1. Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed Special Interest Tourism 1

2. Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed What is this presentation about? Investigating the location of special interest tourism The nature of the activities involved Identifying a range of special interest tourism categories Beginning to analyse the motives of people interested in ‘dark tourism’

3. Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed A range of special interest tourist categories Regional Tourism – Growth in interest in travel to regions of the UK and the major cities within regions, supported by upgrading of transport links and attractions. Cultural Tourism - Turning visits to arts, sports and other events into a weekend stay or centre-piece of a holiday

4. Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed A range of special interest tourist categories Heritage Tourism - Impact of Lottery funding to upgrade existing heritage sites and create visitor attractions at new locations. Growing interest in the heritage of industrial age in Britain, as we fully embrace the post-industrial era. Rural Tourism – See activity on Tourism in the Countryside.

5. Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed A range of special interest tourist categories Educational Tourism – for example, learn a language in the country where it is spoken. Cycle Tourism – Integrating transport links to enable people to tour further afield on their (or hired) bicycles. Aboriginal Cultures and Indigenous Tourism - Greater recognition and respect for ancient cultures has spread even as defence of these cultures in some cases has lessened.

6. Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed A range of special interest tourist categories Travelling for Health – The growth and re-birth of spa and health resorts. Personal well-being becomes the focal point of the tourism experience. Environmental Tourism - ‘Green’ holiday locations and activities include environmentally-friendly forms of travel as well as visitor locations offering ‘green’ experiences.

7. Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed A range of special interest tourist categories Wine and Food Tourism - Food and wine festivals, journeys through wine and food producing areas. Travel and activity form part of the entire holiday experience. The Cruise Experience - This sector has seen rapid growth in the past twenty years.

8. Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed A range of special interest tourist categories Festivals and Events Tourism - Celebrating global, national and regional festivals and events. Cultural and religious festivals especially popular, for example pilgrimage to the Hajj. Seniors Tourism - Boosted by increased life expectancy in the developed world and by a general rise in affluence of some senior citizens, the market for ‘grey’ tourism is expanding.

9. Copyright 2007 – Biz/ed Points to Remember These categories overlap in many cases. Cycle tourism may involve aspects of ‘green’ tourism, rural tourism, travelling for health and wine and food tourism. It’s helpful to be able to imagine a range of special interest tourism categories, though. One of these that we shall look at now is ‘dark tourism’. See the Activity for more.