Sustainable accessibility in rural destinations: a public transport network approach

Abstract

There can be no sustainable tourism development without sustainable mobility, which is contingent on informed planning and policy. In rural regions, tourist attractions are spatially scattered, and poor transport planning translates into lower accessibility for non-driving visitors, yet few sustainable planning tools are available for non-urban tourism contexts. This article seeks to fill this gap by combining advances in transport geography, rural transport, and transport for tourism, and we develop an original algorithm for evaluating sustainable accessibility of tourist attractions within regional rural destinations. Based on the Spatial Network Analysis for Multimodal Urban Transport Systems (SNAMUTS) framework, the use of spatial network measures is presented in a scalable and understandable manner that can be replicated by users with basic mathematical skills and computer software. The applicability of the algorithm is illustrated in the case of West Balaton Region in Hungary. The article demonstrates the use of sustainable transport accessibility as a measure for transport evaluation that considers both environmental aspects and social justice framed as sustainable tourism participation for all.

Keywords:

• Sustainable accessibility
• social justice
• public transport
• rural tourism
• SNAMUTS

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kristof Tomej

Kristof Tomej is a Researcher & Lecturer and PhD candidate at the Department of Tourism and Service Management, MODUL University Vienna (Austria). His research interests include inclusive and accessible travel, tourist experiences and experience design, as well as sustainable mobility in tourism.

Janne J. Liburd

Dr. Dr. Janne Liburd is professor of tourism and the director of the Centre for Tourism, Innovation and Culture at the University of Southern Denmark. By ministerial appointments, Janne is the Chairman of the UNESCO World Heritage Wadden Sea National Park. And she serves on the Danish National Tourism Forum, charged with developing the first strategy for tourism in Denmark. She is a cultural anthropologist: her research interests are sustainable tourism development, innovation, national parks, and tourism higher education.