TOURISM RECREATION RESEARCH VOL. 30(3), 2005: 5-6

Editorial

Cyber-tourism: A New Form of Tourism Experience

2005 Tourism Recreation Research

It has become fashionable to identify and define specifictypes of tourist activity such as heritage tourism, ecotourism,adventure tourism and so on. To add yet another specifictype of tourism, in this case cyber-tourism, to the language oftourism risks the danger of the concept being lost amongstthe many other identified types of tourism activity or simplybeing swept up in an aggregate sense as another type ofniche tourism. However, to fail to identify cyber-tourism as anew and specific form of tourism experience risks allowingthe many opportunities available in the cyber field beingdispersed amongst other already identified types of tourismactivity. This special issue recognises the existence of cybertourism as a new type of tourism experience that entails theuse of new technologies to achieve a tourism experience.Prideaux and Singer (this issue) define cyber-tourism as anelectronically simulated travel experience that is a substitutefor a physical tourism experience. They suggest that thistype of tourism will allow participants to travel to places vianew technologies free of the usual restrictions of time,distance, cost and human frailty.

The contemporary world is more open to travel than atany time in the past. Few borders are closed to travellers,and cost rather than politics is the major inhibitor to travel.From the standpoint of 2005, the opportunities for furtherexpansion of tourism appear almost boundless. The globaleconomy continues to grow, powered by the expansion ofthe US and Chinese economies. War on any major scale looksless likely than any time in the past century and newtechnologies, particularly in transport and IT, appear to laythe foundation for continuing growth of global tourismflows. The factors that may inhabit future economic growthinclude rising fuel prices, declining oil reserves and globalwarming. Yet on these issues there is optimism rather thanpessimism as the centuries long belief in the ability of newtechnologies to fix major social, health and environmentalproblems continues to pervade global society and is anunderlying philosophy of national governments.

Against this background of emerging concern, somewould say crisis, over declining oil reserves and growingconcern over global warming, the global tourism industrycontinues to exhibit unswerving faith in the long-term growthof international and domestic tourism. Even repeated crisessuch as September 11 in the US, numerous other terroristattacks, the SARS epidemic and the Asian Tsunami of 2004

have not reversed the overall positive growth in internationaltourism arrivals. What the situation will be in one or twodecades, if the current faith in almost limitless growth isproved to be false, will be for the future to decide.

Irrespective of the actual shape of the future, demandfor travel will continue to exist although perhaps in formsdifferent from that we understand today. Tourism is aproduct of affluence and peace. If either of these conditionswere to alter for some yet unpredicted reasons, perhaps anew cold or even hot war, or a shift from globalism to a morenarrow nationalism, demand for travel will continuealthough in a form that is different from that that we arefamiliar with today. It is at this point that cyber-tourism mayoffer affordable alternatives to some forms of physical travel.

Cyber-tourism in the many forms described in thisspecial issue will continue to grow particularly as newtechnologies are developed and introduced into the globalmarketplace. The reason for growth may be the result ofpositive forces including continuing peace and globaleconomic growth, negative forces such as a reduction inaffluence or a less peaceful future global political system orjust because the technology is available.

The papers in this special issue explore a number ofthe fascinating aspects of cyber-tourism that are currentlybeginning to emerge. For example, Vijayakumar and Dileepexamine how new communications technologies have beenemployed by Ayurveda medical practitioners to promote thevalue of this ancient form of Indian medicine and develop itas a new tourism experience. Myung, Morrison and Taylortake a different perspective and examine how new cybertechnologies can assist convention organizers decide onwhich facility to choose for their conference, perhapsforeshowing new forms of business-to-business relations ina future cyber-world. Buhalis and OConnor expose thereader to how new Information Communication Technologynetworks have the potential to revolutionize the tourismindustry. At a different level, Benckendorff, Moscardo andMurphys paper examines how new technologies can beapplied to enhance the visitor experience while Cooper andMacNeil look at the potential of virtual reality. Forrester andSingh bring to our attention the increasing number ofcontrived landscapes where experiences are sanitized andcommodified and that increasingly rely on technology tooffer new levels of escapism.

Cyber-tourism: New Experience: B. Prideaux

6 Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 30, No. 3, 2005

Anwar and Hamiltons contribution suggests somefuture applications for cyber-tourism technology at thenational level, examining a range of implications forAustralia. Rosss contribution explores a range of verysignificant issues related to the ethical dimensions of cyber-tourism by noting the concern that some commentators haveexpressed that it may eventually destroy the mechanismsused by individuals to create social capital.

The papers in this special issue touch briefly on thepossible range of issues that will emerge as cyber-tourism,in its many forms, evolves in the future. As has beendemonstrated many times in the past, yesterdays sciencefiction has an uncanny habit of transforming itself intotodays science fact. Some of the ideas canvassed in thisspecial issue have a science fiction like quality but in thefuture may become science fact. Richard Bransonsannouncement (The Courier Mail 2005) that commercialspace flights operated by Virgin Galactic will commence in2008 with a ticket price of AUS $275,000 per seat for a seven-minute experience of space demonstrate the validity of thefiction to fact continuum. It is highly probable that in thenext few years further advances in science will createopportunities for cyber-tourism to offer a far wider variety of

experiences and with a greater sense of authenticity than isconceivable today.

The danger is that the blurring of reality and fantasywill impact on some currently accepted paradigms of tourismoperations. How the tourism industry responds willdetermine whether in the future tourism shifts towards theentertainment industry or remains, as it is today, a majoridentifiable industry. There are also a range of ethical issuesthat will need to be addressed. How will the ability to enterthe cyber realm, where the impossible in the physical worldbecomes the norm in the cyber-world, change peoplesperception of reality and even identification with a physicalor cyber self? Will the opening of the mind to the possibilitiesof cyber experiences give external agencies direct access to apersons mind? These are significant questions that must beaddressed before technologies of this capability areintroduced, rather than after the technologies have beenintroduced.

ReferenceTHE COURIER MAIL (2005). Countdown Initiated for 2007 Virgin

Space Flight. 28 July: 15.

Bruce PrideauxGuest Editor