TOURISMOS is an international, multi-disciplinary, refereed (peer ...
TOURISMOS is an international, multi-disciplinary, refereed (peer ...
TOURISMOS is an international, multi-disciplinary, refereed (peer ...
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<strong>TOURISMOS</strong>: AN INTERNATIONAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF TOURISM<br />
Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2011, pp. 165-191<br />
UDC: 338.48+640(050)<br />
NEW TOURISM IN A NEW SOCIETY ARISES FROM<br />
“PEAK OIL”<br />
James Leigh 1<br />
University of Nicosia<br />
Mass <strong>international</strong> tour<strong>is</strong>m has thrived on the abund<strong>an</strong>t <strong>an</strong>d cheap supply of<br />
energy, <strong>an</strong>d th<strong>is</strong> may be about to ch<strong>an</strong>ge as the world moves towards “Peak Oil”.<br />
The result<strong>an</strong>t scarcity <strong>an</strong>d high price of all energy fuels will produce ch<strong>an</strong>ges in<br />
hum<strong>an</strong> activities across the board, <strong>an</strong>d specifically in tour<strong>is</strong>m. In th<strong>is</strong> looming<br />
tr<strong>an</strong>sitional era, which has probably already arrived, tour<strong>is</strong>m needs to make some<br />
dramatic ch<strong>an</strong>ges to harmonize with the new realities of a post-energy world <strong>an</strong>d<br />
its new society.<br />
Keywords: “Peak Oil”, society, tour<strong>is</strong>m, future, oil, energy<br />
JEL Classification: L83, M1, O1<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
“Peak Oil” occurs when the world has consumed half its available oil<br />
supplies, <strong>an</strong>d at that time production levels will be at their maximum.<br />
However, from there, the levels of production begin to decline, as the last<br />
half <strong>is</strong> used up, <strong>an</strong>d until exhaustion point <strong>is</strong> eventually reached.<br />
Declining production levels, leading to oil scarcity <strong>an</strong>d high prices, have<br />
sobering implications for all hum<strong>an</strong> activity – including mass<br />
<strong>international</strong> travel <strong>an</strong>d tour<strong>is</strong>m, which has been built upon abund<strong>an</strong>t <strong>an</strong>d<br />
cheap oil <strong>an</strong>d energy supplies.<br />
In recent h<strong>is</strong>tory, up to just after World War Two, travel <strong>an</strong>d tour<strong>is</strong>m<br />
were largely made possible by road, rail <strong>an</strong>d sea. However, with the<br />
introduction of the hugely successful Boeing 707, mass <strong>international</strong><br />
tour<strong>is</strong>m was made possible, <strong>an</strong>d beg<strong>an</strong> to take off as a modern<br />
phenomenon in the 1960s. Boeing produced <strong>an</strong>d delivered just over a<br />
thous<strong>an</strong>d of these commercial jet passenger pl<strong>an</strong>es which dominated the<br />
passenger air travel industry in the 1960s, <strong>an</strong>d remained very popular well<br />
into the 1970s. And so the foundation was laid for mass <strong>international</strong> jet<br />
air travel.<br />
© University of the Aege<strong>an</strong>. Print ISSN: 1790-8418, Online ISSN: 1792-6521<br />
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