Drive tourism

Within the tourism industry, the increase in drive tourism has been noted and some regions have responded by developing marketing and planning strategies to take advantage of the economic possibilities that this trend may bring to rural and remote communities. [...] Despite the relative significance of the drive tourism market within the tourism industry and recognition by the tourism literature of the important role of transport within the industry (Prideaux, 2000), drive tourism has been described as “tourism’s silent majority” (Olsen, 2003, p.332). [...] Building upon Prideaux’s (2000) argument, the development of touring routes as part of the drive tourism experience has arguably changed the way in which the tourism system may be viewed. [...] For this paper, the tool is applied to drive tourism research and it considers the application of a range of different methods. [...] Touring Route Development Since the advent of the motor vehicle, scenic drives and famous highways have come into being, such as Route 66 in the United States of America which was established in 1926, the Icefields Parkway in the Canadian Rockies or the Alaska Highway.