The rise of digitalisation, social media, low-cost flights, the sharing economy and experiential consumption has significantly transformed the traditional framework of tourism at the beginning of the 21st century (Timothy-Michalkó-Irimiás 2022). The scientific discourse on the totalisation of tourism has barely begun before the largest and longest lasting recession in tourism history (Domínguez-Mujica et al. 2023). The COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, the energy crisis, inflation, extreme weather events linked to global warming, the migration crisis, often interlinked and catalysed by each other, have kept the economic and social environment of European tourism in a state of permanent turbulence since 2020. The tourism industry, which is slowly returning to its usual growth path, must meet the changing needs of demand in today’s polycrisis environment. Meanwhile, popular tourism destinations have reached the limits of their capacity, public patience is running out and local authorities are trying to reduce traffic by a variety of tools. Solid governmental enforcement of the principle of sustainable development is unable to inhibit undesirable levels of tourism, so individual liability and responsible travel are coming to the fore, and degrowth voices are increasingly being heard. Today, tourism has taken on a dual image, trying to preserve its traditional character and incorporating many new phenomena. The session aims to provide a forum for presentations that explore the changes taking place in European tourism, their background and their impact. The primary aim of the session is to enrich the theory of tourism mobility, but the organisers also wish to provide space for case studies supporting typology and managerial implications. The relevance of space and time will be a primary consideration when discussing changes affecting tourism mobility. The session will be organised collaborating with IGU Commission on Global Change and Human Mobility (GLOBILITY Study Group).

References:

Domínguez-Mujica, J., Drbohlav, D., Fonseca, M. L., Göler, D., Krišjāne, Z., Li, W., … & Staniscia, B. (2023). Global Change and Human Mobility in the Anthropocene. In Research Directions, Challenges and Achievements of Modern Geography (pp. 121-140). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.

Timothy, D. J., Michalkó, G., & Irimiás, A. (2022). Unconventional tourist mobility: A geography-oriented theoretical framework. Sustainability, 14(11), 6494.