As the travel industry develops at warp speed, challenges for practitioners and academics have grown exponentially. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, this collection discusses some present trends in the development of tourism. The first section explores and sharpens some of the tools of the trade with special attention to content analysis and public–private ownership of tourist attractions. In the second part the focus is on the challenges posed by globalisation and the emergence of new nation states. The final chapters discuss new attractions such as space tourism and the impact of cultural events on urban destinations. Both the introduction and the conclusion assess a number of trends that delineate the future from a multidisciplinary perspective.



Special attention is devoted to threats and opportunities created by unexpected events like global terrorism, SARS, or the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. While all of them have exacted a heavy toll on the development of the industry, further growth has nevertheless remained unabated once their impact was assessed and duly digested by the public.