Critical Issues in Air Transport and Tourism

Abstract

The paper is a review of current issues and literature on air transportation as it is related to tourism. It focuses on three salient issues facing international commercial air transport and their resulting implications for global tourist flows. First, the wider aeropolitical environment is reviewed. This is followed by a review of recent developments in airline operations. Finally, the issue of carbon pricing on aviation is addressed. On the basis that tourism and air transport are intricately linked, the paper advocates for forward planning by tourism destinations that include reviews of the external operating environments faced by airlines. This, as it is argued, will assist with securing accessibility and connectivity.

Key Words:

• Air transport
• aeropolitics
• climate policy
• accessibility
• connectivity
• low-cost carriers
• partnerships
• market liberalization
• review paper

Acknowledgements

The author thanks to Alan Lew and two anonymous reviewers for their extremely valuable feedback. The author also thanks to Gui Lohmann, Tay Koo, David Tan and John Macilree for the ongoing discussions about many of the issues contained herein. Of course, errors of fact or interpretation rest solely with the author. The author gratefully acknowledges funding from the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development and the New Zealand Ministry of Science and Innovation under the Tourism and Aviation: Critical Linkages project.