant. To get higher, head for Table Mountain, the pretext for a nice cable car ride. The beaches are in False Bay (east of the peninsula), Atlantic Seaboard (west) and the West Coast, north of Cape Town. As for the suburb of Camps Bay, in the evening you can taste the intoxication of the trendy cosmopolitanism that is one of the city’s charms. In the vineyards of Stellenbosch, to the east, the cellars await visitors...” Box 7.3. Description of Cape Town on the TO Voyageurs du Monde website, consulted March 13, 2019

The country also offers safaris and the discovery of important places in the biophysical world. Kruger Park is the most visited park in the country and is the third safari destination, after the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti. Other less known reserves are, nevertheless, included by the TO, such as Hluhluwe (55 citations, 116th place) [FOL 10b], while biophysical sites are frequented to admire them, such as Blyde River (69th place, 96 citations). In South Africa, the end of apartheid did not lead to a break in park management policy. The exclusion of the first occupants was extended by the ANC (African National Congress, party of Nelson Mandela, who took power after 1994), which used ecotourism as a lever for developing international tourism [GUY 04, FOL 10b]. Beyond that, conflicts and tensions remain in the management of parks, especially since the black middle classes remain excluded from tourism, particularly in natural parks where conservation is combined with high access costs [GUY 04]. Finally, a few seaside destinations complete the picture. The RSA is thus the only truly diversified destination on the continent. However, a better integration of indigenous people into park management and tourism development could further expand the supply by enhancing local and regional cultures [FOL 10b]. 6

7.2.6. Typology of tourist places

Cape Town is an exception and is well regarded as a tourist metropolis (Box 7.3). A city visited for its own sake, including during short stays of discovery, it is the gateway to South Africa and even to the south of the continent, as evidenced by the opening of the Zeitz MOCAA (Museum of Contemporary Art Arica) (Box 7.4). In addition, thanks to excursions, there is access to its immediate surroundings, particularly the Cape of Good Hope and the wine region, as we have noted.

6 We use here the typology of tourist places presented in Chapter 1 (section 1.3.6).

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Combined stays also associate this metropolis with the islands of the Indian Ocean. As a result, its index reaches 1.75, which underlines its role as a major tourist place but also as a hub receiving and distributing tourist flows for the country and the southern part of the continent. The Zeitz MOCAA, the largest museum of contemporary African art in the world “Inaugurated in the fall of 2017, the Museum of Contemporary Art Africa was created as a result of the collaboration between the V&A Waterfront, the famous Cape Town waterfront, and German patron Jochen Zeitz, who made part of his private collection available. This huge 6,000 m² concrete cathedral houses hundreds of works by contemporary African artists, including those of Nigerian artist Taiye Idahor, Malagasy artist Joël Andrianomearisoa and Angolan photographer Edson Chagas. The Zeitz MOCAA, if it imagines itself in the long term to be the equal of the New York MoMA or London’s Tate Modern, is already on the way to becoming an essential cultural platform on the African continent. To make the most of its treasures, let yourself be guided by your ‘like a friend’ who knows its ways and subtleties.” Box 7.4. Cape Town: an offer enriched by the opening of a major museum of contemporary art presented on the TO Voyageurs du Monde website, consulted March 13, 2019

The other cities hold the function of a stopover city (like Johannesburg, Nairobi or Windhoek), which redistribute the flows to the natural parks, and are rarely visited for themselves. The indices thus amount to 1.4 because stopovers are frequent in these capital cities, which host airport infrastructures and redistribute flows by road or plane. Pretoria, the capital of the Republic of South Africa, is an exception. It is not very popular, ranks only 51st and does not play the role of a tourist metropolis, competing with Cape Town. Its index is 0.96. Then come the most spectacular nature reserves and parks, as well as the most spectacular biophysical sites, including the Okavango Delta in Botswana, the Serengeti and Arusha Parks in Tanzania, Selous in Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls, Ruha Parks in Tanzania and Chobe in Botswana, or Ngorongoro Volcano in Tanzania and the Maasai Mara in Kenya. The qualification of these fundamental places is not simple. The typology developed by the MIT team identifies many sites, either places visited by tourists but in which they do not sleep, such as Victoria Falls (index 1.02 but in the catalogs, the exact location of the accommodation is not always specified) or the Cape of Good Hope (index 0.02 because the place is integrated into the Cape tourist region which

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is popular for overnight stays), tourist posts such as the lodges from which safaris are launched, which operate as excursions. In fact, the regional scale makes it possible to identify districts that form networks of places that include tourist posts scattered within parks or stopover cities such as Livingstone, sites, places of discovery and admiration such as Victoria Falls, or villages that showcase Aboriginal cultures. Most national parks have indices that vary around 1 because many routes, which pass through two or three parks, observe a rhythm marked by an arrival in the afternoon followed by a first safari at nightfall. At dawn, a second safari is offered before breakfast and departure to another park or possibly a rest period before a new evening safari and in this case a second night – this varies according to the total duration of the tour, which is 1 or almost 2 weeks. It should be noted, however, that some more specific sites, such as Lake Nakuru Park, have low indices (0.57) despite significant attendance (11th place, 476 citations). This shows a faster passage, but one that is nevertheless recommended, because in addition to its felines, this place is famous for the vast colony of pink flamingos. However, in a smaller park, the discovery does not necessarily include an overnight stay or a mandatory stopover between two larger parks. Day trips Country

Overnight stays

Places

Index Rank

Frequency

Rank

Frequency

Cape Town

1

1,667

1

1,459

1.75

Zanzibar

2

1,231

2

688

1.12

Serengeti

3

825

8

331

0.80

Kenya

Maasai Mara

4

779

3

425

1.09

Zimbabwe

Victoria Falls

5

670

5

343

1.02

South Africa

Kruger Park

6

668

7

338

1.01

Praslin

7

652

9

314

0.96

Mahé

8

604

6

339

1.12

South Africa

Tanzania

Seychelles

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South Africa

Johannesburg

9

515

4

370

1.44

Namibia

Ethosha NP Onguma

10

485

14

220

0.91

Kenya

Lake Nakuru

11

476

27

135

0.57

Tanzania

Ngonrongoro

12

461

10

264

1.15

Kenya

Mombasa

13

448

11

259

1.16

Botswana

Okavango Delta/ Moremi Khwai River Reserve

14

438

12

242

1.11

Cape Verde

Santa Maria

15

425

13

225

1.06

Réunion

Saint-Gilles

16

383

16

187

0.98

Senegal

Saly

17

369

21

153

0.83

Kenya

Amboseli NP

18

365

15

202

1.11

South Africa

Cape of Good Hope

19

364

474

3

0.02

Belle Mare

20

360

18

177

0.98

Mauritius

21

290

20

170

1.17

Arusha PN

22

271

24

149

1.10

Nairobi

23

263

17

187

1.42

Diani Beach

24

258

23

151

1.17

Windhoek

25

245

25

143

1.17

Mauritius

Tanzania

Kenya

Namibia

Table 7.1. Main tourist places in sub-Saharan Africa distinguished by rank and frequency of day trip and overnight stays, and by the tourist typicity index in tour operator catalogs. The ranking is based on the frequency of citations of places during day trips

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Sun City presents an original case in Africa. It is a trading post located on the edge of Pilanesberg National Park, created in 1979 within Bophuthatswana, Bantustan, an inconsequential State, recognized only by South Africa as part of the apartheid policy. The border allowed a racial diversity and licentiousness, which were completely intolerable for Afrikaner society. Since the end of the regime imposed by the white minority, the site has become a children’s amusement park, farms, a casino, two golf courses, and a gigantic complex for the organization of various events ranging from the election of Miss World to sports championships. The palace of the lost city, Cabanas Hotel, the Cascades, a holiday village, offers much accommodation. Along the coasts, there are tourist posts, such as Diani Beach or Mombasa, as well as some seaside resorts. It should be recalled that the former are closed and managed by a single operator, access to the beaches is controlled, sometimes prohibited, sometimes only supervised according to regulations, while the latter are open: walking is free along the coast and they host several establishments belonging to different companies, such as around Le Morne located along the south-west coast of Mauritius. Along the coasts, the indices frequently reach values around 1, characteristic of seaside resorts. The purpose of these tourist posts is to provide tourists with desired security. Some seaside resorts have appeared, notably Flic en Flac in Mauritius. They allow people to meet the inhabitants who, on this island, stand behind, at the top of the beach, or in the shade of woodlands where they sometimes set up family camps. 7.3. Societal practices While the middle classes of Afrikaner whites (because the black communities’ access to tourism remains limited and problematic) favor coastal destinations, nonresidents tend to frequent cities or natural parks [GUY 04]. This dichotomy between the tourism of residents or neighboring countries, oriented toward hot coastlines, and tourism of other societies targeting discovery, seems universal. It seems that while it is a question of going to the beach, proximity prevails, while the understanding of the heterogeneity of the World implies, on the contrary, greater mobility. The approach to societal practices mobilizes the atlas maps presented in section 7.5. 7.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies Western societies, more ancient in tourism, share similar practices in Africa. Discovery in the form of safaris or meetings with indigenous societies, and more

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specifically the Cape Town metropolis, is common, but the hierarchy of States and places varies, with the exception of the Republic of South Africa, the first destination for all societies, although the affirmation is less clear among the TOs operating in the Spanish market. Tanzania first, then Kenya, followed closely, except in Germany where Namibia took second place, while it was fourth elsewhere. These destinations have in common the dualism of the safari and the beach, in the form of combinations or not. “Cape Town, a tourist metropolis, holds several days’-worth of sights to discover its monuments and surrounding sites and regions. “Day 2: Cape Town. On arrival, you will be welcomed by our correspondent and departure for Signal Hill which offers a breath-taking view of the city, the port of Table Bay and Robben Island. Optional: ascent of Table Mountain by cable car... stay at the hotel for three nights. “Day 3: Cape Town – Cape of Good Hope. Drive to the port of Hout Bay for a sea excursion... Embark on a tour to Duiker Island, home of fur seals and a multitude of birds... Visit the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. This is where the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean meet. Continue onto Boulders beach and its colonies of penguins that live in total freedom... Continue with the discovery of the Diamond Works, a diamond workshop that reveals the secrets of this emblematic stone. Continue along the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, former docks transformed into a cultural and commercial center. “Day 4: Cape Town – Wine Route. Free day... in Cape Town or optional: discover the small town of Stellenbosch. Visit the Solms Delta vineyard with a tasting of several wines. Picnic lunch. Orientation tour of Franschhoek. Traditional dinner of Malaysian Cape Town and African specialities, with songs and dances accompanied by the djembe. “Day 5: Cape Town – Durban (by plane). Departure for a city tour of Cape Town... During the tour you will pass in front of the Castle of Good Hope, the oldest building in the country; the Compagny Gardens, an old vegetable garden and orchard that supplied the passing boats. Transfer to the airport and fly to Durban.” Box 7.5. Cape Town, a metropolis of diversified discovery, in a tour proposed by TO La Française des circuits in 2017

Then come tourist countries that are more clearly oriented toward rest. In this category too, the order varies. The French and British prefer Mauritius and the Seychelles; the Germans Mauritius and the Maldives, the Spanish the Cape Verde archipelago. The Americans, on the other hand, are absent. This point allows us to

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underline that the practice of visiting the beach has a narrower, regional spatiality than that of discovery, which is global. Indeed, the discovery of the big five is not possible outside Africa, whereas, when it comes to seaside rest, Americans already have the beaches of the warm Caribbean seas, the American isthmus, Florida and California. Based on the eighth rank, some tourist countries have more exclusive links with one or two markets. Madagascar stands out as a popular destination for the French and Germans. Senegal is visited by the French and the Spanish, like the Cape Verde archipelago; Réunion Island is visited by the French and the Germans. Ethiopia and Uganda are frequented by the French, Spanish and Germans. The Gambia is exclusively visited by the British. These relationships reactivate colonial historical ties, but not only this. It is interesting to note that Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, safari countries, less frequented than the first ones already mentioned, are nevertheless present in all catalogs. The tourism area of French society is the one that has the largest presence in Africa, with a presence in countries with few visitors such as Togo, Benin and northern Cameroon. In contrast, Americans are highly concentrated in a narrower part of the continent, mainly in southern and eastern Kenya, in the RSA via the islands and archipelagos of the Indian Ocean. Cape Verde is frequented by the British. The other two societies, German and Spanish, are in an intermediate situation, and their visits include Ethiopia. The French rank the resting places first, Zanzibar, Praslin and Mahé ahead of Cape Town, which is on a par with Saint-Gilles, then Saly (Senegal) and Belle Mare (Mauritius) before Okavango (Botswana), the Serengeti (Tanzania) and Kruger (RSA). Finally, Grand Baie (Mauritius) and Santa Maria (Cape Verde) precede Victoria Falls. For the British, the inter-rankings are more undecided. While Cape Town dominates, the seaside resorts alternate more regularly with the parks: Kololi Beach in Gambia is second, Santa Maria is fifth, Kotu Beach (also Gambia) is sixth, Kruger is third, the Maasai Mara is fourth, etc. The Spanish show a system that is reminiscent of the French and favor the seaside over safaris. The Germans, on the other hand, place parks at the top of the rankings after Cape Town. Etosha in second and Kuger Park precedes seaside resorts such as Zanzibar, Swakopmund in Namibia, a destination almost unknown to other Europeans, founded by German settlers in 1892, and Diani Beach in Kenya. Then Windhoek, also very German, precedes Victoria Falls and Nungwi, a beach located north of the island of Zanzibar. As we have already pointed out, Americans do not frequent the seaside resorts in the region. After Cape Town, they visit the region’s major parks and sites, Kruger in the RSA, Serengeti in Tanzania, Victoria Falls, the Maasai Mara and Ngorongoro in Kenya, before Johannesburg, which precedes the Okavango Delta in Botswana, the Cape of Good Hope, before Tarangire.

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7.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies The new tourism societies agree on two points. On the one hand, they invest little in Africa. However, the growth in Chinese arrivals is spectacular in some destinations. For example, in Mauritius, the number of arrivals increased from 11,000 in 2011 to 89,000 in 2015. On the other hand, they place Sun City at the top of the rankings for places visited. This atypical place, which ranks 48th in the global ranking, ranks 19th for the Russians and 5th for the Chinese. This indicates that a society with a weaker tourism experience prefers places with a reassuring structure. Russian TOs mainly offer in their catalogs the same destinations and practices as other Europeans, namely South Africa, with its cities and nature parks, or the main safari destinations, such as Kenya and Tanzania. Within the parks, Lake Nakuru dominates in front of the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara, then Chobe, while the two main sites of Victoria Falls and the Cape of Good Hope are located in between. For rest, the Russians prefer the island of Zanzibar and the Kenyan coast, particularly in Mombasa, quite far ahead of Mauritius and the Seychelles. Similarly, more secret destinations appear in connection with history. They include Mozambique, which is not well known to other Europeans. For Chinese TOs, Egypt and Dubai are an integral part of the Africa tourism region as part of tours integrating these destinations dedicated to discovering subSaharan Africa. Above all, they mainly include South Africa by favoring cities over natural parks, which are less frequented, while Africa is absent from Japanese and Korean TOs. For the Chinese too, Cape Town is more popular than Johannesburg. However, we note that Pretoria, usually rather neglected, has some attractions for them. The first and almost only safari destination for the latter is Pilanesberg, a South African park, which is more popular on excursions from Sun City. The seaside destinations are in a good position, with Mauritius and the Seychelles, even the Chinese prefer contemplation and walking there (as well as in other places), under the protection of parasols for women, rather than bathing. 7.3.3. World connectiveness of sub-Saharan African places Cape Town is becoming the continent’s tourist metropolis. Second, most of the safari hotspots are shared by all tourism societies and are thus among the universal places of all worlds. Nairobi is an exception. A necessary passage to access Kenya’s parks, the capital is rarely visited; it is a stopover town, as we have seen. As a result, its overall attendance is relatively low for a city where most worlds coexist. Other cities, especially Pretoria, are being ignored: the capital status is not a guarantee of touristicity.

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Then come two categories of places. Those where several worlds meet but never all, and those, more exclusive, frequented practically by one or two, or even three tourism societies. Most of them are seaside resorts, but some parks are located in between. Above all, Europeans dominate. Indeed, for the seaside and hot places of rest in the off-season (i.e. in winter), the latter must, to the south, cross the Sahara to access the tropical shores, while the Americans benefit from the proximity of the beaches of the Caribbean and Central America. However, it is not enough to have sun and beaches, or even frequenting an island, to be a tourist. The famous potential, developed by the geographers of the 1950s and 1960s who had an excuse to face virgin ground though rebuilt by others who are more inexcusable (especially when they despised the tourist object) is in no way sufficient – like the Comoros, which remain outside the world. World connectiveness

Places

Quality

Quantity More frequented

Cape Town Maasai Mara Johannesburg Victoria Falls Universal places or all worlds

Kruger

All worlds Moderately frequented

Serengeti Ngorongoro Okavango Cape of Good Hope Nairobi Windhoek

Places of a large part of the worlds

All worlds but places of passage requiring a stopover

Zanzibar

Neither Chinese nor British, few Americans

Mahé

Neither Americans nor Spanish, few Germans

Not very frequented

Less frequented

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The Tourist Places of the World

Places of a large part of the worlds

Places of a world

Praslin

Neither Russians, British, Spanish, Americans

Amboseli

No Chinese

Arusha

Neither Chinese nor Russian

Monbassa

Russians, French

Santa Maria

French, British, Spanish

Belle Mare

French, British, Germans

Ethosha

Germans and Russians

Saly Sal Saint-Gilles Grand Baie

Places outside the World

Less frequented

French and Spanish

French

Windhoek

Germans

Comoros Sahel countries Congo Central African Republic Cameroon Most West African countries

–

Table 7.2. Globality of Sub-Saharan African cities

7.4. Conclusion Africa is characterized first of all by a low level of tourism, which is largely due to its low level of economic development. Second, the practices deployed by the different societies of the other worlds appear to be poorly diversified. Indeed, beach and safari dualism largely dominates, with the exception of the Republic of South Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa

187

7.5. Atlas7

Map 7.1. Main tourist places in the sub-Saharan Africa region according to the frequency analysis of British TO catalogs, 2015–2018 7 For color versions of the maps in this section, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip.

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Map 7.2. Main tourist places in the sub-Saharan Africa region according to the frequency analysis of French TO catalogs, 2015–2018

Sub-Saharan Africa

Map 7.3. Main tourist places in the sub-Saharan Africa region according to the frequency analysis of German TO catalogs, 2015–2018

189

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The Tourist Places of the World

Map 7.4. Main tourist places in the sub-Saharan Africa region according to the frequency analysis of Spanish TO catalogs, 2015–2018

Sub-Saharan Africa

Map 7.5. Main tourist places in the sub-Saharan Africa region according to the frequency analysis of American TO catalogs, 2015–2018

191

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The Tourist Places of the World

Map 7.6. Main tourist places in the sub-Saharan Africa region according to the frequency analysis of Russian TO catalogs, 2015–2018

Sub-Saharan Africa

Map 7.7. Main tourist places in the sub-Saharan Africa region according to the frequency analysis of Chinese TO catalogs, 2015–2018

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8 Western Asia

Rather than the traditional and European-centered designations of Near or Middle East, we prefer the West Asian designation, which places this group in western Asia, without reference to proximity to Europe. This region of the World extends from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to India in the east, and from the Central Asian republics (Uzbekistan, in particular) to the Indian Ocean. It has advantages for tourism development. It is close to Europe, one of the World’s major emitting markets. It is thus part of the major axis of world civilizations [GRA 10], which extends from the Mediterranean to China and Japan. As such, many remains bear witness to a brilliant past, particularly that of Mesopotamian civilizations (3,000 years BCE to the 6th Century BCE) and Persian empires (6th to 4th Centuries BCE). It is at this crossroads that agriculture, livestock and the city, and more importantly writing were invented. However, current visiting levels are poor. The region’s share of world tourism remains low. It has risen from 2% in the 1980s to 3% today1, with about 35 million travelers welcomed according to the WTO. The causes are mainly based on the high intra- and inter-State tensions that have torn the region apart, particularly since the 1920s, when the wealth of oil resources was revealed. The region opened up to tourism at the end of the 20th Century (Figure 8.1), but there are significant contrasts between the different States, as shown in the maps in the atlases in section 8.5.

1 Volume and percentage calculated on the basis of cumulative WTO data for countries in the West Asian region as defined.

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Figure 8.1. A region open to tourism since the end of the 20th Century (source: WTO). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip

8.1. A mosaic of tourist attractions Visits are directly influenced by the tensions affecting the region. However, a combination of the power conferred by oil, which has justified the interventions of the major powers since the 1920s, and the rivalry between the regional powers, which are also combined with vehement religious opposition, creates strong instability that is not very favorable to tourism development. Indeed, Iran is asserting itself as the leader of Shiism, while Saudi Arabia claims a Sunni Islam of a rigid tendency, Salafism2.

2 According to Antoine Sfeir, political scientist, director of the Cahiers de l’Orient, “unlike Islamism, Salafism is therefore neither a religious movement with a political claim, nor an organization strictly speaking, but rather a tendency to ‘regenerate’ the faith and reislamize society. A Salafist can be considered an ‘ultra-Orthodox’ Muslim” (source: https://antoinesfeir.wordpress.com, accessed February 5, 2019).

Western Asia

197

8.1.1. Region marked by high tensions As a result, the situations are very contrasting. It is not surprising that several States are absent from both the TO catalogs and the WTO directory, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Similarly, Syria, which began to receive travelers in increasing numbers from the 1990s up to 8.5 million in 2010, has been experiencing a violent civil war since 2011, but involving foreign forces, which pits government forces, supported by Russia, against a heterogeneous opposition backed by a coalition of Western powers led by the United States, intervening to eradicate the Islamic State (IS). The latter actor, also known as Daesh, is a proto-State created by a terrorist organization that has taken advantage of the destabilization of both Syria and Iraq to prosper. The defeated IS and Syrian government forces are on the way to imposing themselves, although uncertainty remains, particularly because of the lack of a political solution for the future, and the haunting question of the Kurds. The latter, who have taken an active part in the fight against Daesh, are facing hostility from Turkey, whose territory is home to a large Kurdish minority who claim political autonomy. However, while one part lives in Turkey, another has obtained some recognition in Iraq, and the victory against Daesh sounds like a threat to Turkish President Erdogan who fears the establishment of a Kurdish State that would, in fact, constitute a basis for the political unification of the Kurdish people. Others manage at least to provide the WTO with statistical data on travelers crossing their borders, but serious doubts remain about the tourist dimension of these movements. For example, Iraq, which was absent before 2009, had 1.5 million entries in 2010 and fell to 892,000 in 2014 (no data for 2015). After the aggression against Iran from 1980 to 1988, the dictator Saddam Hussein launched an invasion against Kuwait that provoked a strong Western reaction and military intervention. Finally, again in 2003, the country was attacked by the United States and its allies to destabilize the regime. Saddam Hussein was killed but since then the country has struggled to rebuild itself. Iran, on the other hand, reappeared in WTO statistical yearbooks and especially in catalogs, after a long eclipse. A gradual reopening began in the 1990s (just over 1 million entries in 1998, according to the WTO) and then the upward trend began to take hold: 2.7 million in 2007 to 5.2 million in 2015, followed by sharp declines (2 million in 2008 and 2009). Both international and internal tensions cast a shadow over the future of tourism in this destination. On the one hand, the showdown initiated by US President Donald Trump, seeking to contain the influence of this power in the region, subjects the country to an embargo that weakens its economy. On the other hand, the high tensions between the different factions fighting for control of the country since the 1979 revolution have not ceased. Indeed, the Empire was overthrown and gave way to a highly contested but time-consuming theocratic regime.

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8.1.2. Maintaining a regular flow Still others maintain tourist numbers, which are increasing even as a result of the current rather more calm situation. Thus, Israel, which remained at around 1 million entries in the 1980s, rose to 2 million in the 1990s, falling to 862,000 in 2002 and tends toward 3 million in the recent period, and ranks second among the countries in the region with 11% of the citations. Jordan is following the same trend with its irregularities but at a slightly higher level (maximum 4.5 million in 2010, between 3 and 4 million since 2005, 3.7 million in 2015). The kingdom is the third largest State in the region with 10% of citations. The lack of a political settlement of the conflict that arose from the creation of the State of Israel, following a decision by the United Nations in 1947, has created a belligerent situation. The Palestinian question, the fate of the inhabitants of the region displaced to establish the Jewish State, has not been resolved and is aggravating relations between the States in the region. The population of Palestine has been displaced in order to create the new country. It is partly confined to refugee camps in Lebanon or Jordan. Another part lives in Israel. 8.1.3. Arabian Peninsula, renewal of contrasts The Arabian Peninsula is a concentration of regional contrasts. On the one hand, Saudi Arabia, although it has always been listed in WTO directories, rising from 6.5 million entries to around 18 million in 2014 and 2015, still does not issue tourist visas (see Box 8.1), despite the announcements made at the end of 2017 for the decision and early 2018 for the conditions but implementation does not seem to be progressing much3. The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018 shows that the regime remains authoritarian despite signs of openness from the new strong man, Mohammed ben Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince (King Salman no longer leading for health reasons). “Saudi Arabia does not issue tourist visas. The only foreigners admitted to the kingdom are businessmen (including immigrant workers) or Muslims on pilgrimage to Mecca. However, it is possible to apply for ‘visiting visas’ for the families of foreigners residing in the country. The Saudi authorities do not issue visas to holders of passports bearing Israeli visas or stamps.

3 According to an article in the French newspaper Le Monde signed by Benjamin Barthe, published on March 9, 2019, which was devoted to the Al-Ula site classified by UNESCO in 2008, built by the pre-Islamic Nabataean civilization – also the origin of Petra – and “which should soon shine on the world tourism map”: “It remains to be seen when the tourist visa will be introduced. Announced last year, this opening up of the site is now expected in three to five years.”

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All visa applications must be guaranteed by a Saudi sponsor or an expatriate residing in the country. Foreigners residing in Saudi Arabia are dependent on a Saudi sponsor and must have a residence permit (‘iqama’). It is common for the employer to keep the employee’s passport. He can only leave Saudi Arabia if his employer requests an exit visa for him. The possession of a second passport is prohibited. Under these conditions, it can be very difficult to leave the country in the event of a dispute with a private Saudi individual or company”. Box 8.1. Still no tourist visa for Saudi Arabia according to the website 4 of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs

On the other hand, States have instead embarked on an active tourism dynamic (Figure 8.1). The United Arab Emirates ranks sixth in the ranking of countries according to the frequency of places cited (just over 8%). In Dubai, the Emir has even made it one of the pillars of his economic diversification strategy. While only a little over 600,000 visitors entered in 1990, there were 3.9 million in 2000 and 8 million in 2010. Since that date, the WTO no longer provides data for this country. Oman is also seeking to establish itself on the international tourism scene. Under the leadership of Sultan Qabus ibn Said, who came to power following a coup d’état against his absolutist father, the country is rapidly modernizing both economically and politically. Women in particular enjoy freedom and recognition, which are unknown elsewhere on the peninsula. The regime has evolved into a constitutional monarchy. Living conditions are improving rapidly. Tourism has benefited from this favorable climate, rising from less than 150,000 entries in 1990 to more than 1 million in 2006 and more than 2.6 million in 2015. Qatar has a similar trend in its tourist activity, which also leads to a traffic of close to 2.6 million entries according to the WTO. Finally, Yemen disappeared from catalogs following the conflict that broke out and in which Saudi Arabia took part as a regional watchdog, in order, in particular, to counter the revolt of the Houthis, of Shia origin. The country has also been in the grip of internal political strife since the “Arab Spring”, while Islamist forces have also destabilized it. A hieratic evolution also characterizes Nepal, involved in tourism in the 1960s, nevertheless attendance has never stopped. In the 1980s, the unequal social situation fuelled a Maoist-inspired guerrilla warfare that turned into a civil war in 1996. A confused situation, cemented by the assassination of the royal family in 2001, the victory of the Maoists, and the establishment of several constitutions, persisted until 2015. A terrible earthquake in April of the same year triggered a humanitarian crisis and encouraged national unity and the proclamation of a secular republic, with the establishment of new institutions, a process that 4 www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/conseils-aux-voyageurs/conseils-par-pays-destination/arabie-saoudite/ #entered, accessed January 3, 2019.

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continued in 2017 and 2018. The stabilization of the regime was accompanied by an increase in attendance, which reached 800,000 international arrivals before the 2015 earthquake reduced them to 539,000. In fact, India is the most stable and touristic State in the region. It accounts for 41% of all citations in the region (2,001 days out of 4,871). The huge federation, the seventh largest country in the world and the second largest in terms of population (1,348 million inhabitants), with a democratic constitution since its independence in 1947, is not very popular, however. The WTO has only just over 8 million admissions, placing this country around 40th in the world. 8.2. Touristicity of places Overall, the region is dominated by the practice of discovery, but more original positioning is also needed. 8.2.1. Dubai and Abu Dhabi, all-purpose metropolises: Oman, a more sensible tourist destination Dubai dominates the ranking of tourist places in the region with 456 citations. The city precedes Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which ranks 11th with 190 citations. However, these two places are similar in the strategies that have brought them to the forefront of the tourism scene. Unknown in the 1970s, a liberal development strategy that greedily welcomed international capital gave rise to two metropolises, of which tourism is one of the driving forces, investing the income from oil for Abu Dhabi, and initially integrating itself as a complementary hub, as it lacked black gold, a port platform and the basis of the aluminum industry for Dubai. However, the latter was still only a fishing village in the 19th Century, chosen to be home to an obscure tribe determined to achieve autonomy [KHO 11]. In these two places, the proliferation of tourism projects takes on classical forms, such as a demand to place oneself within the network of world metropolises, unexpected and disproportionate. The Ferrari World theme park opened in 2010 on the island of Yas in Abu Dhabi, or, in Dubai, the five indoor ski slopes, not to mention the space for snowboarders and luge athletes – located in the heart of the Mall Of The Emirates, one of the largest commercial spaces in the world, fall into the second category. This does not exclude a day of so-called ecotourism discovery in the desert on the outskirts of the city. Oman also demonstrates that tourism development is a matter of a system of actors much more than a potential that is often called upon but little questioned. In fact, the presence of cultural or biophysical objects is only useful if they correspond

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to tourist projects that are sufficiently numerous for initiatives to lead to the creation of infrastructures that make them temporary residents over time. This small country on the Arabian Peninsula offers beaches and ergs as well as heritage, especially in its former capital, the capital of a thalassocracy that controlled the slave trade in the 18th and 19th Centuries, from the Horn of Africa to Zanzibar in the south. And Oman became a tourist destination “While the country was still largely isolated in 1970, the Sultanate of Oman has developed the tourism sector in a few decades, welcoming 2.62 million visitors in 2015 with a contribution of the sector to GDP of 2.8%. Despite the country’s many assets (coastline, mountains, deserts, cultural heritage, etc.), much progress remains to be made, particularly in terms of hospitality and hotel infrastructure. In its May 2015 report on the tourism industry competitiveness index, the World Economic Forum ranked Oman 65th out of 141 countries. However, authorities have the ambition to increase tourism’s contribution to GDP to 5% by 2020 and 6% by 2040. Tourism is thus one of the priority sectors identified in the 9th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020). As a result, it has also been included in the national program for accelerating economic diversification, Tanfeedh, along with logistics, manufacturing, mining and fisheries. The authorities hope to attract 1.8 million Omani Rials (€4.5 million) in private investment by 2020, notably through the privatization of the management of natural and protected sites and the creation of a sector development fund, to be financed by taxes from the sector. With 2.6 million visitors, the tourism sector has grown rapidly.” Box 8.2. The development of tourism in Oman, a decision taken at the highest level of the State (source: Note from the Economic Department of the French Embassy in Oman, February 2017)

8.2.2. Discovery of India organized in two tourism areas The vastness of the country, as well as its cultural and biophysical wealth and travel constraints, justifies this discovery. Indeed, unlike its regional rival China, land-based transport has not been modernized to the same level. For example, it takes 3 hours and 30 minutes by the Taj Express Highway at best, and 5 h by the fastest train, to reach Agra from Delhi (the capital). The country’s two most touristic cities are separated by 233 km, or about 70 km per hour on an average highway and 50 km per hour per railway. North India, marked by Hindu civilizations, but also by the Muslim presence and then by European colonization, is articulated around three major places: Delhi (second place with 413 citations), Agra (fourth place with 215 citations) and finally Jaipur (fifth place with 277 citations). In this northern part centered around the Indus

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and Ganges valleys, Hindu civilization based on the Vedic texts revealed to the sages emerged as a result of the penetration of the Aryans from the northwest from 2,000 to 500 BCE. In particular, they established a polytheistic religion according to which souls reincarnate after death in human or animal forms, according to karma, i.e. previous life and respect for the rules of life, and the caste system, which is characterized by a strict distribution of individuals in closed social groups, especially endogamous. The system also completely excludes untouchables, including, in particular, populations settled before the arrival of the Aryans. From a mosaic of autonomous States emerged the Maury and then Gupta empires, which succeeded in imposing a unity favorable to the development of a prosperous society. But from 600 BCE, the decomposition into rival territories was once again confirmed and favored the infiltration of Muslims from the northwest, which led to the creation of the Sultanate of Delhi in 1206. The latter would resist pressure until the early 16th Century and see the development of a brilliant syncretic civilization, which would continue to flourish after the Mogul domination. From this Mughal period date the oldest remains, among the most visited by tourists. Most of them have in common the use of red sandstone, a material that is abundant in the subsoil. In Delhi, in the old city, stands the Jama Masjid Mosque, the largest in the country – it can accommodate 25,000 people – built in red sandstone between 1644 and 1656, under the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The Red Fort, built at the same time, is the second largest site in the city. The mausoleum of the Mughal Emperor Humayun was built in 1572, and is surrounded by refined gardens. Similarly, Agra is visited in particular because of the presence of the Taj Mahal, an emblematic monument of India, a white marble mausoleum built by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, a great builder, in honor of his wife, nicknamed Mumtaz Mahal, the wonder of the palace, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child. Both spouses are buried there. Agra also features 16th-Century fortifications, as well as another monument nicknamed the Baby Taj, the mausoleum of Itimad-udDaula which houses the remains of Mumtaz Mahal’s grandfather, and, finally, a park, or charbagh, a quadrilateral site representing the four gardens of paradise according to the Koran. On the contrary, Amber’s palace or fort, accessible from the city of Jaipur, from which it is 11 km away, is considered rather emblematic of Hindu architecture. It was the residence of the Rajput Maharajas, rulers of Rajasthan, one of the components of the Indian mosaic that the Moguls dominated without eliminating, according to a principle of imperial government, and later taken over by the British, which consisted of maintaining the previous political structures while subjugating them. Jaipur is also frequented for: “The Jantar Mantar is an astronomical observation site built in the early 18th century. It includes a set of some twenty main fixed instruments. They are monumental examples in masonry of known instruments but which in many cases have specific characteristics of

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their own. The Jantar Mantar is an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period” [UNE 19]. Udaipur (15th rank, 133 citations) and Jodhpur (23rd rank, 103 citations), which complete tours in North India during longer stays; are also royal cities with palaces built in the 16th Century for the former, in the 15th Century for the latter. Finally, the economic metropolis of Mumbai completes the northern tours (24th place, 96 citations). Its animation, particularly as the capital of Indian cinema, Bollywood, justifies the detour like Elephant Island located 11 km offshore, which houses an underground complex dedicated to Shiva from the beginning of the 17th Century. Finally, Benares or Varnasi, a Mecca for Hindu pilgrimages, completes a tour in North India to the northwest. The Holy City stands in 47th place with 48 citations. As early as the 18th Century, European powers established trading posts along the coasts, before the British began their territorial conquest in 1765, when they took control of Bengal. After a period of management by the East India Company, the London government took over the country in 1858, until independence was proclaimed in 1947. This period also saw the construction of the main colonial monuments and districts in Delhi, when the city was chosen as the capital instead of Calcutta, in particular the Gate of India, a monument designed by Edwin Lutyens, an English architect, in memory of the soldiers of the British army, as well as the Rashtrapati Bhavan, built by the same architect between 1912 and 1929 to house the viceroy of India and now the residence of the Indian President. In addition, there is the Sansad Bhavan, designed by another British architect, Herbert Baker, in 1912– 1913, which is the current seat of Parliament. Finally, tourists can visit the Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, a black marble platform built at his cremation site on January 31, 1948. Beyond that, a Bollywood show presents traditional dances and music. The discovery of South India, less frequent than that of the North, is structured around Cochin, a place in 19th position with 119 citations, located in the State of Kerala. Tourists mainly visit the oldest part of the city called Fort Cochin, which bears witness to the successive occupation by the Portuguese who settled there in 1544, then the Dutch who took control in 1663, before giving way to the British in 1795. Two main monuments attract the attention of tourists, first of all the Dutch Palace or Mattancherry Palace, built in 1555 by the Portuguese to house the Virakeralavarma raja. Refurbished by the Dutch to become the governor’s seat, it was then returned to the raja, who had it decorated with wall paintings inspired by Ramayana, one of the two Vedic epics that founded Hinduism. The second monument is the synagogue built in 1567 and enlarged in the 18th Century. It testifies to an ancient settlement of Jews in India on the path of major trade routes from the first millennium of the Christian era. In the vicinity of Cochin, a house-boat

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ride in the Backwaters, lagoons along the Malabar coast, provides a moment of discovery and relaxation. Goa and Madurai are the most popular places in South India. The first is better known for its old colonial city, whereas the second offers more of its temples, particularly the one in the Dravidian style, characteristic of South India from the 9th to the 13th Centuries, dedicated to Minakshi, his wife, and Shiva. The former French trading post in Pondicherry, which was attached to India in 1954, then reaches 52nd place with 42 citations. Other places complete a tour in South India, including Tanjore, which is distinguished from the North by its wealth of Hindu temples, while in the North the Mughal influence has prevailed. The heritage of colonization is found in both. 8.2.3. Combinations bringing together dominant discovery with secondary rest and play practices Israel is the second largest tourist country after India. The places that bear witness to the accounts in the New Testament are the most popular, with the exception of Eilat, the country’s 4th largest tourist destination, 31st in general with 74 citations, which, in the south of the country, offers swimming and scuba diving in the Red Sea, and Haifa (sixth largest in the country, 42nd in general and 58 citations) on the Mediterranean coast. Jerusalem is thus Israel’s first destination and ranks third in the region (383 citations). Then comes Tel Aviv, the gateway to the country and a tourist stopover from which the discovery of the country is organized. The city, dynamic and lively, cosmopolitan and open, does not however lack interest from its museums to its Bauhaus architecture5. The other places evoke the life of Christ: thus, Bethlehem, where Christ was born (36th place in the region, 67 citations), Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel, where Joseph and Mary lived at the time of the Annunciation, and where the Holy Family settled after the return from Egypt (45th place, 51 citations), Lake Tiberias where he was baptized (20th place, 111 citations), and Caesarea, the city where Jesus was condemned to death (74th place, 33 citations). Jordan is essentially a discovery destination that is organized in a linear way along a north–south axis, an old caravan trail that has become Route 35, which stretches nearly 500 km to Aqaba, located on the Red Sea coast, next to the Israeli seaside town of Eilat. The capital Amman is the country’s leading tourist city (seventh in the region with 220 citations), especially frequented as the country’s gateway. From there, the routes reach the Jordan Valley in the east and descend to the south. Petra is the ultimate destination before returning to Amman. The archaeological site that testifies to the capital of the world-famous Nabataean 5 An architectural and artistic movement created in Germany in 1919 by Walter Gropius, considered as a movement at the origin of contemporary architecture. It was banned by the Nazis in 1933.

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kingdom is ranked ninth in the region with 203 citations. About this place, the ambiguities of tourism discourses are displayed on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Tourism is presented as a destructive factor in the same way as erosion and rainfall, but when attendance declines, it is still a problem, because people see their economic resources disappear. In short, tourism never works. Uzbekistan then distinguished itself as the only Central Asian country, independent after the break-up of the Soviet Union, to benefit from significant tourist numbers, the other three, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, being virtually absent from TO catalogs. The latter two countries have a high number of visitors, which may seem high according to WTO statistics, but these are mainly from contiguous countries and the criterion used is that of visitors, i.e. simple border crossings – and not actually crossing for an overnight stay. Petra, from oblivion to light “The city continued to decline […]. It remained unknown to the world until it was rediscovered in 1812 by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. “Petra is also called the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. The area around the site has also been an archaeological national park since 1993. The site suffers from a host of threats, including the collapse of ancient structures, erosion from flooding and improper rainwater damage, weathering from salt upwelling, improper restoration of ancient structures and unsustainable tourism. In an attempt to reduce the impacts of these threats […] it has worked with numerous local and international organization on projects that promote the protection, conservation and preservation of the Petra site. “The local communities, the Bedouls, are involved in a participatory way in the preservation of the Petra site and in the tourism economy. However, as a victim of political instability in this part of the world, the site has experienced a decline in tourist numbers in some years, leading to a loss of income for local communities that depend on the tourist trade.” Box 8.3. Petra on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, consulted on January 8, 2019

In Uzbekistan, heritage is either influenced by Islam, particularly mosques and madrasas (Koranic schools), or by the Soviet presence, with buildings inspired by European architecture, or syncretic constructions, such as the Tackent circus. Indeed, the country has only been independent since 1991. It has always been integrated into vast empires. The Russians conquered it at the end of the 19th Century. Tashkent, the capital, is the most popular place and ranks seventh in the region (232 quotations), including the medersa Koukeldach, made of bricks in the

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16th Century. Then comes Bukhara (ninth rank and 209 citations), which was one of the highlights of the Silk Road. The mosques of Bolo Haouz (18th Century), Magok-i-Attari (13th Century) and the Po-i-Kalon complex, including a mosque (Kalon, 18th Century), an ancient medersa and the minaret of an ancient mosque (14th Century), are located there. The Ark citadel (16th Century) completes the visit. Tourists then visit Samarkand, also located along the Silk Road, the 11th largest place in the region with 198 citations. The Bibi-Khanym Mosque, consecrated by Tamerlan, Mughal prince of the 14th Century, to his first wife, is the primary interest of the city. The conqueror had it built on his return from the capture of Delhi, hence the use of white marble to decorate the facade. Finally, the Registan or Reghistan, the former city center, has three medersas from the 15th and 18th Centuries. Khiva (23rd place, 103 citations) completes the visit to Uzbekistan. The city is particularly famous for its palaces, Kunya Ark, built in the 16th Century and remodeled in the 19th Century, and Tach Kaouli, also built in the 19th Century. The mosques of Uzbekistan and Iran differ from Arab mosques. The second, designed according to tradition from the plan of the Prophet’s House in Madina, adopted a quadrangular plan consisting of two parts, a courtyard with a portico and a prayer room. The first ones are made up of Iwans, usually four in number, who are arched rooms open onto a rectangular facade topped by a large arch and covered by a dome. They are also distinguished by the use of brick for the elevation and earthenware, glazed bricks, for the decoration of facades. The medersas or Koranic schools obey the same architectural and aesthetic rules, so, in Samarkand, they are three medersas in the shape of Iwans, two of which are arranged face-to-face, which punctuate the square called the Registan (“sandy square” in Farsi). This raises the question of the heterogeneity of the world, one of the foundations of the tourism practice of discovery. Box 8.4. Variations in the architectural types of mosques

Iran is on a par with the previous destination with nearly 9% of citations. The heir to the Persian Empire has been a tourist destination since the geopolitical situation, marked in particular by hostility to the nuclear arms race, stabilized somewhat with the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement signed in Vienna between Iran and the UN Security Council, strengthened by Germany, to ban the military aspects of the Iranian nuclear industry – an agreement challenged by Donald Trump in late 20186. The most 6 “A first round [of sanctions] came into effect in August, two months after US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the July 2015 Agreement (JCPOA) between the ‘5 + 1’ (the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany) and Iran to bring Tehran’s nuclear program under control”, Golshiri G. “L’Iran, à l’heure des sanctions américaines”, Le Monde, November 6, 2018.

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visited city is Esfahan, sixth place in the region (240 quotations), capital of the Persia of the Safavid dynasty (16th to 18th Century). The large mosque or Friday mosque, created in the 10th Century but modified several times, especially under the Safavids, has a classic four-Iwan style. Several palaces and medersas, dating from the same period, also justify the discovery of the city, described as a garden city because of the sophisticated irrigation network that supplies the many gardens. Tehran is the second city frequented by tourists, a more recent city declared as a capital in 1779 by the Kadjare dynasty (1786 to 1925), which notably built the Golestan Palace, a World Heritage site. In the old city, the bazaar arouses curiosity, as do several museums, including the Museum of the Crown Jewels and the National Museum of Iran. Shiraz comes next as thethird most popular tourist destination in Iran, 21st in the West Asian region with 108 citations. Like Esfahan, it is an ancient city, the cultural capital of Iran, frequented as much for its gardens as for its mosques, notably the Nasir-ol-Molk mosque for its superb stained glass windows, or for its Karim Khan citadel and the Koran gate, or for the tombs of dignitaries and intellectuals such as those of philosophers and poets of the 13th Century, Saadi and Khwaju Kermani, as well as of the fourteenth century, as Hafez. Finally, Yazd completes a tour in Iran. The Great Mosque and Mausoleum of Roknedin, the Amir Chaghmagh Complex, which includes several buildings, including a mosque, a bazaar, a caravanserai7 and a public bath, all characteristic monuments of Iranian architecture (Box 8.4) that justify the stay in this city. Finally, Nepal and Bhutan, two Nepalese kingdoms, are clearly distinguished in terms of tourism. The first one here points to 4.5% (432 citations). The development of ancient tourism has been analyzed by Isabelle Sacareau [SAC 97]. It began in the 1960s as an opportunity seized by a society, the Sherpas, facing the threat of extinction. Indeed, living in the Khumbu Valley, the Sherpas were threatened by the closure of the border that put an end to trans-Himalayan trade, while India’s independence put an end to jobs in the British colonial army, and the spread of Western medicine led to a demographic transition. Caught between the disappearance of their resources and the growth of the mouths to feed, the Sherpas were able to enhance their skills – knowledge of the mountains and routes, command of English – to welcome mountaineers on expeditions, because Everest, seen from the British mountain point of Darjeeling in North India, has been working within the Western imagination since the end of the 19th Century [SAC 97]. Tourists followed and the inhabitants thus ensured the reproduction of their society. Today, they control most of the incoming agencies based in Kathmandu, intermediaries to TOs, and they have trained many minority ethnic groups in the

7 Building with a large central courtyard surrounded by cells that housed the caravans of merchants and pilgrims.

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system. Nepal was also integrated into the international tourist system in the 1970s through tours centered around its capital Kathmandu and from the Ganges Valley. The construction of the airport completed the transformation of the site into a tourist city and empowered Nepal in relation to North India [SAC 02]. Kathmandu thus appears as the most cited place in the catalogs (15th place, 139 citations), ahead of Pokhara and its lake, place of excursion from the capital, place of departure or rest after trekking (54th place, 25 citations), and Chitwan National Park (58th place, 42 citations). Indeed, Nepal is an exemplary case of sustainable tourism, both in the socioeconomic and environmental dimensions [SAC 09]. Nepal, a trekking paradise “This tourism, based in theory on discovery and adventure, is in fact part of increasingly organized commercial structures. Nepal holds an original place in the adventure tourism sector for third world countries, because it is in this small Himalayan kingdom, open to the modern world for barely 40 years, that ‘trekking’ was invented and found its most complete form there, to such an extent that it has served as a model for similar activities in other parts of the world... This term of Afrikaaner origin recalls ‘the Great Trek’, the long march of the Boers driven by the English from Cape Town province, and who after a long journey in horse-drawn carriages found refuge in the Transvaal and the Orange provinces. The word has been taken up in English where it means ‘to take a hike’, hence the noun ‘trek’ and ‘trekker’. It has become completely commonplace in Nepal, where the British were the first to practice hiking in the Himalayas. Since then, it has become a generic term for hiking in a mountainous area outside Europe. The formula, popularized by some specialized Western travel agencies that have marketed it, consists of offering a rather sporty clientele the opportunity to discover a distant country by walking. The comfort of this ‘organized adventure’ is ensured by a local team of guides, porters and cooks”. Box 8.5. Trekking, a tourist practice that combines the commitment of the body and the discovery of biophysical environments and the societies that inhabit them (source: [SAC 97])

As for Bhutan, this small kingdom (a little over 38,000 km²), an absolute monarchy until 2008, began to open up to tourism in 1974 but access is limited. In particular, it requires land transport authorization to pass through India, as the border with China is closed. By air, arrival is possible from India but also from Nepal or Thailand. Visas are only issued by approved TOs. Only the national and royal airline is allowed to land at Paro International Airport. The cost of travel is also very high. Officially, it is a matter of preserving the environment and local culture, which does not mask the royal will to control, so television was only authorized in 1998. According to the WTO, the country has welcomed 49,000 visitors, after an

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unprecedented and completely reckless level of 58,000 the previous year, compared to 6,000 in 2003, 40,000 to 47,000 since 2010, except in 2011 with only 27,000 visitors. So it all looks like a brief fling with royalty. Tourists visit Paro (55th place in the region, 43 quotations), where the Buddhist monastery fortress Rinpung Dzong and the Kyichu Lhakhang temple, built in the sixth Century, stand, as well as 10 km away, the magnificent Taktshang monastery, perched 3,120 m high on the edge of a Paro cliff, founded by the monk Padmasambhava, also called Guru Rinpoche who, arriving from Tibet on the back of a tiger, spread Buddhism in the kingdom. 8.2.4. Typology of tourist places8 The tourist sites in the region are in sharp contrast between the cities that organize flows on a regional scale and the places that are sites or cities that function as such, i.e. they are visited, but tourists do not stay there. New Delhi is characteristic of the first category: it is the gateway to northern India, one of the busiest regions in West Asia, while Jerusalem is emblematic of the second. The city of the three religions is visited on day trips from Tel Aviv. Amman is also the hub for Jordan, and Kathmandu for Nepal. Some cities are also secondary sites, where tourists stay longer in order to reach nearby sites from this base. Jaipur thus provides access to Rajasthan, a State located in northwest India that is the most visited by non-resident tourists. Other places, on the other hand, have an index close to 1. Frequented for themselves, they do not allow access to a network of places such as Dubai or Abu Dhabi, or they are integrated into tours as specific places, for example Agra, in which discovery practices are deployed and in which tourists spend a night or two. Day trips Country

Places

Overnight stays

Rank

Total

Rank

Total

Index

U.A.E

Dubai

1

456

2

223

0.978

India

New Delhi

2

413

1

316

1.530

Israel

Jerusalem

3

383

8

114

0.595

8 We use here the typology of tourist places presented in Chapter 1 (section 1.3.6).

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The Tourist Places of the World

Agra

4

313

5

181

1.157

Jaipur

5

277

4

210

1.516

Iran

Esfahan

6

240

14

79

0.658

Uzbekistan

Tashkent

7

232

27

40

0.345

Jordan

Amman

8

220

3

214

1.945

Uzbekistan

Bukhara

9

209

16

70

0.670

Jordan

Petra

10

203

6

122

1.202

Uzbekistan

Samarkand

11

198

18

66

0.667

U.A.E.

Abu Dhabi

12

190

10

93

0.979

Jordan

Dead Sea

13

166

12

92

1.108

Israel

Tel Aviv

14

157

7

117

1.490

Nepal

Kathmandu

15

139

9

100

1.439

India

Udaipur

16

133

11

93

1.398

Iran

Tehran

17

133

13

87

1.308

Oman

Muscat

18

130

15

77

1.185

India

Cochin

19

119

17

70

1.176

Israel

Tiberias

20

111

28

40

0.721

Iran

Shiraz

21

108

19

65

1.204

India

Jodhpur

22

103

20

54

1.049

Uzbekistan

Khiva

23

103

38

30

0.583

India

Mumbai

24

96

21

54

1.125

Jordan

Jerash

25

94

74

13

0.277

India

Table 8.1. Main tourist places in Western Asia distinguished by the rank and frequency of day trip and overnight stay citations, and by the tourist typicity index in tour operatorcatalogs. The ranking is based on the frequency of citations of the places for day trips

Western Asia

211

8.3. Societal practices Old and new tourism societies are distinguished by differentiated practices (see atlas maps in section 8.5). However, the history of the spread of tourism is combined with distance to explain the particularities. 8.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies Former tourist societies frequent the region mainly for discovery practices the objects of which are common to all of them. Ancient civilizations dominate. North India – with the New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur trio – Jerusalem, Iran – including Isfahan, Uzbekistan and its cities of the Silk Road – Tashkent, Bukhara and Samarkand – and Petra concentrate the interests of Western tourists. Only Dubai and secondarily Abu Dhabi are distinguished by their modernity. 8.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies Tourists from the Arabian Peninsula cool down, relatively, in summer in Salalah (Oman) “A monsoon, from Indian Kerala, adorns the mountains surrounding the city with a lush vegetative mantle. The wadis are filled with water, waterfalls gush from the cliffs and a mixture of mist and drizzle invades the coast... But we are at the borders of the Arabian Peninsula. In one end of the world, on the edge of India and Africa, isolated from the rest of Oman by a thousand kilometers of desert. On August 2nd, in the mountains north of Salalah, two teenagers experience mist and drizzle brought by the khareef, the summer monsoon. Temperatures are around 26°C. We could be in the Scottish heathland or the Vosges. This climatic anomaly, called khareef, brings happiness to the region. Barely has the first rain been reported when tens of thousands of tourists – Saudis, Emirates, Kuwaitis, Bahrainis, Qataris, and Northern Omani – arrive in Salalah... Gulf Arabs are not the only ones who appreciate Salalah. For half a dozen years, the city of Dhofaria has welcomed a growing flow of Europeans. These do not come during the khareef, but between October and April, the so-called winter period, paradoxically the sunniest, with temperatures fluctuating between 20 and 30°C during the day.” Box 8.6. To each his own season: tourists follow one another in Salalah (source: Barthe B., “À Oman, la nouvelle révolution de Salalah”, Le Monde, August 12, 2017)

The Chinese distinguish themselves from the behavior of Western societies by deliberately opting for modernity. Indeed, the metropolises of the United Arab

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Emirates, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the lesser known Fujairah, but also Doha, are at the top of the list of places frequented. Only Jaipur intervenes, while Delhi is more of an obligatory visit. Similarly, Sharjah and Al-Ain, almost totally ignored by other societies, are receiving the attention of the Chinese. Russian society distinguishes itself by placing Tel-Aviv and Eilat, which it frequents, at the forefront for seaside activities. Discovery is not absent but Uzbekistan is a preference of theirs, before India, Iran and finally Israel. The privileged relationship with the Central Asian Republic is easily explained, both for reasons of spatial proximity and for the historical, ancient and more recent links – it was part of the Soviet Union – that are perpetuated through the Commonwealth of Independent States created in 1991. Beyond that, the spread of tourism in the emerging world is also setting in motion the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula who frequent the beaches of Salalah in Oman. 8.3.3. World connectiveness The analysis of the World connectiveness of places highlights several particularities that characterize this region of the world. Table 8.2 summarizes them. First of all, the region is characterized by a relatively lower number of visitors. Indeed, Western Asia remains a particularly unstable region of the world, for the reasons already mentioned, linked both to inter-State conflicts – notably the Gulf wars9– and to internal tensions – notably in Syria. A second particularity appears in the fact that the most popular destination is not visited by all societies in the world. Indeed, according to our analyses, Dubai is not offered by Russian TOs. Then, the most globalized places are located on the periphery of the region, either in the west in Israel and Jordan, or in the east in India and secondarily in Iran and Uzbekistan. The frequent rising tensions in the region, which is crossed by the tension seen between the Shiites, behind Iran, and the Sunnis, led by Saudi Arabia, explains this, particularly in the recent period, which has seen the destabilization of Iraq and Syria.

9 The first Gulf War, which followed Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, which led to the intervention of a Western coalition, lasted from August 2, 1990 to February 28, 1991. The second, launched on March 20, 2003 – the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was accused of secretly building an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, which could target Israel – led by a US-led coalition. Intervention ended on May 1, but the guerrilla warfare by various groups, including terrorists linked to al-Qaeda, continues and American troops officially withdrew only in 2011.

Western Asia

World connectiveness

Universal places or all worlds

Places of a large part of the worlds

Places New Delhi Jerusalem Agra Jaipur Dubai Esfahan Tashkent Amman Bukhara Petra Samarkand Abu Dhabi Dead Sea Kathmandu Udaipur Tehran Muscat Sea of Galilee/ Shiraz Jodhpur Jerash Tel Aviv

Places of world

Cochin Khiva Mumbai

Places outside the World

Afghanistan Bangladesh Iraq Pakistan

Quality

213

Number of people of tourists

All Worlds

Moderately frequented

A large part of the Worlds

Less frequented Chinese and Russians French and British French and Russian British and Americans –

–

Table 8.2. World connectiveness of West Asian tourist attractions based on the use of tour operators’ catalogs

8.4. Conclusion This region of the world is marked by high tensions, so that several States are seen as blind spots for tourism. With the notable exception of India, ignoring tensions with Pakistan over Kashmir10, instability prevails. 10 In 1947, at the time of independence, Pakistan and India were formed on religious grounds, the former being a Muslim-majority State and the latter a Hindu State. Kashmir, which had de facto retained a certain degree of autonomy within the British Empire, has

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The Tourist Places of the World

8.5. Atlas11

Map 8.1. Main tourist places in the West Asian region according to frequency analysis of British TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 8.2. Main tourist places in the West Asian region according to the frequency analysis of French TO catalogs, years 2015–2018 dithered, and since then tensions have undermined relations between Pakistan and India. See: www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/dossiers/inde-pakistan/cachemire.shtml. 11 For color versions of the maps in this section, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip.

Western Asia

Map 8.3. Main tourist places in the West Asian region according to the frequency analysis of German TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 8.4. Main tourist places in the West Asian region according to the frequency analysis of Spanish TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

215

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The Tourist Places of the World

Map 8.5. Main tourist places in the West Asian region according to the frequency analysis of American TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 8.6. Main tourist places in the West Asian region according to the frequency analysis of Russian TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Western Asia

Map 8.7. Main tourist places in the West Asian region according to the frequency analysis of Chinese TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

217

9 Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia includes a mosaic of States between China and India: Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam. The current situation is the result of the failures of the various attempts at unification by force, successively attempted by the Khmers from the 9th to the 15th Centuries, the Burmese, on several occasions, notably in the 17th Century, or the Thais, or kingdom of Ayutthaya in the 16th Century, and more recently the Vietnamese. This region belongs to the most densely populated region in the World, but is nevertheless a relative gap between the two Asian giants, India and China. These two powers, especially the first, have strongly influenced local civilizations, notably through the spread of Buddhism, while the penetration of the second has essentially affected Vietnam. This region of the world benefited during the Cold War from the support of the United States and then Japan, which sought to curb the spread of communism. However, the marquetry of States explains that situations are very variable due to internal political histories [CHA 18]. Today, China plays a major economic and political role in the region, including in tourism. In section 9.1, we will analyze the touristic nature of the region and then we will see in a second part the most frequented places. Of course, there are disparities between countries, but generally speaking, the region has a rather homogeneous tourist character. The final section on practices will highlight that there are differences between societies, but these are minor, as shown in the maps in the atlas in section 9.5. On the whole, practices in Western societies are homogeneous. We will also discuss which places are more suitable for certain practices, regardless of the tourism societies.

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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9.1. Two-step tourism implementation The total population is more than 675 million, which includes some sparsely populated regions, including the mountains and the heart of some islands such as Borneo. All these States constitute a heterogeneous mosaic both in terms of area and population, as shown in Table 9.1. Indeed, without going as far as the extreme and rather exceptional situations of Singapore or the Maldives, some of the most densely populated States in the world, Indonesia has nearly 269 million inhabitants spread over nearly 2 million km2, or a density of 134 inhabitants per km2, close to that of France, alongside others with few inhabitants, such as Laos whose density is only 29. First placing tourism in relation to colonization, this region of the World has experienced a second tourism impetus in relation to the economic and social emergence that affects this part of the World.

Singapore Maldives Bangladesh India Philippines Sri Lanka Vietnam Nepal Indonesia Thailand Malaysia Cambodia East Timor Myanmar Brunei Bhutan Laos Total

Population in millions of inhabitants (2016) 5.64 0.43 168.87 1,295.23 104.22 21.67 96.4 28.82 268.67 68.23 32.36 16.75 1.23 52.87 0.44 2.74 6.59 2,171.16

Area in thousands of km2 0.7 0.3 148 3,287 300 66 331 147 1,911 513 331 181 15 677 6 38 237 8,189

Density in number of inhabitants/km2

Table 9.1. Area and population density of the 1 States that make up the South Asia region

1 http://blog.ac-versailles.fr/geographie/index.php.

7,614 1,128 1,054 388 333 315 271 190 134 132 91 84 81 76 73 68 29 265

Southeast Asia

221

9.1.1. Cultural and landscape mosaic This region of the World is also characterized by the interpenetration between the oceans, Indian and Pacific, and the continents, as well as by the division of the coasts open to the south, with long tropical coasts. This configuration, which contrasts sharply with the massive nature of Africa and where the Sahara unfolds, where here the Indian Ocean offers its dream beaches. The monsoon phenomenon also has its origin there. Indeed, the trade winds, hot winds, move from south-east to north-west in the southern hemisphere, and from north-east to south-west in the north. But the seasonal alternation disrupts this wise scheduling. During summer in the northern hemisphere, the southern trade winds cross the equator and change direction. They move in a southeast to northwest direction before being attracted by the low pressures located further north over the Himalayas. Becoming then southwest to northeast, they bring their rains to the eastern facades. As it passes over the ocean mass, the air is loaded with moisture that is poured onto the eastern, windward sides of islands and continents. This region, where the Meso-Genetian axis meets the peri-Pacific arc, is also affected by powerful telluric forces and its recent history is marked by volcanic eruptions2, notably the Agung volcano in Bali, threatening since July 2017; tsunamis, such as the one that devastated the Indian Ocean coasts on 26 December 2004, killing 250,000 people, including 170,000 along the west coast of Sumatra; and earthquakes, the latest of which affected the island of Sulawesi in October 2018. A great cultural diversity in relation to the many ethnic groups that occupy it are presented, characteristic of the mountain regions that have played a refuge role for populations repelled by the expansion of major agrarian civilizations. External influences such as European and Chinese have also mixed with local cultures and added to the colorfulness. There are also some unique stories. Cambodia, for example, which became involved in tourism at the end of the 19th Century, experienced an eclipse in its attendance by non-residents during the Vietnam War, then the Pol Pot dictatorship and finally the invasion by the Vietnamese army. It only recovered modestly in 1990 (17,000 arrivals according to the WTO) to reach 466,000 arrivals in 2000 and nearly 4.8 million in 2015. Beyond this diversity, however, there is a common history and past that is also marked by the episode of European colonialism. The colonial past allowed a first element of tourist development in some countries. Several places, Bandung in particular in Indonesia or Dalat in Vietnam,

2 “In this arc, Indonesia stands out particularly, since it is the most volcanic region in the world, with 129 active volcanoes”, in “L’Indonésie, cœursismique de la “ceinture de feu” du Pacifique”, Le Monde, 6 June 2018.

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were first created for the use of the colonials in search of fresh air. In Bandung, located in West Java, where an Art Deco heritage of the 1930s flourished, the first summit of non-aligned countries was held in 1955, at the beginning of the Cold War, when the main leaders of developing countries wanted to demonstrate their autonomy against the two superpowers. There, leaders Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt), Jawaharlal Nehru (India), and Zhou Enlai (China) gathered around Indonesian President Soekarno. Second, the mixture of pre-colonial and colonial architecture is an element highlighted by local actors to develop tourism and attract foreign customers. Another example is the city of Luang Prabang in Laos, where the colonial past and the kingdom’s heritage converge, which is part of the world heritage. The UNESCO label has led to a transformation of the area and an increase in tourist numbers. Colonization3 has also induced a process of heritage invention, in the sense that monuments invested with by inhabitants of diverse meanings, especially religious, have been incorporated into the Western universe as testimonies of past civilizations. Thus, the Angkor complex built at the height of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 14th Centuries, was discovered by the Spanish, studied and renovated by the French, notably Henri Mouhot. Then, the travel stories and reproductions of the main temple, Angkor Wat, during the universal exhibitions, notably the one held in Paris in 1878, worked within the Western imagination and stimulated the first tourist visits [BUN 18]. Since the 1970s, tourism has accelerated. Places were occupied by non-resident individuals from the time when tourism was a Western privilege, until the 1980s. Today, the process of economic emergence and the increase in inhabitants’ standards of living have made it possible to develop tourist infrastructures also for the region’s regional domestic and international tourists, in several Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam. The region is currently relatively safe and stable, which favors the reception of tourists, but exceptions disrupt its development, as the development model, which combines economic growth and political authoritarianism, is suffering from sudden shocks. Tensions erupt, either from economic and social origins, as in Thailand, where the unequal sharing of development wealth is regularly challenged by those who feel neglected,4 or from cultural confrontations, as in Bali, a Hindu island in a vast

3 Only Thailand has formally escaped colonization. 4 Especially in the spring of 2010, violent clashes between demonstrators, the “red shirts” – the expression does not refer to a communist or left-wing ideology but to a coalition of those excluded from progress – and the security forces. Bangkok airport was closed for several weeks.

Southeast Asia

223

Muslim country5, in Myanmar against the Karen and Shan minorities, and more recently with the expulsion to Bangladesh and the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority in the same country. The political context has also eased with regard to mobility in socialist countries such as Vietnam. Indeed, in the latter State, the ideological hostility to the practice considered bourgeois, but tolerated by the Party elites [PEY 15], has given way to a vigorous activation of the economic development lever, sometimes to the point of neglecting the safety conditions of tourists (Box 1.3). Similarly, the return to political stability in Cambodia has promoted the growth of tourism. However, the case of Thailand shows that weak regulation and redistribution of growth gains can challenge a future that looks bright at some point. 9.1.2. Tourism invigorated by China's entry onto the scene The vast peninsular area attracts more and more international tourists every year, particularly from Asia in general and China in particular, but the region’s populations are also on the move. As shown in Figure 9.1, Southeast Asia is experiencing strong growth in the influx of travelers, parallel to that of East Asia, which it follows closely, unlike South Asia, which has stalled. This surge is general, shared by most countries in the region (Figure 9.2). The region is ideal for discovery trips, through several countries, within the same tour, but also for stays, especially those dedicated to seaside rests. The region is fully benefiting from China’s entry into the world tourism scene due to its proximity to the most populous country in the world. Figures 9.3 and 9.4 illustrate the dominance of this society in non-resident tourism6. This revolution, the transition from essentially Western tourism to world tourism, and indeed Asian tourism for this region, because of the distance paradigm, can also be seen in the number of visitors to holy places. Thus, the Chinese are now the first visitors to the Angkor architectural complex, with 37% of arrivals ahead of the South Koreans (10%) and the Americans (6%). Asian companies represent more than 60% of attendance numbers [BUN 18].

5 Several attacks, claimed by Muslim extremists, have hit Indonesia, in Bali (2002 and 2005) and Jakarta (summer 2009), resulting in a significant drop in tourist numbers. 6 For these different figures, we have used World Tourism Organization statistics, although they have limitations discussed in section 1.1.3, as they cannot be replaced for a quantitative approach.

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The Tourist Places of the World

180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 1995

2000

NE Asia

2005

2010

SE Asia

2015

2016

2017

South Asia

Figure 9.1. Evolution of attendance in the major subregions from Asia by international travelers (source: WTO). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip

Figure 9.2. Trends in the number of international travelers to the States constituting the Southeast Asian subregion (source: UNTO). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip

Southeast Asia

Figure 9.3. Evolution of the origin of non-resident tourists in Thailand from 1995 to 2015 (source: UNWTO). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip

Figure 9.4. Evolution of the origin of non-resident tourists in Vietnam from 1995 to 2015 (source: WTO). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip

225

226

The Tourist Places of the World

9.1.3. Thailand, a key destination In Southeast Asia, Thailand clearly dominates in terms of tourist numbers. Indeed, this country has a cumulative frequency of 6,225 half-days out of a total of 38,737, or 16%. Indonesia and Vietnam follow with a share of 8.8% and almost 8%, respectively. Again, a gap separates this first group from the following destinations. Malaysia and Myanmar are at just under 4%. Then Singapore, Cambodia and the Philippines follow at around 2%, while Laos and the Maldives are at around 1%. Finally, Bangladesh and Brunei are blind spots for international tourism. An originality of the region, compared to the rest of the World, consists of a relatively higher number of transnational tours. The territorial fragmentation is undoubtedly the cause. Singapore is unique. This destination is not only offered very often in a tour but also has a 4% tourism rate. This means that it is a transit destination. Indeed, when Tables 9.1 and 9.2 were drawn up, it turned out that Singapore was never a single destination on a tour. In the 11 tours where the city-State appears, they generally offer several countries. In addition, tourists only stay for 1 or 2 days, at the beginning or end of the trip. Thus, there is some contrast and disparities, but these are less marked than in other regions of the world such as North Africa or NorthEast Asia. One explanation for this is that there are many multidestination routes within this area. There are disparities within the country itself, where some places are much more frequented than others. In fact, this varies from country to country. The example of Thailand is instructive in this sense: a total of 121 places were identified from the tours studied. Although only a few cities are scheduled in a significant and regular way by the TOs, the cities visited are scattered throughout the territory. Bangkok is the country’s flagship destination. Then Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and KohSamui are the main places most scheduled for a stay. Finally, Phitsanulok, Ayutthaya, Kanchanaburi and Sukhotaï are also offered by a large number of tour operators for excursions. We see the emergence of a typical tour for Thailand: it starts in Bangkok, close to the coast, in the south of the country. After a detour to Kanchanaburi, return to Bangkok to head north, inland to visit Ayutthaya, Phitsanulok, Shukhotai and then arrive in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. The tour ends with a return to Bangkok to catch a flight. Similarly, 63 locations are scheduled by international tour operators in Sri Lanka. Unlike other countries in the area, the capital Colombo is not the most popular tourist destination but is more of a transit point because of its international airport. In terms of overnight stays, the most visited places are Kandy, then Negombo, Dambulla, Sigiriya, Nuwara Eliya, Colombo and Harabana. Other cities are tourist and many are planned such as Peradeniya, Anuradhapura, Matale, Ella

Southeast Asia

227

and Galle. Thus, the country’s tourism is more homogeneous than the previous example. However, there are two major tourist centers: the center/inland of the country (Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Ella) with the “cultural triangle” (made up of Dambulla, Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa) and the south-west coast (Colombo, Negombo, Galle). A tour in Sri Lanka begins in Colombo, from the coast to the interior of the country with Kandy and the “cultural triangle” and ends with rest practices along the coast. The slender shape of Vietnam guides tours dedicated to it. The tours start either from the north, in Hanoi, or from the south, in Ho Chi Minh City. Invariably, some excursions take place around these two major hubs, notably from the capital, to Hoa Binh, for its magnificent rice paddy landscapes dominated by the turret karst hills, or even escapes, with stops, as in Halong Bay, or around the southern metropolis, notably in the Mekong Delta, celebrated by Marguerite Duras, before tourists reach the other pole to complete their trip. A variant consists of reaching by road, and in this case to visit the societies that occupy the plateau, or by plane by landing in Danang, the center of the country, around Hué, the former imperial capital, around which new excursions are organized notably to Hoi An, the historic port city, and Dalat, the mountain station of the French colonials, which claims the title of city of eternal spring, because the altitude position maintains the temperature at around 20°C all year round. In Indonesia, Bali dominates tourism activity by far. In this country, tourism began to be introduced in colonial times. The domination imposed by the Dutch in the 18th Century gave Java explorers whose stories, taken up by writers7, spread a desire to travel “while helping to define the exotic imagination, specific to the construction of destinations defined through their foreignness to the West” [PIC 17, p. 255]. In the 20th Century, colonial authorities mainly promoted tourism for economic but also political purposes in order to spread a positive image of colonization [PIC 17]. The first destinations emerged, in particular the hill spas, reservoirs initially intended for irrigation settlers [PIC 17]. In addition, there are holy cultural sites, Hindu or Buddhist temples, such as Borobudur in Yogyakarta. Then, in 1973, the independent government, supported by the World Bank, began a major development project on the Bukit peninsula, particularly in Nusa Dua, 40 km south of the capital Denpassar. The classic scheme includes an international airport and a relatively isolated tourist complex, the objective being to limit the disruptions caused to local populations. The island was Michel Picard’s field of research [PIC 92]. He showed that the problem of the impact of tourism on local societies does not allow us to understand the density of the interrelationships between tourism and the inhabitants. The latter, as actors, have been able to enhance their culture, particularly ritual dances, while preserving religious practices for them. Society has 7 In particular Balzac published in 1836 Voyage à Java.

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The Tourist Places of the World

evolved and today the relationship with religion has changed as tourism has spread throughout the island: “tourism is inextricably linked to other processes of change – global, national and local – to the point that, in my opinion, the researcher must be interested in the detailed modalities in which tourism participates in these processes” [PIC 10]. Finally, Cambodia stands out in this complex because of the pre-eminence of the Angkor architectural complex, which is the only object in many catalogs that tourists discover this country for and especially for most of the multinational tours that criss-cross the peninsula. Thus, Siem Reap, the city from which the temples are visited, obtains a frequency of 323 and ranks 13th for the region, well ahead of the capital Phnom Penh (184 citations and 28th rank), visited notably for its royal palace, values to which we must add the score obtained by Angkor, 164 citations and 31st rank. The Angkor Archaeological Park, classified by UNESCO in 1992, covers an area of more than 400 km2 and is located north of Tonle Sap Lake and Siem Reap town. Consisting of a set of temples and a system of basins, alternately water retention and irrigation, it bears witness to the power of the Khmer Empire that dominated the region from the 9th to the 15th Centuries. The other places are quite far away: Battambang only appears in 77th place with 46 citations and Kampong Cham in 183rd place with 15 citations. These two cities are frequented for their temples, colonial houses and surrounding landscapes. 9.2. Touristicity of places 9.2.1. Regional tourist frames The distribution of tourist places is based on two superposed frameworks. On the one hand, the peninsular complex concentrates a greater number of places and territorial continuity reflects an image of greater concentration. This does not prevent the fact that, overall, coastlines are more frequented than the interior. On the contrary, the archipelagos, on the one hand, have de facto discontinuities linked to the maritime parts, and, on the other hand, the islands have very significant disparities between them. Thus, highly frequented islands such as the Maldives, Sri Lanka or Bali (which is part of Indonesia) are different from other poorly frequented islands such as Borneo, although the Malaysian part is more so than the other two States that share it (Brunei and Indonesia). Similarly, Celebes, Papua and New Guinea, and even Sumatra in Indonesia, have a low level of tourism, as does the vast island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. 9.2.2. Rest and discovery in competition On the one hand, the practice of rest reflects the development of coastal tourism. On the other hand, discovery rather involves the places from within without this

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229

bipartition being totally systematic. For example, in Vietnam, Nha Trang offers both a magnificent bay and a chance to discover the Cham culture, the Champa kingdom created in the second Century by people from the islands of present-day Indonesia and Malaysia, who were subjected in the 17th Century to the expansion toward the south of the Vietnamese. Also Hoi An, which was a very active port, is especially visited for its old town, from which emerges in particular the Japanese pagoda bridge. Thus, the ranking according to the frequency of appearance of places in the TO catalogs alternates between inland and coastal places. In the lead, Bangkok dominates with a citation frequency of 1,005, ahead of the entire island of Bali (803 citations), because tour operators do not always distinguish the precise locations in their catalogs. However, most of the most frequented places are located along the coast. Then we come to 15th place, i.e. coastal locations: Singapore (third place, 800 citations), Koh Samui (fourth place, 783 citations), Patong (west of Phuket Island, 565 citations) and Phuket (east of the island of the same name, seventh place, 564 citations), Nha Trang (ninth place, 386 citations), Pattaya (10th place, 381 citations), Sanur (in Bali, 12th place, 347 citations), finally Hoi An (15th place, 279 citations), or places located within the territories: Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia (fifth place, 579 citations), Ho Chi Minh City (eighth place, 498 citations), Hanoi, capital of Vietnam (11th place, 375 citations), Siem Reap (13th place, 328 citations) and Ubud (14th place, 321 citations). 8

9.2.3. Typology of tourist places

The most visited places are the tourist cities. In terms of overnight stays, the capital Bangkok (city located near the coast) and Chiang Mai (sixth largest city in Thailand and cultural capital located in the north) are the most popular. These cities, such as Siem Reap, Delhi and Hanoi, have a strong international cultural influence and a more developed economy than the rest of the country. Bangkok is undoubtedly one of the most touristic cities in the world. Located on the banks of the main river Chao Praya, the capital is the largest city in the country. Its strategic position allows it to be an important trade center in Asia and most of Thailand’s economy is concentrated there. Its economy is based on various industries including tourism. On the one hand, the cost of living being low, it becomes a shopping paradise for tourists. On the other hand, it is a cosmopolitan city with various characteristics that attract foreigners. It has a significant soft power and a dynamic image that combines both the traditional culture and the modernity of

8 We use here the typology of tourist places presented in Chapter 1 (section 1.3.6).

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the city. A vibrant nightlife, floating markets, entertainment (shopping malls, massage parlors, sports events, including Thai boxing), numerous cultural sites and anarchic urbanization give it a unique atmosphere that seduces visitors. The government is committed to making Bangkok a central Asian city and this has resulted in the expansion of the transport network, including the construction of an airport in 2006, railways and metro lines. Then comes the islands described as “heavenly”. Hotel infrastructures are developed to accommodate tourists because they are far from cities and are therefore ideal places to stay. These places, like Phuket, Bali as a whole, Nusa Dua and Sanur in particular, or Koh Samui, are coveted for their landscape and tranquility, far from the noise and crowds of Asian cities. In the same way, we also find landscaped areas and natural parks. Facilities are also needed to access it in terms of transport (road construction, transport companies, parking), accommodation and information (reception center, multilingual information panels). The Horton Plains is one of the most visited places in Sri Lanka and is known for its high biodiversity. They are located near the city of Nuwara Eliya. After being designated a national park in 1988, several areas were restored to grasslands and facilities were also created to facilitate access. Access to the park is possible by train and by several roads. However, the park’s tourism development has created threats to biodiversity as pollution increases. In order to reduce this waste, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has introduced rules, information boards and canvas bags for visitors to rent. Country

Places

Thailand

Day trips

Overnight stays

Index

Rank

Total

Rank

Total

Bangkok

1

1,005

1

694

1.38

Indonesia

Bali

2

803

2

501

1.25

Singapore

Singapore

3

800

3

472

1.18

Thailand

Koh Samui

4

783

4

456

1.16

5

579

5

336

1.16

PhuketPatong

6

565

7

323

1.14

Phuket

7

564

6

333

1.18

Ho-Chi-Minh

8

498

8

323

1.30

Nha Trang

9

386

13

206

1.07

Pattaya

10

381

11

207

1.09

Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Thailand

Vietnam Thailand

Southeast Asia

Vietnam

Hanoi

11

375

10

233

1.24

Indonesia

Sanur

12

347

12

207

1.19

Cambodia

Siem Reap

13

323

9

235

1,46

Indonesia

Ubud

14

321

15

192

1.20

Vietnam

Hoi An

15

279

16

190

1.36

Thailand

Khao Lak

16

267

19

147

1.10

Laos

Luang Prabang

17

258

18

153

1.19

Chiang Mai

18

252

14

196

1.56

Phuket-Karon

19

250

20

146

1.17

Thailand Sri Lanka

Colombo

20

214

27

122

1.14

Burma

Bagan

21

211

17

155

1.47

Vietnam

Halong Bay

22

201

22

140

1.39

Indonesia

Denpasar

23

200

25

126

1.26

Burma

Yangon

24

199

21

146

1.47

Sri Lanka

Kandy

25

199

23

129

1.30

Vietnam

Giddyup

26

196

26

123

1.26

Indonesia

Nusa Dua

27

185

28

101

1.09

Cambodia

Phnom Penh

28

184

33

87

0.95

Indonesia

Seminyak

29

177

29

100

1.13

Burma

Mandalay

30

170

24

128

1.51

Cambodia

Angkor

31

164

39

72

0.88

Indonesia

Kuta

32

153

32

89

1.16

Vietnam

Phan Thiet

33

146

34

78

1.07

231

Table 9.2. Main tourist places in Southeast Asia distinguished according to the rank and frequency of day trip and overnight stay citations, and according to the tourist typicity index in tour operator catalogs. The ranking is based on the frequency of citations of the places visited during the day

9.3. Societal practices 9.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies The dominant tourism practice is discovery for former tourism societies. It is evident throughout the area through visits to major cities, natural parks and

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landscape sites as well as visits to places of indigenous cultures. However, beach use for rest, especially during the winter period, is also very high. Not all countries are frequented in the same proportions according to the nationality of tourists (see Atlas maps in section 9.5). Indeed, if we take American tour operators, the offer is distributed as follows: out of a total of 140 tours, there are 28 for Thailand, 17 for India and 17 for Malaysia, while French societies will focus on travel to Thailand and Indonesia, particularly Bali, Vietnam and India. The most frequented countries are also different for British and Spanish societies. The French are the highest visitor numbers in almost all the countries of Southeast Asia, except in Malaysia and Singapore where they are in the minority. In contrast, American TOs, while in the minority in Burma, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, are in the majority in Singapore and Malaysia. These differences may be explained because they do not have the same motivations and reasons for visiting a country. In particular, old colonial ties are being reactivated, highlighting the influences exerted by older globalizations on tourism, a variant that is becoming more pronounced in the contemporary world. These differences in attendance can also occur across the country. For example, Candidasa in Indonesia is only included by French tour operators. This is also the case for Dambulla in Sri Lanka, which is only included by European societies and not by American ones. Elephant rides can be found in all tour operators for a large number of destinations: Thailand, Laos, Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia. Similarly, a majority of practices return almost automatically for all tour operators, regardless of their nationality. For example, the cruise on Halong Bay in Vietnam, the visit to the Angkor site in Cambodia, the visit to the fort in Amber, India. Cruising in Halong Bay is one of the most popular practices in Vietnam. The bay was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Located in the Gulf of Beibu and near Hanoi, it covers 43,400 ha and includes about 1,600 uninhabited islands. A profusion of agencies offer cruises to discover its karst landscape, caves and biodiversity. Every day, it welcomes more than 5,000 tourists. Other places are conducive to certain practices. For example, rest on the Thai islands or in Bali. These practices have been developed by the local people’s desire to develop the tourism industry. 9.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies The region benefits from its proximity to China and to a lesser extent to Russia. Chinese and Russian tourists invest in the region more in seaside resorts than former tourist societies. They are also characterized by a higher concentration in a smaller number of locations. Indeed, diffusion characterizes the age of the tourist

Southeast Asia

233

relationship. Beyond that, Chinese society is characterized by its specific relationship with the sun, favoring a white body aesthetic and poor experience of the sea. As a result, in Bali, although the different societies of the World coexist, they do not implement the same practices, as shown in the text of Box 9.1. “In 2009, the number of Chinese tourists jumped 37% to 204,000 (from 50,000 3 years earlier).They are first and foremost looking for the sun and want to have a good time, unlike Europeans, who practice a more cultural tourism”, says Georgiades. For the moment, the Chinese are still far behind the Japanese (330,000 visitors each year) and Australians. Then comes the Malaysians, Koreans and Taiwanese. Another spectacular breakthrough was linked to Indian tourists. Their number has tripled in the last 5 years to 124,000. The wealthiest come to Bali to see their children get married, feeding the fashion of “wedding villas”. It is not uncommon to see some 600 Indians disembark on the island from a special plane for a wedding ceremony. For Philippe Augier, French foreign trade adviser, founder and director of the Pasifika Museum in Nusa Dua, India and China will in the future be “Indonesia’s two tourist pools”. In both countries, the middle class is growing exponentially and billionaires are multiplying. However, Thailand has reached “its peak” in terms of tourism, he believes, while in the archipelago, “everything remains to be done”. “While there are fewer European visitors to Indonesia than in the Asia-Pacific region, they are steadily increasing. The French led the way in 2009, ahead of the British, Germans and Dutch, with 114,000 arrivals, a 33% increase over the previous year. These European tourists are highly appreciated, their stays being five times longer than those of the Japanese for example, and their expenditure higher.” Box 9.1. Bali, meeting place for the world’s societies, diversity of practices (source: Beaugé F., “L'Indonésie, destination touristique préférée des riches chinois et indiens”, Le Monde, July 16, 2010)

9.3.3. World connectiveness of Southeast Asia’s tourist places The universal places of all the Worlds bring together either metropolises which are visited for themselves at the same time, and constitute gateways to the region that establish links with the World, either places in the productive tourism area dedicated to discovery such as the touristified city of Chiang Mai, Halong Bay or the couple formed by Siem Reap and the Angkor site, because this city owes most of its frequentation to its proximity to all the temples, which is not always distinguished in TO catalogs. However, within this group, the two regional metropolises, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, stand out for their higher attendance, ahead of Vietnam’s two

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The Tourist Places of the World

main cities. Chiang Mai and Halong Bay have a lower attendance, while Siem Reap and the Angkor site are together in an intermediate position. World connectiveness

Place

Quality

Universal places or all worlds

Bangkok Kuala Lumpur Ho-Chi-Minh City Hanoi Siem Reap Angkor Chiang Mai Halong Bay

All worlds

Bali Singapore Koh Samui Phuket Nha Trang Pattaya Places of a large part of the worlds

Places of world

Places outside the world

Hoi An Luang Prabang Colombo Bagan Kandy Yangon Hué Phnom Penh Sanur Ubud Phuket-Karon KhaoLak Denpassar Sulawesi Kalimantan Eastern Islands of Indonesia

Number of tourists More frequented Moderately frequented Less frequented

Few British, Americans or Spanish Americans or Spanish Chinese and Russian French, Chinese and Russian No Spanish, Russians or Chinese Chinese No British or Chinese No British No Chinese No British No British or Chinese No Russians

Moderately frequented

Less frequented

French Germans French and Russians French –

Table 9.3. World connectivenessof tourist places in Southeast Asia based on the use of tour operator catalogs

–

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235

Places in the productive space based on the practice of seaside rest or less frequented cities, which are either secondary places of discovery or less important hubs for the functioning of networks, are then characterized by less universal use. Above all, the places of a world are essentially seaside resorts, as if rest induced, in less frequented productive spaces, a compartmentalization of societies characterized by the adequacy between the tourist post and the market. 9.4. Conclusion Thus, tourists from former tourism societies do not necessarily travel to the same places. But there are no major differences in terms of practices because all these tourists come from countries far from Asia and are therefore led to discover the main tourist places, initially, or to rest in the most popular destinations. 9.5. Atlas9

Map 9.1. Main tourist places in the Southeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of British TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

9 For color versions of the maps in this section, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip.

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The Tourist Places of the World

Map 9.2. Main tourist places in the Southeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of French TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 9.3. Main tourist places in the Southeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of German TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Southeast Asia

Map 9.4. Main tourist places in the Southeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of Spanish TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 9.5. Main tourist attractions in the Southeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of American TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

237

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The Tourist Places of the World

Map 9.6. Main tourist attractions in the Southeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of Russian TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 9.7. Main tourist attractions in the Southeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of Chinese TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

10 Northeast Asia

This region of the World is marked by the great distance that separates it from the homes of Western tourists (Europe and the United States). As a result, compared to other regions in the World, the number of places visited is relatively low (450 compared to more than 1,700 in North America). The discovery of cities dominates tourist practices as shown in the maps in the atlas in section 10.5. Historical legacies, particularly those of the Second World War, mean that the Chinese visit Japan and Taiwan relatively little. To broaden our analysis, we would have to include the offer of Korean and Japanese tour operators, which we have not done so far, except on an ad hoc basis. 10.1. Recent entry on the world tourist scene, a spectacular breakthrough If we recall that tourism was invented in Northwestern Europe following the Industrial Revolution [BOY 96], this social practice has long remained a Western privilege [VIO 16b]. Certainly, it is not uncommon for this assertion to be discussed, particularly in China, where authors claim the existence of an ancient tourism [NYR 06], prior to the so-called modern one that emerged in Europe in the 18th Century. But it seems that the mobility pointed out in China to support this theory could instead be qualified as travel, carried out by scholars seeking inspiration, or by Mandarins in the exercise of their duties, or travel that could be qualified as proto-tourism, such as the Grand Tour of European aristocrats. The region’s entry onto the international tourist scene dates back to the second half of the 20th Century, with the exception of a brief appearance in China, particularly in Shanghai in the 1930s. The Japanese were allowed to leave their country from 1964 onwards. But negative representations of tourism, fear of adventure, such as reluctance to interrupt work when colleagues or supervisors remain – which also limits the duration of absences – have limited the effects of the country’s development on neighboring

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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countries, as we noted in section 1.2.2 [LAN 11]. The unresolved dispute of the Second World War – Japan has not acknowledged its responsibility and its abuses committed in both China and Korea – also does not contribute to the creation of a regional context conducive to the deployment of tourism. The inhabitants of Taiwan were allowed to leave the island as from January 1, 1979 [LIN 08]. 10.1.1. Access to progressive and State-controlled tourism This region is marked by a recent spread of tourism, since the end of the Second World War in general and after 1980 for China because of the Maoist regime that prevailed there until 1978. The turn of economic openness, which set in motion the process of massive industrialization according to an extroverted strategy, oriented toward satisfying foreign markets, led to the access of international tourism to China first of all. In the aftermath, and relatively quickly, the practice spread to the Chinese themselves inside [TAU 09a, CAB 10] and then across borders under State control (Table 10.1). Tourism in the whole of nearby Asia is thus boosted, as we have noted for the Southeast Asian region (Chapter 9). 1984

Chinese residents can visit their families in Hong Kong or Macau

1990

Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand: authorized destinations but obtaining a personal passport is difficult and requires a delay of 6 months

1995

The procedure for obtaining a passport is simplified and the time limit is reduced to 1 month

1997

First law regulating international tourism in China that allows foreign TOs to open agencies in China under certain conditions

1998

South Korea, Australia and New Zealand: authorized destinations

2000

Japan authorized and further simplification of the visa procedure (reduced to 15 days and reduction in the number of documents required)

2001

The number of authorized destinations increases to 21 Table 10.1. Access to cross-border tourism gradually authorized by the Chinese State (source: [TAU 09a])

The recent (2008) opening of North Korea to Chinese tourists shows the last phase of this opening to the world of historically non-tourist States. The case of Japan is more surprising. This society entered the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th Century, because of the Meiji era (the name meaning “light”, given by Emperor Mutsuhito to describe his reign) from 1867 to 1912, and characterized by

Northeast A Asia

241

opennesss to the worldd and modernnization. Its ricch history andd the uniquenness of its civilizatiion contrastedd with a rathher low tourist attendance, with only 2 million arrivals in 1990 (WT TO1). Althouggh steadily inccreasing, the threshold of 4 million 1 and thatt of 5 million n in 2002. Butt it reached 220 million was onlyy crossed in 1997, international arrivals in 20152. However, this vertiginous v inccrease in attenndance is d to the em mergence of East E and Sou utheast Asian societies. Figgure 10.1 mainly due shows thhat it is the Chinese C and Thhais who repo ort the influx of travelers3 to Japan, which is probably booosted by the deevaluation of the Yen.

Figure 10.1. Ch hanges in passsenger arrivalls in Japan fro om 2011 to 2015, basse 100 in 2011 1 (source: [WT TO 17]). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co o.uk/violier/tourristplaces.zip

10.1.2. Two advanttages and on ne disadvan ntage Consstituting the northern n part of o the world’ss largest popuulation mass iss a major advantagge since, as we w have alreaady noted in other o regions of the worldd, tourism relationss are first andd foremost bassed on a certaain proximity for large flow ws. Thus, and as in Southeast Asia, A China’ss tourism awaakening has considerable c eeffects on 1 It shoulld be recalled that t this instituution records all border crossinngs for a wide variety of reasons, including i business travel. 2 Howevver, the suddenn increase of more m than 6 million m arrivals, from 13 to m more than 19 millionn between 20144 and 2015, is surprising. s 3 This is data produced by the World Tourism T Organiization, which records r travelleers’ border crossings, i.e. different forms f of mobilitty and not touriists in the strict sense.

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The Tourist Places of the World

regional attendance. But on the other hand, the geographical remoteness from other large developed centers, and therefore the likelihood of establishing dense tourist links with this part of the world, is a barrier. But the region has enjoyed great stability since the end of the Korean War. This conflict was one of the first of the Cold War. Japan had occupied Korea since 1910. The defeat of the Empire led to the partition of the peninsula into two parts on either side of the 38th parallel. On June 25, 1950, northern troops, prepared by the Soviet Union, crossed the border. American support for the southern part, as well as Chinese support for the north, resulted in a ceasefire on July 27, 1953, which endorsed the partition and established a demilitarized zone along the 38th parallel. This did not exclude tensions, generated in particular by North Korea’s desire to acquire nuclear weapons, because no peace agreement was signed. From time to time, connections are drawn, particularly during high-profile joint participations in the Olympic Games. Apart from this point of tension, there is great stability in the region, a situation that is eminently favorable to tourism. 10.1.3. Tourist hierarchy of States The People’s Republic of China, with just over 40% of the frequency of the places mentioned, is the leading tourist destination, just ahead of Japan (33%). South Korea is the third country visited (16.5%), far ahead of Taiwan (6.7%). These four countries alone account for 97% of the places offered by tour operators. It should be noted that for the Chinese government, Taiwan is a province and its recognition as a State is disputed. As a result, visits to the island by mainland residents are subject to variations brought about by demonstrations of independence by Taipei’s leaders. North and Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan (1.6%) or Mongolia (0.8%) are very rarely proposed. Kyrgyzstan and North Korea close the gap with a low score of 0.1%. The States visited are therefore located in the eastern part of the region. In China, the locations proposed in the catalogs correspond to the largest cities, located east of an axis linking Beijing to Guilin via Wuhan. The west of the country is still little visited, with the exception of the Silk Road, which links the proposed places to those of Central Asia. Tibet (autonomous Chinese province) and the steppes in Mongolia function as peripheries of this system. 10.2. Touristicity of places There, as elsewhere, tourism presents strong spatial disparities. In Japan, only the southern and central parts of Honshu Island, the largest part of the archipelago, are

Northeast A Asia

243

actually visited. A 21--day “must-seee” itinerary prroposed by Jaapan’s Nationaal Tourist Board is limited to Tookyo in the east and Hiroshiima in the west. Similarly, the Great C the moost popular touur offered by the TO, unites the three maajor cities Tour of China, of Beijinng, Xi’an and Shanghai, wiith a few excu ursions to the Great Wall orr Suzhou, for exam mple, a small part of easterrn China, as shown s in Mapp 10.1. South Korea, a smaller State, is not immune to thhe strong con ntrasts that aree reflected heere in the c Seoull, which alon ne has 612 cittations, or 388% of the concentrration in the capital, country’s total frequenncy. Jeju Islannd follows witth 326 citationns (20%), but is mainly a Busan coome next, frequented by the Chhinese as we will see laterr. Gyeongju and a 13th placee with 146 and d 140 citationns. These four locations respectivvely, in 12th and account for 77% of the frequency of o all locationss cited in the catalogs. c

Map p 10.1. Tourist area of foreig gn companies in China (sou urce: map prod duced in 2009 2 by Benjam min Taunay and Philippe Viiolier). For a color c version o of the maps in thiss chapter, see e www.iste.co.uk/violier/tourristplaces.zip

10.2.1. A region off discovery The practice p of disscovery dominnates widely and a is based fiirst of all on thhe largest cities in the region. The T five mostt frequently cited c places (iin the order oof Tokyo, K Beijingg and Shanghaai) alone accou unted for 29.55% of the totaal number Seoul, Kyoto, of occurrrences. As we w will see beelow, they aree clearly metrropolises that are both visited for fo themselvess and as gatew ways to and fro om the countrry. It thereforee assumes a functioon of flow difffusion. Thesee cities are so ought in part for their herittage. The image off the “Far East”, with Budddhist and Taoisst temples andd the ancient ppalaces of feudal emperors, e is the t main reasson for the visits. v In Beijjing, tourists visit the

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The Tourist Places of the World

Imperial City, which includes the Forbidden City formerly reserved for the gynaeceum of the Emperor’s partners, but also the Summer Palace, located outside the ancient city. The Temple of Heaven, located to the south, was visited by the Emperor who came to pray there after 3 days of fasting, thus ensuring harmony between heaven and earth, the guarantor of good harvests. The city of Xi’an, China, ranked 8th (291 citations) is also representative of this logic. Former capital of the Tang dynasty, it is frequently visited in association with the city of Pingyao (69th place) where the Chinese banking system was created. The capital of Shaanxi province has retained some of its ramparts. As a gateway to the Silk Road, it offers a lively Muslim quarter in the evening and a mosque with a sinicized esthetic, while archaeological excavations have uncovered the terracotta army of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi – considered the founder of the Chinese Empire – which can be seen outside the city, in a sheltered area. Osaka (12th place) operates on the same principle, in association with Kyoto, also the former capital (fourth place). But metropolises also display their modernity. Some are thus better known for their futuristic districts and their animation, than for their ancient monuments. In Tokyo, for example, the imperial palace, formerly Edo Castle, is competing with the shopping districts of Ginza or Yurakucho, or Shibuya, the trendy sector of Tokyo’s youth. Shanghai compares, along the banks of the Huangpu River, to the east, the Bund, made up of buildings from the 1920s and 1930s, representative of European domination over uncolonized China, but which had imposed the so-called unequal treaties that allowed European goods duty-free access to Chinese markets and imposed extraterritorial privileges. The recently renovated, busy and trendy district thus occupies the perimeter of the former French plot. On the West Bank, the new city of Pudong is home to no less than three of the world’s tallest towers, including the Shanghai World Financial Center, built in 2008, which ranks eighth in the world, 492 m high and with 101 storeys – nicknamed the bottle opener because of the shape of the top floor suspended above the void and allowing 360° vision – and the Shanghai tower, which culminates at 632 m high – now the second highest tower in the world. What was, in 1990, only an island mixing rice paddies and abandoned shipyards has become by government grace a prosperous special economic zone. At nightfall, sounds and lights set both banks ablaze for the crowd gathered along the two walkways, one of the world’s top places for selfies. Shanghai nevertheless has its old city to offer, completely rebuilt, very popular for its souvenir shops, and the Mandarin Yu garden next to it. Similarly, Hong Kong (7th place, 314 citations) is not without heritage, including ancient temples, but visits are made more due to its atmosphere, shopping opportunities, night markets, as well as the panoramic view of the skyscraper forest from Victoria Peak. On the contrary, other cities are emerging as fallen capitals, valuing their heritage more than urbanity or modernity. In general, these are medium-sized cities. Thus, Gyeongju in southeast Korea (12th place, 146 citations), former capital of the

Northeast Asia

245

millennial kingdom of Silla, offers several remains including the Bulguksa temple built in the 8th Century, and now has only 270,000 inhabitants. Kyoto (4th place and 528 citations) is in an intermediate position. Capital of Japan from 794 to 1868, it has a population of nearly 1.5 million inhabitants but has established itself in the tourist landscape as a city with a brilliant past. Landscape aesthetics – the Chinese model of landscape (mountains and water) in particular, which has spread to Japan and Korea – is also a powerful driver of discovery in the region. Hakone, the city facing Mount Fuji, ranks 15th among the proposed sites, while the visit to the mountain ranks 30th. The group, consisting of Guilin (22nd rank), the descent of the Li River (220th rank) and Yangshuo (33rd rank), is also one of the most popular places to visit in the region. Mount Seoraksan (44th place) in South Korea but also Moon Lake (59th place) in Taiwan follow the same logic. 10.2.2. Cruises and few stays East Asia is not a area to rest in. While the island of Hainan receives more than 40 million tourists from the Chinese mainland every year, which is confirmed by the previous map in terms of supply, the main tourist city, Sanya, ranks only 85th in our study. However, the entire island of Hainan occupies an honorable rank, 29th, but this, as we will see, is due to the presence of only one society. In Taiwan, the tropical city of Kenting, south of the eponymous peninsula, the main winter holiday destination for the country’s inhabitants, ranks 155th. Two notable counterexamples can be mentioned. On the one hand, Jeju Island in South Korea (sixth place) is a seaside destination, but it is dedicated to short stays, mainly for the Chinese, who represent 69% of tourist visits. It should also be noted that cruises are available in the region, either off Taroko in Taiwan (east coast, ninth place), off Kaohsiung still in Taiwan (west coast, 13th place ex aequo), or off Hong Kong (10th place). On the other hand, Busan (13th rank, 140 citations), without reducing it to this specialization (there is also the Beomesa Buddhist sanctuary founded in 678), is especially popular for its beaches – Haeundae, where the Sea Life Aquarium is also located, is dedicated to traditional games such as tug-of-war, while Gwangalli beach is very lively with its bars. 4

10.2.3. Typology of tourist places

As we have seen, this region of the world is characterized by the position of the largest cities, which occupy the first places in the ranking according to the frequency of places mentioned. Their indices tend toward 2, which betrays the function of a 4 We use here the typology of tourist places presented in Chapter 1 (section 1.3.6).

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The Tourist Places of the World

tourist metropolis, i.e. places where tourists arrive, visit and sleep but also which allow access to the different regions and other tourist places of the country. Thus, Beijing’s offer is reinforced by its proximity to the four main access points to the Great Wall, which, with very little accommodation, can be reached in 1 ½ hours by bus. The excursion is often combined with a visit to the tombs of the Ming dynasty to make up a full day, sometimes with a visit to craft factories, particularly cloisonné metalworks. The city of Chengde, a former summer residence of the emperors of the Qing dynasty in the 18th Century, also easily reached from Beijing, is not very popular despite its many monuments. Xi’an (8th place) has an index of 1.92 because it opens the route to the Silk Road, while Pingyao (index of 1.33) finds itself more in a tourist city situation. Hiroshima (19th place) is in a similar situation (index of 1.23). Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, is a typical ideal example of the influence of larger cities in East Asia: ranked 26th on our list, it scores 2.46. Cities outside the largest urban areas operate more on a resort-based system. In China, Wuhan (70th place), with a population of nearly 10 million, has an index of only 0.95. The city is in fact above all a starting point for cruises on the Yangtze River or toward the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang (51st rank). The sites are mostly located near the main cities with which the visit is associated, such as the Great Wall already mentioned, whose index is zero because no overnight stay proposals have been found. This is the case for Tsumago (index 0.46) in Japan, visited from Nagano. Cities that are sometimes close to each other operate for different reasons. This is the case of Nanjing (102nd place) and Suzhou (40th place), both visited from Shanghai but as a tourist city for the former (index of 1) and as a site for the latter (index of 0.68). The majority of the proposed places in Mongolia are also sites, such as Yolyn Am (134th place, index 0.583) or the Baga Gazariin Chuluu granitic formations (“stone of the small square”, 323rd place, index 0.5). Country

Places

Japan

Day trips

Overnight stays

Index

Rank

Total l

Rank

Total

Tokyo

1

805

1

696

1.73

South Korea

Seoul

2

612

4

385

1.26

China

Beijing

3

555

2

579

2.09

Japan

Kyoto

4

528

3

492

1.86

Northeast Asia

China

Shanghai

5

356

5

294

1.65

South Korea

Jeju

6

326

8

178

1.09

Hong Kong

7

314

7

245

1.56

Xi'an

8

291

6

273

1.88

Taroko National Park large boat

9

250

9

136

1.09

Japan

Osaka

10

162

10

124

1.53

Hong Kong wide sea

Hong Kong large boat

11

148

14

81

1.09

South Korea

Gyeongju

12

146

12

92

1.26

Kaohsiung large boat

14

140

16

76

1.09

Busan

13

140

21

64

0.91

Hakone

15

137

15

78

1.14

Nara

16

127

46

17

0.27

Takayama

17

125

18

68

1.09

Tashkent large boat

18

122

19

66

1.08

Guilin

20

110

17

75

1.36

Chengdu

19

110

22

64

1.16

Hiroshima

21

108

20

66

1.22

Kanazawa

22

107

23

56

1.05

China

Lhasa

23

101

13

82

1.62

Japan

Nikko

24

100

35

25

0.50

China

Sanya

25

97

24

53

1.09

China

Taiwan open sea

Taiwan open sea South Korea

Japan

Uzbekistan China

Japan

Table 10.2. Main tourist places in Northeast Asia distinguished according to the rank and frequency of day trip and overnight stay citations, and according to the tourist typicity index in tour operator catalogs. The ranking is based on the frequency of citations of places for day trips

247

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10.3. Societal practices Within this whole world largely dedicated to discovery, the differences between the societies that flock there are not very marked. 10.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies Two main groups can be distinguished (see atlas in section 10.5). The Spanish and British have the most limited offer. The former in particular rarely venture outside the largest cities, in China, South Korea but especially in Japan. The tours offered are generalist offers combining Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin and Shanghai in China, Seoul and Busan in South Korea, Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan. The same is true for the British who travel to the northern island of Hokkaido in Japan but ignore Taiwan. Americans, French and Germans are the ones with the most extensive offers. However, the former focus on a more limited number of places, namely the main metropolitan areas and their immediate surroundings. As in any city, Americans discover in Beijing the capital’s heritage, in all its forms, and its modernity (Table 10.3 and Box 10.1). The French, who discover Beijing according to the same practices and in the same establishments and places, benefit from a more varied offer, especially in central China. However, the hierarchy is clear (Box 10.2 and Table 10.4). In both cases, however, South Korea and Japan, two small States compared to China, have a very large number of tourist places. Finally, Germans can discover the largest cities but also take a river or sea cruise, discover the landscape sites or visit Central Asia. It is also the only old tourist society that visits this part of Asia on a massive scale. On the other hand, the Silk Road from Xi’an to China and sometimes to Uzbekistan is emerging as a pioneering front for tourism practices in the western part of the region, as is the Tibet Autonomous Region in China or Mongolia and its steppes. Tour operators

Tour

Gate 1 travel

Trafalgar

Total

China at affordable The best one 12 days price, 4 days from China Classic China in China with (Yangtze, River with Yangtze Chenqdu Cruise, New Cruise York Special)

Number of citations

Duration

11 days

12 days

15 days

10 days

–

Duration of the stay in Beijing

3 days

4 days

4 days

4 days

–

Forbidden City

1

1

1

1

4

Northeast Asia

Great Wall of China

1

1

1

1

4

Peking duck

1

–

1

1

3

Hutong (local family visit)

1

–

1

1

3

Summer Palace

1

1

1

–

3

Tiananmen Square

–

1

1

1

3

Jade boutique

1

1

–

–

2

Tea tasting in a tea house

–

–

1

1

2

Hutonq family lunch

–

–

1

1

2

Foot massage

–

–

1

1

2

Olympic Stadium tour, Beijing

1

1

–

–

2

Temple of Heaven

1

1

–

–

2

Ming tombs

1

–

1

2

Pearl boutique

–

1

–

–

1

Kung fu show

–

–

1

–

1

–

–

1

–

1

Mausoleum of Mao Zedonq

–

–

1

–

1

Walk around the mountains (Wall)

1

–

–

–

1

Lake tour by boat

–

1

–

–

1

Zoo (pandas)

1

–

–

–

1

Total visits

10

9

12

10

–

Street markets

249

Table 10.3. The activities offered by American TOs in Beijing, produced by the authors based on the catalogs of two American TOs – Trafalgar and Gate 1 Travel

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An American stay in Beijing The Imperial City and the Great Wall, accessible from the capital, constitute the most offered establishment and location (site). They are systematically part of the program, which lasts 3 or 4 days, i.e. one-third to one quarter of the total duration of the tour. The Summer Palace follows, as does Tiananmen Square, while the Temple of Heaven and the Ming tombs are less popular and are only suggested half the time. The heritage is therefore highlighted. But the local dimension is not forgotten with the famous Hutong, which have been preserved around the Imperial City. From 1994 onwards, the city government began to classify the old districts for destruction until that date. The densification after the revolution had largely contributed to the deterioration of traditional houses, whose courtyards were occupied by additional buildings. The lack of amenities and, on the contrary, the modernist image of the towers and bars that accompanied the economic emergence from the late 1980s onwards also had a negative impact. Beyond that, the attraction of Hutong also lies in the welcome into houses, a rare occurrence in China, organized with the contribution of the inhabitants, either for a moment of exchange, if the occupants speak English, or even for a lunch. In addition, the heritage also acquires intangible dimensions either in gastronomy, such as the famous Peking duck or a tea ceremony, or in care practices, such as foot massages. Modernity is not absent, with a visit to the Olympic stadium, nicknamed the bird’s nest, but it is quite secondary. As TO Trafalgar writes, Beijing is “a land of emperors, epic monuments and the cultural heart of China”. A few more low interest proposals complete the stay in the Chinese capital. Box 10.1. American tourist practices in Beijing according to the catalogs of two TOs – Gate 1 Travel and Trafalgar – analyzed in 2019

The Chinese tourism area for Westerners French TO catalogs produce a clear hierarchy of the tourism space in China for Western societies, because the analysis shows that Americans and Australians do not deviate from this model. The catalogs of 17 French TOs, the ones that include China the most – and that disclose information – have been analyzed. For each typical tour, the table specifies the number of TOs that offer it and the cumulative number of trips for all these TOs. Thus, the so-called “Great Tour of China” trip is offered by 17 TOs and in several formulas, resulting in 46 variants. This tour links the two main cities, Beijing and Shanghai, to the city of Xi’an, the former capital on several occasions, particularly during the Tang dynasty (618–907). Various additions are made to create variants; either on excursions, for example the Great Wall or the Ming tombs, still available from Beijing, Suzhou – a city of Chinese gardens and silk – from Shanghai; or as an extension to the south like Guilin, the cruise on the Li River and Yangshuo. Table 10.4 clearly shows the tourist hierarchy in China according to Western practices: the grand tour clearly dominates, the only tour offered by all TOs.

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251

This analysis carried out in 2011 [VIO 11] remains relevant, with the exception of data on the “Silk Road” circuit, which is probably in great difficulty due to tensions in Xinqiang. Box 10.2. Hierarchy of tourist spaces in China according to French TO catalogs

Trips

Number of TOs

“Grand Tour of China” Tibet Yunnan

17 9 9

Number of trips or stays 46 15 11

8

17

6 5 3 2 1

8 5 3 4 1

Stays in the city: Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong “Silk Road” Cruise on the Yangtze Sichuan Fujian Anhui Guizhou Northern China

Table 10.4. Hierarchy of tourism spaces in China according to French TO catalogs, year 2011

10.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies For the Chinese, on the other hand, as the region’s future tourist power, it is noteworthy that the cities of South Korea and Japan are the first places visited. However, differences are emerging. Kyoto ranks only sixth for the Chinese, whereas it is the third most offered place in our overall ranking. It should also be noted that South Korea is offered more than Japan, probably because of the persistent animosity with Chinese society since the end of the Second World War. The interest shown in Jeju Island is also in favor of South Korea. Tokyo, the first place proposed in our hit list, is only the third place for the Chinese. Similarly, Taiwan does not appear on our map because of the recent ban (since the election of an independent president) on Chinese tour operators sending groups to the island. Finally, the regional dimension of the practice allows short stays in South Korea, on Jeju Island in particular, located just over an hour’s flight from Shanghai, and less than two hours from Beijing. The comparative analysis of Chinese TO catalogs with those of American TO catalogs on Shanghai further highlights the dialogics between the universality of practices, on the one hand, the discovery of heritage and the modernity of the metropolises common to both societies, and, on the other hand, the singularity that each culture imparts to some of the behaviors. On the Chinese side,

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shopping is a practice in its own right, as is the visit to the Disney Resort, which Americans ignore, while Americans are interested in neighborhoods marked by colonial heritage5 and everyday practices that are deemed mundane for the Chinese (Box 10.3). East Asian societies, and without a doubt the Chinese, by promoting shopping as a tourist practice, are contributing to the renewal of tourism in the world [DUH 18], as the Americans invented the nature park [MIT 05]. Thus, by being spread out, tourism becomes richer. Similarly, representations of the mountains in China are nourished by tradition, literary works that have built a particular perspective, which does not prevent the spread of imported and appropriate practices such as skiing [WAN 15]. Moreover, the beach is not, for the Chinese, a space mainly dedicated to rest. Rather, they practice contemplation, as we saw in Rio (section 4.3.2), or even play. Swimming training except in coastal areas is recent, as is the aesthetics of the body which favors white skin [TAU 11]. The same space can therefore be appropriate for different societies, but to implement different practices. For the Chinese, the campaigns are massively mobilized for rest [GUO 10], while the Westerners invest more on the beach for rest and the campaign is dedicated to the sociability and leisure of gentlemen farmers – gardening and home improvement [MON 09]. Let us add that the mobility of the Chinese is more restricted than that of the Westerners, in particular because of a greater division of free time, and the low duration of paid holidays, reduced to 1 week in May, so that it is more appropriate to mention leisure activities as a day in the countryside rather than tourism [VER 16], in particular for most employees. Americans and Chinese in Shanghai Both Chinese and Americans in Shanghai appreciate the clash between past and present, heritage and modernity. The Bund particularly illustrates this show staged on each side of the Huanpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze River. The East carries the “former Wall Street”, a row of banks, head offices and hotels, built in the interwar period and now protected, while opposite stands the new city of Pudong, bristling with towers, including the famous Jinmao tower which offers “panoramic views of skyscrapers”. They also visit the old town and the garden of Master Yu, representative of Chinese garden art, as well as the Xintiandi6 district.

5 Strictly speaking, China was not colonized, since the State was not defeated, but the European powers imposed unequal treaties (1855) that allowed Western goods to move freely in China, which had the effect of ruining the local economy, and allowed the application of European authority in concession territories. 6 Xintiandi is a renovated neighborhood on the edge of the former French area. It is a gentrified neighborhood, occupied by the urban elite, very lively with shops, bars, restaurants, etc.

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253

But the Chinese stand out in Shanghai, again for shopping, where Nanjing Street is the theater, a long avenue that is partly pedestrian and constitutes the main artery of the city and connects the people’s square in the east with the Bund. The tea museum is also a preference of theirs. Similarly, the Museum of Modern Art, located in the building that was the China Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo, is not visited by Americans, nor... Shanghai Disney. For their part, the American TO catalogs cite the French area, the Jade Buddha Temple and Fuxing Park, “a place where the locals play chess, dance, practice Tai Chi and more”. Box 10.3. Practices of American tourists in Beijing according to the American and Chinese TO catalogs, analyzed in 2019

For their part, the Russians differ by the interclassification of places that are rather ignored by other societies. Thus, the second place in the ranking is occupied by the island of Hainan. This land, once a place of exile for scholars who had fallen out of favor of the emperor or empress, detached from Guandong province by government decision, was given the important mission of becoming Chinese Hawaii in 1994. While the Chinese themselves and in particular the inhabitants of Beijing take pleasure in going there, playing golf and admiring its seascapes, international tourism has only taken place among the Russians, who are finally quite close, if we analyze the situation from Vladivostok. The second originality of the Russians is their interest in the Japanese city of Kawagoe, which ranks 6th for this society, while the place is rather disparaged by others who avoid it (Box 10.4). Kawagoe, a place that has not taken off “Tokyo is a city in such a state of perpetual change that it is sometimes subjected, in spite of itself, to the Japanese obsession with deconstruction in order to rebuild in a more modern style, often instead of consolidating or renovating. After a few days or weeks in the Japanese capital, some people feel the need to reconnect with elements of ‘tradition’. In this perspective, Kawagoe, located half an hour northwest of Tokyo, is often mentioned. So we decided to take a look around to see what was going on. “It only takes a few minutes to realize that Kawagoe is oversold. Indeed, the city is nicknamed ‘Small Edo’ (the ancient name of the capital) for its wooden and clay buildings of the eponymous era. From the rest, we happily move on to reconstructions intended to maintain the tourist manna. “Because Kurazukuri no Machinami, the ‘warehouse district’ as far as Toki no Kane, the bell tower (symbol of the city) has turned into a shopping attraction... not even a pedestrian zone and which often supports a parade of cars. For the traditional aspect, well

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come back! Up to the Kita-in temple, including the remains of Edo Castle, did not fascinate us. “If you want to immerse yourself in Edo-era architecture around Tokyo, it would seem that it would be better to prefer Edo-Tokyo Tatemono-en (Edo-Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum) to Kawagoe. One thing is certain: it is impossible for Kawagoe to dare to replace Kyoto on a travel itinerary to Japan.” Box 10.4. Kawagoe according to the Kanpai.fr website on Japanese culture, visited on December 11, 2018

10.3.3. World connectiveness The analysis of the global nature of places presented in Table 10.5 is not surprising: the universal places of the world are once again the metropolises. The three capitals occupy the first three places: Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing. Kyoto, the old capital as we have already noted, comes next. Among the moderately frequented universal places, metropolises such as Shanghai, Hong Kong or Osaka, once again, rub shoulders with places that owe their fame more to history. Thus, the Great Wall is the only site to integrate the type of universal places. This is also the case of Xi’an, the ancient capital during the Tang dynasty, and the gateway to the Silk Road, or Hiroshima, sadly famous. World connectiveness

Places

Quality

Quantity

All worlds

Moderately frequented

Tokyo Seoul Beijing Kyoto Shanghai Universal places or all worlds

Xi’an Hong Kong Great Wall Osaka Nara Hiroshima

Northeast Asia

Gyeongju Busan

Places of a large part of the world

255

No Russians

Hakone

No Germans, no Chinese

Takayama

Few Germans, few Chinese, few Russians

Kanazawa Lhassa Nikko

Europeans, Americans

Guilin

Less frequented

Chengdu

Places of world

Places outside the World

Taipei

Americans, Germans

Jeju

Chinese and Americans

Hainan

Russians and Chinese

Macao

Americans and Russians

Hangzhou

Germans

Lijiang

Chinese

Less frequented

North Korea

–

–

Moderately frequented

Table 10.5. World connectiveness of tourist places in Northeast Asia based on the use of tour operator catalogs

10.4. Conclusion Northeast Asia, the cultural area of sinicized civilizations and its western margins, is a destination of discovery for most other societies. Only the Russian society has invested in the island of Hainan for seaside rest. It focuses mainly on metropolitan areas, on a few touristic cities, which, as former capitals, are steeped in history, but does not totally ignore the more remote and less connected regions of the world.

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10.5. Atlas7

Map 10.2. Main tourist places in the Northeast Asia region according to frequency analysis of British TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 10.3. Main tourist places in the Northeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of French TO catalogs, years 2015–2018 7 For color versions of the maps in this section, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip.

Northeast Asia

Map 10.4. Main tourist places in the Northeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of German TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 10.5. Main tourist places in the Northeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of Spanish TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

257

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Map 10.6. Main tourist places in the Northeast Asia region according to frequency analysis of American TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 10.7. Main tourist places in the Northeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of Russian TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Northeast Asia

Map 10.8. Main tourist places in the Northeast Asia region according to the frequency analysis of Chinese TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

259

11 Oceania and the Pacific Islands

This region of the World occupies a minor place in international tourism, whereas in the two largest countries, Australia and New Zealand, societies have a high standard of living, which is a very favorable factor for tourist mobility. However, the low-population density, linked to late settlement, such as the isolation of the antipodes, reflects a generally low level of tourism, somewhat offset by an average length of exceptional stays of 22 days in Australia [VAC 17]. 11.1. A fantasy region but one that is poorly visited Oceania is a bit of, from the point of view of tourism, a paradoxical region of the world: all individuals dream of it, or have images of places in their minds, but few actually visit it. This is because, in this matter, reality is opposed to it. And the diffusion, throughout the Mediterranean area, of Polynesian symbols – beach huts, palm trees and flower necklaces – through the Club Med company, in the 1950s, as a substitute, sums up the problem well: too far and too expensive. In addition, there is a very small internal population. 11.1.1. Disadvantages affecting globalized tourism This region of the world has two major disadvantages in terms of tourist numbers. On the one hand, it is relatively isolated and its insular nature further accentuates the consequences. However, as noted in section 1.2.2, in all destinations around the world, tourists come from the countries nearest to it. With the exception of Indonesia, located to the north, the neighboring countries are far away, and the State of Papua New Guinea shares the island with Indonesia, but the society’s

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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standard of living does not allow for high levels of tourist travel. For example, a flight to Sydney from Jakarta, the country’s capital located on the island of Java, where the average income is highest, costs around 700 euros and takes almost 8 hours. The oldest Western tourist societies are thousands of kilometers away. For example, London, the capital of the former empire, is located 15,000 km away as the crow flies, or 22 hours away of non-stop flight, for a price of about 1,500 euros. Companies that have entered the movement more recently, such as Japan, then China, are closer but, nevertheless, Tokyo is 6,700 km away and is Beijing 7,000 km away, the equivalent of about 9 hours of flight time, for a minimum fare of about 700 euros1. On the other hand, it is sparsely populated. A small mass (a little over one-third of France’s population) is therefore a second disadvantage. Australia has 20 million inhabitants spread over nearly 8 million km2, or 2.6 inhabitants per km2. New Zealand, with 4 million residents over 270,000 km2, does a little better with 15 inhabitants per km2. Only Namibia and Mongolia have a lower density in the world. However, as we saw in section 1.3.1, the largest number of tourists comes from nearby countries or even the region, so a small population generates, even with a high departure rate, only a few tourists. This situation is due to a recent entry on the scene of humanity (however before the Americas). Indeed, the first settlements resulted from late migrations from Southeast and East Asia in different waves that gradually spread to the most remote islands. Two first waves, attested by archaeological evidence, can be identified: the so-called Sunda wave, coming from Indonesia, 50,000 to 70,000 years ago, and the Austronesian wave, more recent from the year 6000 BCE, which started in China and passed through Taiwan and then the Philippines. The Sunda emerged during the last interglacial maximum that extended beyond the current Southeast Asian peninsula upto and including Java. Further south-east extended the Sahul, which includes present-day New Guinea, Australia and Tasmania. Between the two, Wallacea looked like an archipelago but the distances between these three blocks were no more than 100 km. They were passable under the current navigation conditions. But the rise in sea level about 12,000 years ago interrupted this first episode. The Austronesians populated the various archipelagos further east from 6000 BCE in several waves [GRA 10]. This world is therefore located at the margins of the tourist ecumene, which is both a disadvantage, due to the material constraints that prevent a tourist project, but also an advantage linked to exceptionality.

1 Internet searches conducted in July 2018 with the request “flight time between Sydney (Tokyo, Beijing) and...”

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11.1.2. Hierarchy of States Australia is by far the leading tourist destination in this region of the world with just over half the frequency of places ahead of New Zealand, which has a quarter. French Polynesia then occupies first place among island and archipelagic destinations in competition with Hawaii, which is also present in the catalogs of the North American region. This is followed by Fiji, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea. The other groups have little like the Cook Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga, and very little like Samoa, Palau, the Solomon Islands, Wallis and Futuna and American Samoa. The political subdivisions of the island of New Guinea are a legacy of European colonization after the island was discovered by Portuguese navigators in the 16th Century. The western part results from the takeover by the Netherlands in 1828, after a period of tension with the British. The Southeast was under British control while the Northeast was under the control of Germany. Then the Southeast was conceded to Australia and, during the First World War, the unity of the East was consecrated by decision of the League of Nations, under the aegis of Australia. In 1963, the western part became part of independent Indonesia in 1949, after a conflict that pitted it against the Netherlands and then against the Papuan independence fighters. The latter founded the separatist United Movement for the Liberation of West Papua. In 1975, the eastern part became independent and a member kingdom of the British Commonwealth, under the name of Papua New Guinea. Box 11.1. New Guinea: one country two States

The Pacific Islands entered the tourist scene late but with a bang, at least in Hawaii. Indeed, Waikiki, a famous resort, is the incubator of the new relationship with the community, marked by tanning and engaging activities, especially surfing, which characterized beach tourism practices in the 20th Century [GAY 13]. These inventions of the early 20th Century then spread throughout the world, particularly in California, Florida and the Mediterranean, via Juan-les-Pins, from the 1920s onwards. Previously, visiting was restricted, including at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu. In 1886, only 2,040 tourists visited the archipelago [GAY 17a]. The annexation to the United States in 1898 was to be decisive. In the 1920s and 1930s, there were some echoes in the Pacific. The Second World War made it possible to expand and spread tourism, in particular by converting military air infrastructure, while the American army’s rental of hotels helped to strengthen Hawaii’s reputation [GAY 17a]. Club Med, for its part, integrated French Polynesia into the tourist imagination, importing the pareo, the flower necklace and the fare2 into the Mediterranean, before settling there in 1955 2 Traditional Polynesian dwelling.

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[GAY 17a]. But the decisive impetus came from aviation progress, particularly with the commissioning of the Boeing 707 and DC8. The cinema, for its part, promoted the Pacific, whether Hawaii with From Here to Eternity3, directed in 1953, and Blue Hawaii4 with Elvis Presley, or French Polynesia with Mutiny on the Bounty5, shot in 1962 with Marlon Brando. The latter, married to the Tahitian Tarita Teriipaia, bought the atoll of Tetiaroa to hide his brief romance. New Caledonia first suffers from a negative image, that of a former prison colony, then favored nickel mining and tourism, which had difficulty establishing itself there before 1973 [GAY 17b]. 11.2. Touristicity of the places This region of the world offers a wide range of tourism practices. The presentation by major types of practices, the choice we have chosen for this region of the world, has the advantage of clarity. But as we have explained in section 1.1.2, in many places combinations include a dominant practice with others that are complementary and result from a diversification process that reflects the sustainability and importance of the degree of touristicity. Overall, Australia has peripheral traffic. Most of the most visited places are located on the coasts, as well as the fact that the population resides in coastal cities. A secondary concentration appears in the center, in the mythical bush: we will come back to this later. This system was pointed out by Luc Vacher, who underlines its paradox: the representations favor the interior while the real practices, which he measures on the basis of government statistics6, show a dominant frequentation of coastal cities [VAC 17]. In contrast, New Zealand’s linear shape guides the routes that run through it, from north to south, except when a shorter duration of day trips implies a choice between one of the two main islands, the northern or the southern one. As it should be, the islands are scattered throughout the vastness of the Pacific. On a larger scale, in each archipelago, the major islands, generally those where an international airport is located, welcome tourists along the coast while the interior is neglected or reserved for excursions. Other medium-sized islands, equipped with a secondary airport, receive some tourists in smaller and more locally managed accommodation. Finally, other islands remain outside the tourist field (see in

3 Zinnemann F., From Here to Eternity, 1953. 4 Taurog N., Blue Hawaii, 1961. 5 Milestone L., Reed C., Mutiny on the Bounty, 1962. 6 The author, while mobilizing government statistics compiled in accordance with the recommendations of the UNWTO, takes care to distinguish between actual tourist practices, which he estimates at 50% of the total flow on the basis of declarations of reasons for visiting. But he points out that 25% of international arrivals are due to visits to relatives and friends, including tourist moments.

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particular for French Polynesia the work of Caroline Blondy, [BLO 17] in particular). 11.2.1. Discovery in the two largest islands: Australia and New Zealand It is first deployed in the metropolitan areas of the two main islands, Australia and New Zealand. Sydney dominates widely, cited 1,697 times, while Melbourne ranks 5th in the frequency of citations ahead of Auckland (NZ), 6th, which only scores half as much (656 and 642 citations). Sydney is the continent’s metropolis and also a tourist metropolis. The Sydney Opera House is world-renowned and is the country’s most iconic monument. Tourists also visit the central district, The Rocks, and Harbour Bridge. Three museums are also very famous: the Australian Museum, founded in 1827, dedicated to natural sciences and anthropology; the New South Wales Art Gallery; and the Sydney Museum. Taronga Zoo is also popular. Beyond that, Sydney is the main gateway to Australia and a base for excursions, especially to the Blue Mountains. Melbourne, located in the south of the island, is the capital of Victoria State. The country’s second largest city (4.5 million inhabitants for the agglomeration) was founded in 1835 by free settlers at the bottom of a bay closed by a sand spire, while Sydney hosted a penal colony in 1790. It grew rapidly at the end of the century due to the gold rush that propelled it to being among the most important cities of the British Empire, which resulted in five world exhibitions. It was the capital of Australia and was overtaken by Sydney as the most populous city. Renowned for its Victorian monumental architecture, it boasts several museums that constitute its most significant elements, in particular the Melbourne Museum built for the 1880 Universal Exhibition. Modernity also characterizes the urban landscape, in particular the Eureka Tower, which was built in 2002 and has been operational since 2006. It offers a panoramic view of the city on the 88th floor, perched at a height of 285 meters. In New Zealand, Queenstown is mainly visited as the capital of adventure tourism and therefore gambling practices. Auckland’s port conurbation is the most populated in New Zealand. It extends over a remarkable site, the isthmus that inserts the Northland Peninsula into the country’s northern island. It is mainly the gateway to the country and the hub for discovering the Bay of Islands in the north and Rotorua in the south. We note that, like North America, capitals are not at the top, unlike what we see in Europe. Wellington is only 11th and, worse, Canberra is 189th. A recent city, since the decision to establish it only dates back to 1908, but some settlements were built by European immigrants in the 1820s. It is a medium-sized city of 375,000 inhabitants, which mainly performs political functions as the seat of government and the national parliament. Construction began in 1913 according to a master plan drawn by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, who applied the urban principles of the garden city and the neighborhood units.

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Then the places known for their biophysical dimension appeared. Thus, Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, a famous and massive red inselberg7 planted in the middle of the bush, around which the country’s inland tourist center was built is in 8th place with a score of 592 citations [VAC 17]. It was discovered by European explorers in 1873. The national park is classified as a World Heritage Site and has been designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. First recognized as a natural site in 1987, its role in Aboriginal culture, and the presence of rock carvings in particular, led to its inclusion in the category of cultural property in 1994. Moreover, the site can no longer be climbed (2019 onwards) according to a decision taken by the park’s board of directors8, under pressure from Anangu Aborigines who consider the site sacred [LAS 12]. The practice dates back to the 1930s, and a chain was installed in 1966 to facilitate it, but this did not prevent fatal accidents and rookie adventurers who had to be rescued. As noted in section 1.3.1, the delineation of objects between cultural and biophysical is also a Western representation. Around this, known worldwide, gravitate several places belonging to the same category, including Kings Canyon (20th rank, cited 200 times) and the Kata Tjuta or Olgas mountains, which are also arkose inselbergs9, located 25 km from Uluru. They dominate the pediment10 from several hundred meters. Other specific high places are also included in the tourist program. The Great Barrier Reef ranks 12th, ahead of Blue Mountains National Park, which is mainly visited on a half-day excursion from Sydney. Kakadu National Park ranks 17th and precedes Milford Sound. The latter is a fjord in southern New Zealand that penetrates some 15 kilometers into the New Zealand Alps. It is 400 meters deep and dominated by walls that rise to an altitude of 1,692 meters at Mitre Peak, 1,517 meters at The Elephant and 1,302 metres at Lion Mountain. Kakadu Park is a huge reserve (20,000 km2) and a biodiversity hotspot located in northern Australia, 250 km west of Darwin. Rock paintings by Aborigines are also present. Next come the glaciers and lakes of the New Zealand Alps, including the Franz Josef Glacier (28th place, 152 citations), Te Anau Lake (32nd place, 142 citations), Taupo Lake (47th place, 118 citations), Wanaka Lake (48th place, 114 citations) and Tekapo 7 Literally island mountain. A geomorphological term that refers to rocky points emerging from above a flat space. 8 Express.fr with AFP, published on 1 November 2017 and http://www.lecourrieraustral ien.com/uluru-escalade-interdite-a-partir-doctobre-2019/, accessed 10 June 2018. 9 This geological formation is a mixture of shale and conglomerate containing fragments of granite and basalt. 10 Erosion glaze, typical of desert morphologies, formed on hard rocks at the foot of an inselberg: www.geowiki.fr/index.php?title=Pediment, accessed 7 June 2017.

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Lake (53rd place, 104 citations). Notably, on the banks of this last quoted lake stands the Church of the Good Shepherd, built in honor of the European pioneers. In Australia, the heritage of the Aborigines is the subject of only a few marginal discoveries integrated into tours running through the more central part of the continent. The Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park is one of the only places to promote Aboriginal culture, but it is rarely mentioned. It appears only in 151st place with a citation frequency of only 30. In New Zealand, Rotorua and its surroundings, a caldera11 occupied by many lakes and located in central New Zealand on the North Island, is famous for its geothermal events, including the Pohutu geyser in Whakarewarewa and hot mud pools. It occupies 7th place and is thus the first biophysical tourist place. But this city is also one of the places where Maori culture is put into tourism, particularly in two qualified village establishments, Tamaki near the city center and Whakarewarewa in the south, where traditional dance shows and dinners, which promote Hangi12, are organized. As in other parts of the world, the question of the “authenticity” of these events is raised (Box 11.2). Beyond the destructuring by European colonization, the posture reveals a fixist conception of the world. All societies evolve and this discourse exhumes from the past mythical moments, seen as a golden age. Tourism helps draw the diversity of cultures out of oblivion, certainly by simplifying them and creating stereotypes, but this is richer than the memory of the haka alone, and memory is necessarily selective [LAZ 12]. Moreover, not all shows are equal. Others are proposed, starting with the Rotorua Museum, the Te Papa in Wellington or the War Memorial in Auckland; but other museums do not necessarily interest the same audience. In addition, expressive aesthetic13 practices present very varied forms, perceptible at different scales. For example, about 10 different genres characterize the manifestations of the Tonga archipelago, grouped under the name faiva fakatonga. They are the subject of a heritage conservation approach, while for events intended for tourists, the mixture with Polynesian, non-Tongan expressions is frequent because the actors are aware of the expectations that overvalue entertainment and variety as “the stereotyped image of the free and sensual Polynesian woman” [CON 16, p. 74]. In contrast, in New Zealand, demonstrations presented to non-resident tourists “are based on... dance performances that only involve a demonstration of kapa haka, a term that 11 A large elliptical depression several kilometers in diameter resulting from the emptying of a magmatic chamber during a volcanic eruption, it is often partially filled by sedimentary deposits. 12 Pronounced “hangni”, a traditional Polynesian cooking method carried out in embers and on volcanic stones. 13 “Expression forged by K. Alexeyeff, which refers to dances, music, poetry but also to certain practices of body ornamentation. This formulation is more appropriate in Polynesian contexts than the terms ‘dance’ or ‘song’” [CON 16, footnote 4, p. 71].

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refers to Maori living arts, consisting of music, dance and poetry” [CON 16, p. 78]. Indeed, during the 1970s, a reparation policy was initiated to compensate for the expropriation of the first inhabitants, following a one-way application of the Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840. The latter recognizes the Maori, the first occupants, as hosts in relation to the guests who arrived later. In fact, the claims of immigrant Polynesians are not well perceived by the Maori. Authentic... “At Kiwipal, we are sometimes contacted by people who want to spend a night in an authentic Maori village. The question is pretty crazy! Imagine a New Zealand tourist asking to taste wild boar among the Gauls?” Box 11.2. Tourists looking for the authentic Maori village (Guillaume Le Nistour, 14 founder of Kiwipal, specialized TO for New Zealand )

11.2.2. Rest in the smallest islands The second most common practice is rest. Indeed, Bora-Bora occupies third place with 848 citations and Moorea 9th (558 citations), if we consider that Cairns (2nd place, 1,030 citations) is a more complex place that benefits especially, in terms of nonresident tourism, from the discovery of the Great Barrier Reef. This region of the world is rich in islands and archipelagos that are at the origin of the development of the myth of the paradise island. This affirmation of “a new system of appreciation of the tropical islands [combines] a gradual reassessment of warm climates... a new landscape aesthetic” [GAY 17a, p. 323] and a new conception of beauty that now values tanning. This social construction was carried out in several stages. The first is linked to Bougainville’s account in his Voyage autour du monde (A voyage around the world) of the Discovery of Tahiti from April 4 to 15, 1768 “in which he engaged in an erotic over-interpretation of the sexual offerings presented by Tahitians” [GAY 17a, p. 323] and which is also at the origin of the figure of the “good savage” living free and happy in a land of plenty. Denis Diderot (Supplément au Voyage de Bougainville (Supplement for Bougainville’s voyage) published in 1796) and Pierre Loti (Le Mariage de Loti (The marriage of Loti), 1882) made their contribution while Paul Gauguin was part of a long line of “image displays”. The second stage took place in Hawaii, more precisely Waikiki, where, at the beginning of the 20th Century, “the liberation from the therapeutic aim of sea bathing... and the passage from the cold bath to the hedonic bath in hot water” [GAY 17a, p. 324] 14 https://fr.kiwipal.com/nouvelle-zelande/diner-spectacle-et-culture-maorie-en-nouvelle-zelande, accessed June 10, 2018.

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was incubated. Several characters played a key role, from the writer Jack London who evoked in The Cruise of the Snark (1911) the hijacking of surfing, a religious practice fought by Protestant missionaries that became sport, to the aesthetics of Duke Kahanamoku’s (1890–1968) and their colleague George Freeth’s (1883–1919) tanned bodies. Finally, “the fascination for the turquoise blue of tropical lagoons” [GAY 17a, p. 325] was evident, right down to the bottom of the pools, following the invention of color in photography and films, notably used in Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). But the myth only translated into tourism in this part of the world when accessibility issues were addressed. As a result, the myth first benefited the Mediterranean, thanks to Club Med, which introduced symbols such as the coconut tree, the strawberry and the necklaces of pearls, flowers, etc. Aviation’s progress in terms of range and capacity made it possible to convert the role of a simple forced stopover, particularly for Fiji between the United States and Australia, into a tourist destination with the construction and/or renovation of airports and hotels. The main islands were the first to be equipped before tourism spread to the most remote, smaller islands of the archipelagos [GAY 00a]. Thus, resting places are well placed: Cairns occupies 2nd place with 1,030 citations (but it is a rather special place to which we will return below), Bora-Bora follows in 3rd place (848 citations), then Moorea comes in 9th place (558 citations), two islands in French Polynesia. Beyond the top ten, there is the Gold Coast (15th place, 233 citations) then Papeete and Tahiti (19th place, 203 citations). The Hawaiian archipelago sites are interspersed, including Waikiki (14th place, 238 citations), Maui (26th place, 164 citations) and Kauai (27th place, 153 citations). As for the West Indies and the other so-called “coconut palms of France” [GAY 09], it is necessary to point out the poor performance of New Caledonia, which appears only in 66th place with 77 citations. The archipelago does not have a very good image with the French; the idea of the past prison has not helped. The activity that was once highly concentrated in Nouméa and essentially seaside activities tend to spread and diversify, particularly in relation to the political developments that took place after 1984. The provincialization that consisted of creating four entities with relative autonomy, and allowing access to the responsibilities of indigenous populations, the Kanak, where they are in the majority, is at the origin [GAY 09]. Cairns, 2nd in the ranking of citation frequency, occupies a specific place. It is both a seaside resort, therefore dedicated to rest and water sports, but also a base for the discovery of biophysical objects. In particular, the Great Barrier Reef, the most famous biophysical monument in this region of the world, which ranks 12th (298 citations), is mainly accessible from this city. Also, Kuranda Rain Forest (54th place, 103 citations), less famous, is an excursion destination from Cairns. Rotorua, already mentioned as a destination of discovery, has also been a place dedicated to body care since the end of the 19th Century. The thermal baths now house the city’s museum.

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French Polynesia suffers from a “gap between its reputation and its real frequentation... The causes are multiple: remoteness, high cost of the destination, poor quality/price ratio, low diversification of activity services (no nightlife areas, no or few shopping areas...), poorly qualified staff, high labor costs which influence prices...” [BLO 17, pp. 376 and 378]. The development of tourism was initiated by settlers but this stimulated initiatives from the inhabitants. Tourism, which began in Tahiti, has spread throughout the archipelago. Today, Bora-Bora (3rd place) and Moorea (9th place) dominate while Tahiti (Papeete appears in 19th place) is gaining in urbanization and is more of a hub for the redistribution of flows in this part of the Pacific Ocean [GAY 09]. 11.2.3. Play Play practices, understood here in a restrictive sense of diversion with activity that moves mobilization of the body, are located either in seaside resorts or in mountainous regions. Waikiki is thus known as the place where Duke Kahanamoku invented surfing, honored with the construction of a regularly flower-covered statue. Originally, the object had a religious meaning, which earned it the hostility of North American pastors who wanted to eradicate it [COE 14]. The practice then spread throughout the world and is one of the components of the combinations implemented along the coasts of the region, but also the main one in some of them such as Noosa (52nd place with 106 citations) in Australia. Hawaii, however, remains the mythical place where this practice was invented [COE 14]. The New Zealand Alps are also the scene of hiking and other play. Queenstown is described as “the adventure capital of the world in Active New Zealand” by the TO Australian and New Zealand Tour. Lying on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, one can enjoy the spectacular setting of the Southern Alps. It is the main destination for winter games, it controls access to the Remarkables and Coronet Peak ski areas, it is completed by Arrowtown with the Cardrona area, which includes a hotel and Treble Cone. In summer, a wide range of bungee jumping is available, including from the suspension bridge over the Kawarau Gorge. There is also hiking, mountain biking and fly fishing. The stay can be complemented by lake cruises and wine tasting in the Otago Valley. 11.2.4. Typology of places

15

Among the most popular tourist cities, we distinguish those that are not very popular from those that are popularly visited. The former are valued for the position 15 We use here the typology of tourist places presented in Chapter 1 (section 1.3.6).

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they occupy in the territory. They act as stopovers in which tourists stay but rarely visit. In New Zealand, we can mention Auckland (index 1.6) which, located on an isthmus and a place people are obliged to pass through, distributes flows for the North Island, or Christchurch (1.8), which exercises this role for the South Island. In Australia, Alice Springs (1.6), located in the center of the country, connects the famous Uluru-Ayers Rock destination with other Australian tourist attractions, such as Sydney in the south-east, Cairns in the north-east or Darwin in the north. Similarly, Adelaide (1.6) is the southern gate. The second ones have several functions. They are both the gateways to and from the territory or hubs on the tours, essential stages and theaters of tourist practices. They are at the top of the ranking and their indices range from 1.5 to 1.3. Notably, Sydney, which ranks 1st , has an index of 1.3 and Cairns, in 2nd, has an index of 1.5. Queenstown, in 4th place, has an index of 1.4. Tourist cities that do not play this role in redistributing flows, such as Rotorua, have an index of less than 1.2 and tends towards 1, such as tourist destinations (Uluru, Kakadu, Waikiki, etc.). Rotorua was even a thermal tourist resort in the beginning, which then diversified into practices that involve the body, such as different forms of hiking. Most of the islands dedicated to rest and water sports (Moorea, Tahiti, Bora-Bora, etc.) have rates that also vary around 1 because the number of nights spent is almost equal to the number of days spent there. Conversely, sites that are visited but in which tourists do not stay, in the sense that they do not stay overnight, obtain low scores, less than 0.5. This is the case in particular for parks located near a large city such as the Blue Mountains (0.23), visited on excursions from Sydney, which therefore accumulates overnight stays, or the Great Barrier Reef (0.15), which is the subject of day cruises from Cairns in particular. In New Zealand, Milford Sound (0.18) or Waitomo (0.49) also operate as these such sites. Political entities Australia

Place

Day trips

Overnight stays

Index

Rank

Frequency

Rank

Frequency

Sydney

1

1,697

1

1,128

1.33

Cairns

2

1,030

2

756

1.47

French Polynesia

Bora-Bora

3

848

6

403

0.95

New Zealand

Queenstown

4

775

3

546

1.41

Australia

Melbourne

5

656

5

420

1.28

Auckland

6

642

4

503

1.57

Rotorua

7

605

7

339

1.12

Uluru (Ayers Rock)

8

592

8

320

1.08

New Zealand Australia

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The Tourist Places of the World

French Polynesia New Zealand

Moorea

9

558

10

260

0.93

Christchurch

10

332

9

303

1.83

Wellington

11

298

12

212

1.42

Marine park of the Great Barrier Reef

12

298

104

22

0.15

Alice Springs

13

263

13

208

1.58

Waikiki

14

238

21

120

1.01

Gold Coast

15

233

16

138

1.18

Blue Mountains NP

16

220

96

25

0.23

Kakadu NP

17

214

18

131

1.22

New Zealand

Milford Sound

18

204

119

18

0.18

French Polynesia

Papeete (Tahiti)

19

203

22

109

1.07

Kings Canyon

20

200

17

138

1.38

Adelaide

21

192

14

150

1.56

Australia Hawaii

Australia

Australia

Brisbane

22

181

55

50

0.55

Fiji

Mamanuca Islands

23

178

26

96

1.08

Australia

Kangaroo Island

24

167

27

87

1.04

New Zealand

Rarotonga

25

166

31

84

1.01

Table 11.1. Main tourist places in the Oceania–Pacific region distinguished according to the rank and frequency of citations of day trips and overnight stays, and according to the tourist typicity index in tour operator catalogs. The ranking is based on the frequency of citations of places during day trips

11.3. Societal practices Australians prefer coastlines close to major cities for their tourism practices. Secondly, recreational suburbs have developed in the rural hinterlands. While the bush or Red Heart occupies a central place in the construction of national identity, it is relatively marginal in terms of tourism, which does not prevent it from being the object of the big trip for retirees who travel around the country for several months and for 22,000 kilometers [VAC 17]. What about the practices of foreigners?

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11.3.1. Practices of former tourism societies There is a clear opposition between the two main countries in the region, Australia and New Zealand, on the one hand, and the other islands and archipelagos on the other. The former are frequented by all the old tourism companies. The hierarchy of places is very similar from one to the other for the most visited. In Australia, Sydney and Cairns precede Melbourne, Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef. In New Zealand, Queenstown and Auckland are the most visited cities ahead of Rotorua, followed by Christchurch, Wellington and Milford Sound. The practices implemented are also identical. Discovery dominates and focuses first on cities, then on biophysical objects. Rest often comes next in combination with play along the coast. However, some nuances appear for second-rate places. In particular, we note that the French and Germans are frequenting northern Australia more, particularly Kakadu National Park, and consequently the cities that provide air access to it, Adelaide and Darwin. The British invest more in the Australian islands from Big Island to the Whitsundays. On the contrary, islands mainly dedicated to rest appear almost systematically in a more exclusive relationship with one or more societies. Most of the Cook Islands are frequented by the French and Germans. The British dominate in Fiji, some sharing with the French and Germans (the Mamanuca archipelago, the most frequented place in Fiji, ranked 23rd with a frequency of 178, Taveuni Island and Yasawa); others are practically monopolized by a single society (the French in Outrigger and on the Malolo Lailai archipelago, the British in Sonaisali, the Germans in Coral Coast, the Americans in Lilukilu, etc.). Thus, Waikiki, which ranks 14th overall, receives only British and North American people. The Marquesas and New Caledonia only saw the Germans and the French pass through. Some islands escape this and are frequented by almost all societies, as is the case of Nadi, only ignored by the British, or Hawaii, not often frequented by the French. Similarly, the main islands of French Polynesia are frequented by all societies, while the lesser-known ones only receive French people. 11.3.2. Practices of new tourism societies As in other regions of the world, the tourist places frequented by individuals in newly established tourism societies are fewer in number and less dispersed. The two main countries, Australia and New Zealand, stand out in a Pacific Ocean whose islands are rarely visited. Australia is mainly frequented by the Chinese and Russians along the eastern coastline, from Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef in the north to Melbourne in the south. Uluru-Ayers Rock is seen by the Russians, as well as Darwin and Kakadu National Park in the north. Among the islands in the north,

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Hawaii is popular. The archipelago is present in the TO catalogs dedicated to North America. In the south, Fiji is doing well for both societies, while the Chinese also frequent French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. 11.3.3. World connectiveness of places in the Oceania–Pacific region The places of greatest World connectiveness, the “universal places” in this region of the world are metropolises, notably the first, Sydney. Sydney shares with Cairns the highest number of visitors. But it is possible to distinguish, on the one hand, truly multi-functional tourist cities such as Queenstown, Melbourne, Auckland, from on the other hand, cities in which the tourist function is more developed. This is Cairns, which benefits from its coastal location, the proximity of the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforest, of which it is, in both cases, the main gateway. Queenstown also has a more tourism-oriented functional profile, but less so than Rotorua, which is a resort, or the Uluru site. The beaches of the multiple archipelagos have a lower level of World connectiveness and fall into the category of “places of a large part of the worlds” where they are located alongside less frequented tourist sites such as Kakadu National Park or the Blue Mountains, visited from Sydney, or stopover cities such as Alice Springs. We have included Hawaii in this category “places from a large part of the worlds”, and in particular Waikiki, because the archipelago is also included by some TOs in the North American region. This is particularly the case for Chinese TOs. Finally, many islands are “places of a world”. Some of them are outside the tourist world, which confirms the point that it is not enough to be a tropical island to be, de facto, touristic [COE 14]. World connectiveness

Places

Quality

Sydney Cairns Universal places or all worlds

Places of a large part of the worlds

Queenstown Melbourne Uluru (Ayers Rock) Auckland Rotorua Christchurch

Quantity More frequented

All worlds

Bora-Bora Moorea

Fewer British, fewer Russians

Wellington

Fewer Spanish

Moderately frequented

Less frequented

Oceania and the Pacific Islands

Places of a world

Alice Springs

Neither Russians, Chinese or Americans

Great Barrier Reef

Americans

Kakadu NP

No Spanish, few Germans

Brisbane Blue Mountains

No Spanish, few Americans

Adelaide

No Russians, no Chinese, few Americans

Milford Sound

Few Chinese and Germans

Waikiki Hawaii Honolulu Hawaii

Americans, British

Mamanuca

British, Germans

Island Fiji Maui Hawaii

Americans

Kauai Hawaii

Russians, Chinese

Gold Coast Lahaina Hawaii Kihei Hawaii Waikoloa Hawaii

Americans

Kailua-kona

Americans secondly, Germans

Hawaii

Americans, French

Tahiti Tikehau (French Polynesia)

Americans secondly, Germans

Kings Canyon

French, British

Nouméa Litchfield NP Huahine (French Polynesia)

French

Kata Tjuta (Olgas) Byron Bay Green Island

Chinese

Palaos Guam

Germans

Perth Ha’apai Tonga Big Island Islands Bay of Surfers Paradise

British

275

Less frequented

276

The Tourist Places of the World

Places of a world Places outside the World

Paihia Broome Noosa Wallis-et-Futuna Marshall Kiribati

Germans British in second place, French Germans –

Table 11.2. Globality of tourist places in Oceania–Pacific according to the exploitation of tour operators’ catalogues

11.4. Conclusion At the same time sparsely populated, and therefore providing only small quotas for a less dynamic intra-regional tourism, and isolated on the other side of the world, the region hardly appears on a tourist map, a little like South America, another region that is more dreamed of than travelled. A dualism in practices is the other dominant feature: the two largest islands are dedicated to discovery, while the myriad of archipelagos scattered in the vast Pacific Ocean seduce tourists with its beaches. 11.5. Atlas16

Map 11.1. Main tourist places in the Oceania-Pacific region according to the frequency analysis of British TO catalogs, years 2015–2018 16 For color versions of the maps in this section, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip.

Oceania and the Pacific Islands

Map 11.2. Main tourist places in the Oceania–Pacific region according to the frequency analysis of French TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 11.3. Main tourist places in the Oceania–Pacific region according to the frequency analysis of German TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

277

278

The Tourist Places of the World

Map 11.4. Main tourist places in the Oceania–Pacific region according to the frequency analysis of the Spanish TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 11.5. Main tourist places in the Oceania–Pacific region according to the frequency analysis of American TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

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279

Map 11.6. Main tourist places in the Oceania–Pacific region according to the frequency analysis of Russian TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Map 11.7. Main tourist attractions in the Oceania–Pacific region according to the frequency analysis of Chinese TO catalogs, years 2015–2018

Conclusion A World Connectiveness of Places Influenced by Tourist Practices

This overview of the world through tourist places confirms that while the world has become, since the end of the 20th Century, totally tourist with a double meaning of accessible – almost everywhere – and this from all worlds, resistance remains. Distance remains a barrier, as do conflicts and various risks, but also the representations and practices of societies and individuals lead to irregularities in the overall picture. Thus, if the space of discovery of the worlds is maximally extended, that of rest is more fragmented. Indeed, while the first one leads all societies travelling all over the planet, the second one confines each society to its region of the world, or to a relative proximity. And while Europeans flock to the Mediterranean basin, for this practice which requires warm water and air, towards the distant shores of the Indian Ocean, it is because the Sahara opposes, to the southern law of Europe, its arid mass. A first conclusion outlines the types of places based on the typology proposed by Philippe Duhamel [DUH 18]. Places of discovery dominate the hierarchy and constitute the main part of tourist metropolises (Map C.11), which are also in most cases metropolises in the full sense of the term, or hyper-places [LUS 17]. On the fringes, some major tourist places are not really complete metropolises, because the influence of tourism in their history and current events is still too great (in North America, Las Vegas, Orlando and Miami, Cancún in Central America and Cairns in Australia). We are therefore creating an additional type to distinguish these high places, these giants of tourism, but whose affirmation in the concert of world metropolises is an unfinished process.

1 For color versions of the maps in this section, see www.iste.co.uk/violier/touristplaces.zip.

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Map C.1. Typology of tourist places in the world based on the analysis of tour operator catalogs of different societies

282 The Tourist Places of the World

Conclusion

283

Similarly, other metropolises are no longer merely tourist cities, notably Venice, which has become the archetype of the touristified city, but by a decline in past glory, and not by the growth of tourism. Tourist cities, also dedicated to discovery, are the most numerous, with their spatial distribution underlining the map of the world’s civilizations. In addition, there are the stopover cities which, during tours, provide the necessary rest along long distances. Finally, the sites complete the range of places entertained by tourism. In a second group, the places invented by tourism are not reserved for one practice but shared between rest and other practices. These places are called resorts, when they are open and inhabited by a permanent population, or posts, when they are closed and occupied by tourism workers only – a mixed category (tourist resorts and posts) includes those places for which distinction is not possible on this scale. Generally, those dedicated to rest and play as a dominant practice are in a coastal situation, while the others are more oriented towards the discovery of variable objects, from safaris and biophysical sites to the isolated legacies of extinct civilizations. A second conclusion takes into account the intensity of tourism based on two maps. One (Map C.2) distinguishes between places according to three levels of attendance (very important, important, average, depending on the frequency of citation of each place). The other takes into account the total number of tourist days proposed in the catalogues for all the places mentioned (Map C.3). These representations highlight the importance of Europe and the Mediterranean basin. On the one hand, the combination of high density and strong social support for tourism, holidays and free time fuels powerful internal tourist flows. On the other hand, individuals from non-European Western societies in search of origins converge on this region, and those from other societies, as tourists, come to admire the old world. Beyond that, the reduction in attendance in the southern Mediterranean basin, along the African shoreline and in the heart of the Sahara, induced by political instability, is clear. Secondly, the regions populated by non-European Western societies, in North America and Australia, or by mixed populations, particularly in Central and South America, have a configuration that opposes a high density of tourist places on the periphery to a fairly empty interior, in relation to their settlement patterns.

Map C.2. Tourism in the world according to three categories of attendance based on the analysis of tourist places in the world from the catalogs of tour operators of different societies

284 The Tourist Places of the World

Map C.3. Touristicity in the world according to the frequency of citations of places elaborated from the catalogs of tour operators of different societies

Conclusion 285

286

The Tourist Places of the World

Part of the Rocky Mountain system, both in southwestern Canada and the southwestern United States, escapes this system because of the density of natural parks, with landscapes that are widely publicized through film production. Above all, Central America is a dense and more massive arrangement that is partly due to the narrowness of the isthmus, and partly due to the success of the Caribbean islands, particularly with North Americans. Beyond that, South America has a lower number of visitors than the North, reflecting the process of economic emergence. Second, emerging worlds have a density of tourist places in general, and very tourist places even lower than the two major centers of Europe and North and Central America. In detail, Southeast Asia has the most compact mass, benefiting both from the interest shown by Europeans, particularly during their winter, and from the more recent enthusiasm of the Chinese, who benefit from proximity. In addition, the less advanced process and the slower path taken by India is clearly reflected on the map in a lower mass. A straight line of low relative tourism crosses all of Africa and West and North Asia, leaving aside an axis that, from Ethiopia to the Republic of South Africa, is rather intensely frequented, at the same level as South America, and essentially by individuals from other worlds. This straight line starts from Central and West Africa, passes through Western Asia, not the Mediterranean, and joins Siberia. It is only interrupted by a rather weak group of places from Oman to Uzbekistan via Iran. A third approach by the World connectiveness2 of places is based on the distinction between the universal places of the world, that is, those in which all the societies of the world meet, even if our approach is a generalization based on seven cases; the places of a large part of the worlds and the places of one or two worlds (Map C.4). The spatial distribution is not very different from the previous one and, in fact, it underlines the relationship between tourism and the quality of places as seen in their relationship with the world. The large masses appear in Europe, in East and Southeast Asia, but also in a less concentrated way on the periphery of South America, in South and East Africa and in Oceania, between the Pacific coast of Australia and New Zealand. We can close this work with a summarizing map (Map C.5) that brings together three dimensions: the typology treated by symbols of different shapes, the frequentation represented by the size of the symbols and the color that informs us of the degree of World connectiveness.

2 See definition in section 1.7.

Map C.4. Different degrees of World connectiveness of tourist places according to the frequency of citations of places drawn up from the catalogs of tour operators of different societies

Conclusion 287

Map C.5. Summary of world tourism by citation frequency places taken from the catalogs of tour operators of different societies

288 The Tourist Places of the World

References

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[UNE 19] UNESCO, Description of Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, UNESCO, available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1338, accessed on 6 January 2018. [UNW 12] World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Yearbook of Tourism Statistics Date 2007–2011, UNWTO Publications, Madrid, 2012. [UNW 17] World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Yearbook of Tourism Statistics Date 2011–2015, UNWTO Publications, Madrid, 2017. [URR 90] URRY J., The Tourist Gaze, Sage Publications, London, 1990. [VAC 17] VACHER L., “Espaces fantasmés et lieux pratiqués du tourisme en Australie”, in COËFFÉ V. (ed.), Le tourisme, de nouvelles manières d’habiter le Monde, Ellipses, Paris, pp. 400–416, 2017. [VER 18a] VERGÈS M., “Plus de la moitié des plus pauvres dans le monde vivent en Afrique”, Le Monde, September 2018. [VER 18b] VERGÈS M., “En Amérique latine, un prix du sang très élevé”, Le Monde, November 2018. [VER 16] VÉRON E., Les espaces ruraux à l’heure du tourisme citadin, PhD Thesis, Université Paris 1, 2016. [VIK 11] VIKEN A., “Reinventing ethnic identity: a local festival as a national institution on a global scene”, in GRENIER A., MÜLLER D. (eds), Polar tourism. A Tool for Regional Development, Presses de l’Université du Québec, Quebec, pp. 179–206, 2011. [VIO 00] VIOLIER P., “Points de vue et lieux touristiques du monde”, Mappemonde, vol. 57, pp. 7–11, 2000.

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Index

A Abu Dhabi, 200, 209–213 Adeje, 153, 154, 160 Adelaide, 271–273, 275 Africa, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 29, 84, 89, 92, 93, 125, 135, 137, 142, 143, 167–170, 174, 176–181, 183, 184, 186–193, 201, 211, 221, 226 Agadir, 153, 160 Agra, 201, 202, 209, 210, 211, 213 Alice Springs, 271, 272, 274, 275 Amboise, 17, 150 Amboseli National Park, 172 America Central, 67–70, 73, 77, 79, 84, 91, 92, 156, 185, 281, 286, North, 7, 12, 43–46, 51, 55, 59–61, 84, 89, 210, 239, 265, 274 South, 7, 44, 57, 69, 89–91, 93, 94, 98, 104, 106, 107, 276 Amman, 204, 209, 210, 213 Amsterdam, 118, 124, 127–128 Angers, 158 Antalya, 153, 160 Antarctic Peninsula, 103, 105 Antigua, 76, 79, 80, 82 appropriation, 21, 127, 145, 171

Arab Spring, 14, 137, 140, 199 Arenal Lake Volcano, 79 Arequipa, 97, 98, 103, 105, 106 Arles, 150 Arusha National Park, 180 Asia Northeast, 239, 247, 255–259 Southeast, 219, 222–224, 226, 231–238, 240, 241, 262 West, 195, 207, 209, 212–217 Athens, 127, 140, 142, 144, 151, 152, 156, 159 attractions biophysical, 16, 18, 30, 31, 49, 77, 80, 83, 94, 98, 99, 103, 105– 107 122, 168–170, 178, 200, 208, 266, 269, 273 socially constructed, 16, 19, 21, 40, 50, 70, 75, 80, 94, 95, 102, 118, 120, 181, 184, 253 Auckland, 265, 267, 271, 273, 274 Avignon, 158, 159

B Bagan, 231, 234 Bali, 14, 31, 221–223, 227–230, 232– 234

The Tourist Places of the World, First Edition. Philippe Violier and Benjamin Taunay. © ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

302

The Tourist Places of the World

Banff National Park, 51, 52, 55–60 Bangkok, 222, 226, 229, 230, 233, 234 Barcelona, 127, 144, 151, 152, 156, 157, 159 Bavaro Beach, 73, 78, 84 bay Good Hope, 180, 183 Halong, 33, 34, 227, 231–234 Bayahibe, 79, 84 Beaujolais, 150 Beijing, 39, 242–244, 246, 248–251, 253, 254, 262 Belle Mare, 170, 180, 183, 186 Benidorm, 151, 152, 154, 160 Bergen, 124, 129 Berlin, 20, 117, 118, 124, 127, 129, 159 Blue Mountains National Park, 266 Bodrum, 153, 154, 156, 160 Bogota, 91, 102, 103, 106 Bora Bora, 268–271, 274 Bordeaux, 158 Boston, 46–48, 53, 55, 57, 58, 60 Bukhara, 206, 210, 211, 213 Brisbane, 272, 275 Brussels, 124, 129 Bryce Canyon National Park, 50, 55 Budapest, 118, 124, 129 Buenos Aires, 76, 91, 94, 95, 99, 101, 103–107, 119 Busan, 243, 245, 247, 248, 255

C Cairns, 268, 269, 271, 273, 274 Cajuns, 49, 58–60 Cancún, 70, 78, 80, 83 Cannes, 18, 150 Cape Town, 170, 176–179, 182–185, 208 Caribbean, 8, 12, 15, 43, 72–74, 76, 84, 91, 135, 156, 159, 183, 185

Cartagena, 95, 102, 103, 105 Cayo Santa Maria, 73, 79, 82, 84 Chambord, 17, 150 Chengdu, 247, 255 Chenonceau, 17, 150 Chiang Mai, 226, 229, 231, 233, 234 Chicago, 47, 53, 55, 58, 60 Chichen Itza, 75, 79, 80, 82, 83 Christchurch, 271–274 Cochin, 203, 210, 213 Colombo, 226, 227, 231, 234 conflicts, 27, 29, 69, 82, 177, 212 Copenhagen, 118, 124, 129 Corfu, 148, 151, 152, 160 Corralejo, 153, 160 Cuenca, 107 Cusco, 103

D Dead Sea, 210, 213 decline linked to the excessive number of tourists (Butler), 18 Denpasar, 231 density/densities, 10, 21, 30, 44, 68, 90, 158, 160, 168, 220, 227, 261, 262 Diani Beach, 180, 181, 183 discovery (practice of), 4, 10, 17, 21, 38, 41, 47, 52, 56, 57, 59, 61, 71, 73, 75, 77, 80, 82–84, 89, 94, 95, 98–100, 102, 104, 107, 117, 118, 120–122, 125, 127, 130, 135, 144, 145, 147, 149–154, 156–158, 160, 167, 170, 171, 175–177, 179, 181–184, 200, 203, 204, 206–209, 211, 212, 223, 231, 233, 235, 239, 243, 245, 248, 251, 255, 265, 268, 269, 273, 276 disparities, 25, 27, 30, 32, 42, 73, 117, 168, 219, 226, 228, 242

Index

distance, 4, 9, 10, 12, 15, 22, 24–26, 36, 43–45, 55, 89, 93, 105, 107, 117, 136, 137, 140, 141, 143, 145, 177, 211, 223, 239, 262 Dubai, 174, 184, 199, 200, 209, 211– 213 Dublin, 118, 124, 129 Dubrovnik, 144, 151, 152, 157, 159

E Edinburgh, 118, 124, 129 El Calafate, 99, 102, 103, 105, 106 emerging societies, 9 Esfahan, 207, 210, 213 Ethosha National Park, 180 Europe, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 29, 31, 35, 36, 41, 43, 59, 61, 78, 81, 89, 93, 115–118, 122–126, 128–133, 135–138, 140, 142–144, 147, 153, 156, 158, 159, 167, 168, 195, 199, 208, 239, 265

F, G Faro, 153, 156, 160 Florence, 144, 151, 152, 156, 157, 159 Funchal, 147, 151, 152, 154, 159, 160 Glasgow, 124, 129 Gold Coast, 269, 272, 275 Grand Canyon National Park, 55 Grasse, 150 Guilin, 242, 245, 247, 248, 250, 255 Gyeongju, 245, 247, 255

H habitus, 4 Hakone, 245, 247, 255 Hanoi, 33, 34, 227, 229, 231, 232, 234 Havana, 76, 78, 80, 82, 83 health risks, 10, 30, 168

303

Helsinki, 124, 129 Heraklion, 147, 152, 156, 159, 160 heritage, 20, 33, 47–49, 52, 53, 56, 77, 80, 94–98, 101, 118, 119, 121, 125, 130, 135, 136, 174, 175, 201, 204, 205, 207, 222, 232, 244, 248, 250–252, 266, 267 heterogeneity of the World, 17, 25, 26, 40, 181, 206 Hiroshima, 243, 246, 247, 254 Ho Chi Minh, 227, 229, 230, 234 Hoi An, 227, 229, 231, 234 Honfleur, 158 Hong Kong, 11, 25, 240, 244, 245, 247, 251, 254 Honolulu, 55, 57, 58, 60, 263, 275 Hurghada, 149, 152, 153, 156, 157, 159 hyperplaces, 42

I, J Iguaçu/Iguazú, 13, 102, 103, 105–107 innovation, 21 invention of tourism, 13, 22 Istanbul, 151, 152, 156, 159, 198 Jaipur, 201, 202, 209–213 Jasper, 51, 52, 55, 56, 58, 60 Jeju, 243, 245, 247, 251, 255 Jerash, 210, 213 Jerusalem, 204, 209, 211, 213 Jodhpur, 203, 210, 213 Johannesburg, 170, 176, 178, 180, 183–185

K Kakadu National Park, 266, 272–275 Kanazawa, 247, 255 Kandy, 226, 227, 231, 234 Kangaroo Island, 272 Kaohsiung, 245, 247 Kathmandu, 207–210, 213

304

The Tourist Places of the World

Khao Lak, 231 Khiva, 206, 210, 213 Kings Canyon, 266, 272, 275 Koh Samui, 229, 230, 234 Kos, 153, 160 Krakow, 124 Kruger Park, 177, 179 Kuala Lumpur, 229, 230, 233, 234 Kyoto, 243–246, 248, 251, 254

L La Paz, 95, 102, 104, 105, 107 lake Nakuru, 179, 180, 184 Titicaca, 97, 98, 102, 104, 107 Las Vegas, 52–55, 57, 59–61 leeway, 4 Lhassa, 255 Lima, 91, 95–98, 102–107 Lisbon, 92, 144, 151, 152, 156, 159 London, 20, 115, 118, 120, 121, 123, 127–129, 159, 170, 178, 203, 262 Los Angeles, 50, 53–55, 57–60 Luang Prabang, 222, 231, 234 Lyon, 158

M Maasai Mara, 170, 177–179, 183–185 Machu Picchu, 94, 96, 98, 102, 103, 105–107 Madrid, 1, 118, 144, 151, 152, 154, 156, 157, 159 Mahé, 170, 174, 179, 183, 185 Malaga, 151, 153 Mamanuca Islands, 272, 275 Manuel Antonio National Park, 77, 79 Marmari, 153 Marrakech, 151, 152, 154, 156, 159 Marseille, 150 mass tourism, 9, 14, 24, 40, 91

Mauritius, 10, 138, 139, 169–171, 173–175, 180–184 Mediterranean, 19, 20, 115, 125, 127 135–138, 142, 144, 151, 153, 156, 160, 167, 195, 204, 261, 263, 269 Melbourne, 265, 271, 273, 274 Merida, 76, 79, 80, 82, 83 method, 6, 38–42, 59, 70, 73, 118, 122, 136, 142, 168 Mexico, 10, 44–46, 52, 67–70, 75, 76, 78–83 Miami, 49, 55, 57, 60, 61 Milford Sound, 266, 271–273, 275 modernity, 20, 48, 54, 106, 118, 119, 157, 211, 229, 244, 248, 252, 265 Mombasa, 171, 180, 181, 184 Monaco, 141, 150, 159 Montego Bay, 73, 78, 84 Monteverde Cloud Forest, 77, 79, 80, 82 Montreal, 46, 47, 53–55, 57–61 Moorea, 268–272, 274 Moscow, 26, 37, 71, 118, 119, 124, 129 Mumbai, 203, 210, 213 Munich, 118, 124, 129, 159 Muscat, 210, 213 Mykonos, 153, 160

N Nairobi, 170, 172, 178, 180, 184, 185 Nara, 247, 254 Negril, 78, 79, 84 New Orleans, 44, 49, 53, 55, 58, 60, 61 New York, 28, 46, 47, 53–55, 57, 59– 61, 178, 248 Ngonrongoro, 180 Nha Trang, 229, 230, 234 Niagara Falls, 49, 54, 55, 57–61 Nice, 83, 135, 150, 158, 159 Nikko, 247, 255

Index

O Oceania, 45, 89, 261, 272, 274, 276– 279, 286 Ocho Rios, 79, 84 Okavango (Delta), 170, 178, 180, 183, 185 Ollantaytambo, 96, 104, 107 Omaha and Juno Beach, 150 Orlando, 48, 54, 55, 57–61 Osaka, 244, 247, 254 Oslo, 117, 118, 124, 129 otherness, 9, 10, 12, 15, 25, 36–38, 40, 59, 117, 118, 136, 138, 149, 158 Ottawa, 45, 47, 55, 58, 60, 69

P Pacific, 7, 9, 12, 15, 45, 46, 50, 51, 56, 74, 94, 96, 98, 101, 102, 221, 233, 261, 263, 264, 270, 272–274, 276–279 Panama City, 76, 79, 80, 83, 84 Papeete, 269, 270, 272 Paphos, 147, 152, 154, 160 Paris, 20, 45, 91, 100, 118, 127, 140, 147, 156–159, 222 Pattaya, 229, 230 Perito Moreno, 107 Petra, 198, 204, 205, 210, 211, 213 Philadelphia, 47, 54, 55, 58, 60, 61 Phuket, 226, 229–230, 234 Phuket-Karon, 231, 234 Phuket-Patong, 230 pilgrimages, 4, 203 places of a large part of the world, 61, 84, 106, 158, 186, 213, 234, 255, 274 of a world, 82, 84, 130, 160, 235, 274, 275 universal or all worlds, 42, 60, 61, 83, 106, 129, 158, 159, 184, 185, 213, 233, 234, 254, 274, 286

305

play (practice of), 4, 21, 23, 24, 30, 50, 52, 57–59, 72, 105, 116, 118, 144, 152, 154, 156, 169, 172, 174, 183, 204, 206, 252, 270, 274 Playa Blanca, 160 Playa de Las Americas, 153, 160 Playa del Carmen, 73, 78, 84 Playa del Ingles, 153, 160 Porto, 151, 153 post, 149, 181, 204 Prague, 117–119, 123, 125, 129 Praslin, 170, 174, 179, 183, 186 Puerto de la Cruz, 153, 160 Puerto del Carmen, 153 Puerto Vallarta, 79 Puno, 97, 98, 102, 104, 107 Punta Cana, 73, 78, 84

Q, R Quebec, 44, 46, 47, 52–55, 57–61 Queenstown, 265, 270, 271, 273, 274 Quito, 95, 101–103, 105, 106 Rarotonga, 272 representations, 10, 16–17, 20, 22, 42, 67, 73, 75, 92, 94, 106, 135, 172, 239, 252, 264 rest (practice of), 4, 21, 23, 24, 26, 56, 82, 84, 102, 115, 125, 130, 135, 145, 147, 149, 151, 154, 156, 157, 159, 160, 167, 171, 172, 175, 179, 182–185, 204, 208, 223, 227, 228, 232, 235, 245, 252, 255, 268, 269, 271, 273 Reykjavik, 122–124, 129 Rhodes, 147, 151, 152, 156 Riga, 124, 129 Rio, 21, 91, 92, 94, 100, 101, 103– 107, 157, 252 Riviera Maya, 70, 73, 78, 82–84 Rome, 118, 127, 141, 144–147, 151, 152, 154, 156–159 Rotorua, 265, 267, 269, 271, 273, 274

306

The Tourist Places of the World

S Saint-Gilles, 170, 180, 183, 186 Saint-Malo, 158 Salvador de Bahia, 95, 102, 103, 105, 106 Saly, 180, 183, 186 Salzburg, 124, 129 Samarkand, 206, 210, 211, 213 San Antonio, 49, 160 San Francisco, 50, 53–55, 57, 60 San José, 80, 82, 83 San Pedro de Atacama, 99, 102, 103, 107 Santa Maria, 170, 180, 183, 186 Santiago, 80, 82, 95, 101–103, 105– 107 Sanur, 229–231, 234 Sanya, 245, 247 second diffusion, 14 Seoul, 243, 246, 248, 254 Serengeti, 170, 177–179, 183–185 Shanghai, 239, 244, 246–248, 250–254 Shiraz, 207, 210, 213 shopping (practice of), 21, 23, 36, 106, 120, 127, 128, 157, 229, 230, 244, 252, 253, 270 Siem Reap, 228, 229, 231, 233, 234 Singapore, 11, 219, 220, 226, 229, 230, 232, 234, 240 site, 34, 48, 50, 54, 75, 78, 94, 97, 99, 102, 105, 120, 141, 148, 150–152, 177, 178, 198, 199, 202, 204, 205, 232, 233, 246, 250, 254, 265, 266, 274 sociability (practice of), 4, 21, 144, 252 socialization, 1, 3–5, 8, 9, 11, 14–16, 19, 21, 22, 24–26, 28, 30–32, 34, 36–39, 41, 43, 45, 51, 53, 83, 94, 118, 138, 145, 150, 155, 156, 202, 222, 261, 273 space technologies, 11, 36, 42 St. Petersburg, 118, 119, 124, 129

state boundaries, 6 Stockholm, 118, 124, 129 stopover city, 56, 59, 125, 150, 178 Strasbourg, 158 Sydney, 262, 265, 266, 271, 273, 274

T Takayama, 247, 255 Tallinn, 124, 129 Taroko National Park, 247 Tashkent, 205, 210, 211, 213, 247 Teguise, 149, 153 Tehran, 206, 207, 210, 213 Tel Aviv, 204, 209, 210, 212, 213 tensions, 10, 26, 27, 29, 31, 34, 69, 70, 72, 83, 92, 127, 130, 142, 152, 156, 157, 168, 177, 195–197, 212– 214, 222, 242, 251 Tiberias, 204, 210 Tokyo, 91, 243, 244, 246, 248, 251, 253, 254, 262 Toronto, 46, 47, 53–55, 57–60 Torres del Paine, 99, 102, 103, 105, 106 Tortuguero, 77, 79, 80, 82, 84 tour operators, 11, 24, 26, 30, 36, 37, 39–42, 45, 46, 48, 55–65, 67, 70, 73, 85–88, 93, 95–97, 99, 100, 104–106, 108–114, 116, 118, 120, 121, 125, 127–133, 136, 138–140, 142, 145, 149, 153, 154, 157, 160– 166, 168–172, 175–178, 182, 184, 187–193, 197, 205, 207, 208, 210, 212–217, 226, 229, 232, 233, 235– 238, 239, 240, 242, 243, 249–251, 253, 255–259, 268, 270, 272, 274, 276–279, 285, 287, 288 tourism practices, 1, 5, 21, 22, 28, 31, 37–42, 43, 52, 54, 56, 57, 73– 75, 81, 82, 91, 104, 117, 121, 122, 125, 127, 130, 135–137,

Index

144–146, 149, 151, 153, 159, 160, 167–170, 175, 181, 184, 186, 204, 206, 209, 211, 212, 219, 227, 231–233, 235, 239, 248–252, 263–265, 267, 270– 273, 276 statistics, 1–3, 6, 15, 27, 38, 39, 41, 44, 74, 90, 105, 118, 141, 142, 205, 223, 264 resort, 23, 54, 56, 73, 80, 83, 104, 121, 149, 151, 155–157, 159, 207, 227, 263, 271, 274 touristicity, 43, 135, 168, 184, 200, 264 touristification, 17, 80, 102, 107, 233 travel business, 4, 9, 37, 90, 118, 241 organized, 10, 37 Trinidad, 76, 79, 80, 83, 101 trips school, 4 Tulum, 75, 79, 80, 84 typology of tourist places, 22, 42, 53, 56, 78, 101, 123, 149, 151, 177, 209, 229, 245, 270

U, V Ubud, 229, 231, 234 Udaipur, 203, 210, 213 Uluru (Ayers Rock), 271, 273, 274 Ushuaïa, 94, 99, 101, 102, 104–106 Vancouver, 50, 52, 55–60

307

Varadero, 73, 78, 82, 84 Venice, 17, 144, 151, 152, 154, 156, 157, 159 Versailles, 150, 158, 159 Victoria, 50, 55–58, 60, 61, 169, 170, 176, 178, 179, 182–184, 244, 265 Victoria Falls, 169, 170, 178, 179, 183–185 Vienna, 118–120, 123, 127–129, 206

W Waikiki, 263, 268–275 Warsaw, 124, 129 Washington, 46, 47, 54, 55, 57, 58, 60, 61 Wellington, 265, 267, 272–274 Windhoek, 170, 178, 180, 183, 185, 186 world order, 27, 28 World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 25, 27, 28, 39, 45, 141, 223, 241

X, Y, Z Xi’an, 243, 244, 246–248, 250, 254 Yangon, 231, 234 Yellowstone National Park, 55 York, 124, 129 Yosemite National Park, 55 Zanzibar, 170, 171, 179, 183, 184, 185, 201

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