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Copyright of Erciyes Akademi is the property of Erciyes Universitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Scholarship on special interest tourism has burgeoned since the 1980s. Although this expanding research interest is relatively new, the phenomenon of special interest tourism is not of recent origin as many of its forms, such as mountaineering, exhibit a long historical record. Most research on special interest tourism concentrates on contemporary issues. The objective is to present a historical perspective on special interest tourism. Using archival sources an analysis is undertaken of the evolution of mountaineering in South Africa as a recreational sport and incipient form of special interest tourism. Cape Town's Table Mountain and the Drakensberg mountains provide the geographical focus of discussion. The results demonstrate that during the 1920s and 1930s tourism promoters in South Africa acknowledged the potential of special interest mountaineers to contribute to tourism growth. The documented experience of early mountaineering in South Africa provides an example of racism in recreation by showing that the country's recreational practices became constructed around politically-imposed racial hierarchies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tourism sector is one of the largest and strongest sectors in the world economy and is one of the main drivers of the world economy which is able to provide quite a large amount of foreign exchange for the country. One of the fastest growing tourism sectors in the tourism industry is special interest tourism which shows that tourists are starting to demand more varied and stimulating holiday experiences. The aim of this research is to develop special interest tourism in the form of Hatchlings Babel Sea Turtle Conservation in Bangka Belitung which is a conservation site to maintain and minimize the decline in turtle populations, especially in Bangka Belitung waters. The method used in this research is a qualitative method where the data obtained is by conducting direct observations and interviews at the Babel Tukik Conservation. Hatchlings Babel Sea Turtle Conservation is also used as a special interest tourism facility as well as an educational place so that local people and foreign tourists can get to know more about sea turtles and it is hoped that awareness will arise to preserve sea turtles from the threat of extinction and damage to the marine ecosystem due to sea tin mining and illegal hunting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perawan Beach is a popular tourist destination due to its unique and beautiful natural views. The research aimed to: (1) identify the carrying capacity of the environment in developing ecotourism in Perawan Beach; (2) identify the economic conditions of the community around Perawan Beach to develop ecotourism; (3) identify community participation in developing ecotourism in Perawan Beach; (4) identify Special Interest Tourism (SIT) activities that are fit and attractive to tourists at Perawan Beach; and (5) develop optimization of Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) strategies through Special Interest Tourism in Perawan Beach to promote the sustainable economy. This research method used the explanatory sequential mixed methods design. Data collection methods include field tests, observations, and interviews. The data analysis technique used is SWOT analysis using a quantitative descriptive approach based on the results of the IFAS and EFAS matrices. The SWOT analysis results demonstrated that the development of the tourism area in Perawan Beach is currently in quadrant III, indicating that development strategies must be optimized to address weaknesses and support existing opportunities. The primary area development opportunity that can benefit tourist attractions is to increase tourism activities at the Pedotan and Gundang Wetan attractions through Special Interest Tourism (SIT). Moreover, it is essential to develop tourist attractions and integrate the ecological value of the area through edutourism-based development. Details of area development can be carried out in a sustainable manner, beginning with community participation, visitor training for environmental preservation, and training through Special Interest Tourism activities located in the main area of Perawan Beach, the Pedotan area, and the Gundang Wetan area.

Cave tracing activities have now become a special interest in tourist activities with kars cave as a tracing ground. One of the attractions is because of the physical shape of the cave or what is called (speleotherm). Speleotourism has a charm and experience that is different from other tourist destinations because not all regions in Indonesia have karst areas that are ideal to be developed as Speleo tourism areas, one of which is Gunungkidul Regency which has 5 caves which are geosites, one of which is Cokro Cave. Cokro Cave was first discovered by nature lovers from the Acintyacunyata Speleological Club (ASC) community in 1993, and in 2009 it began to develop into a tourist attraction managed directly by the local community. This study was conducted to explain how the development of special interest tourism occurred in the tourist attraction of Cokro Cave by utilizing the characteristics and uniqueness of the cave, but still paying attention to the preservation of the cave, as well as the role of local communities, government, and tourism development stakeholders. The concept of special interest tourism that can be applied in the Cokro Cave Area is the management of special interest tourism by limiting the number of visitors to maintain the preservation of the context and collaboration with tourist attractions around and with the Pokdarwis (Kelompok Sadar Wisata) management of the Cave Area. Referring to the six criteria of special interest tourism based on experts, it can be seen that the principles of special interest tourism have not been fully fulfilled in the tourist attraction of Cokro Cave, including no periodic studies on the condition of the cave, as well as monitoring the condition of the cave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents research focused on the post-pandemic opportunities of special interest tourism development, through the elaboration of the stakeholders' perspectives on the sustainable valorisation of local natural and cultural heritage in the changing global context. The main goal of the research was to analyse the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on key stakeholders' activities and their attitudes towards future sustainable tourism development. The empirical research has been realised in the Municipality of Vrsar, a typical Mediterranean tourist destination characterised by mass tourism and high seasonality. The research was based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including a literature review, semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders' representatives and a tourists' attitudes survey. The conducted research indicated that the current pandemic could be seen also as an opportunity for all key stakeholders to reflect on the sustainability of the existing tourism practices and develop products which will be more nature-friendly and respond to new needs and expectations of changing tourist demand. The new, more sustainable, post-pandemic model of participatory governance in cultural and tourism development should involve all interested stakeholders, by developing a distinctive offer for special interest tourist segments which could disperse demand in time and space and prolong the tourism season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

4.1 Classification of motorbike tourism as adventure tourism from the perspective of motorcyc... More than two out of three respondents (67.3 %) agree (completely or somewhat) that motorbike tourism is a form of adventure tourism (see Figure 1). Graph: Figure 2: Level of agreement "motorbike holiday = adventure holiday" in the context of the motorbike category usedSource: own survey (n = 1,514) The respondents were able to give up to three reasons for their agreement or disagreement to "motorbike tourism is a form of adventure tourism". Keywords: Special Interest Tourism; Motorcycle Tourism; Scenic Roads; Adventure tourism; soft adventure EN Special Interest Tourism Motorcycle Tourism Scenic Roads Adventure tourism soft adventure 303 332 30 11/23/22 20221201 NES 221201 1 Introduction More and more people in western industrialised countries want to escape from everyday life and experience the unusual in nature - the Covid 19 pandemic has strengthened the trend of outdoor sports and adventure tourism, and the tourism industry is increasingly adapting to the growing demand. The average group size was 3.81 motorcycles (median 3) across all respondents, in Germany the motorcycle travel group was slightly larger with an average of 3.96 motorcycles (median 3.0), while the average size of the travel group of German travellers for the holiday trip in 2020 was 2.8 persons (FUR 2021, p. 58). In accordance with the three constituent characteristics of tourism (temporary change of place, stay outside home, motives for change of place - [18], 2015, p. 3), motorcycle tourism can be defined as follows: B Motorbike tourism b is a special interest form of tourism in which mobility by motorbike is the key element of the trip. [Extracted from the article]

Competitive fishing is a global phenomenon covering thousands of fishing contests annually. We studied the experiential value of angling competitions from the participants' point of view by using an online survey data among Finnish anglers who had been on an overnight angling competition trip within the last two years. The theory of consumption values is used as the basis for our theoretical framework, including functional, social, emotional, epistemic, and conditional value, while togetherness was suggested as the sixth value dimension. The value dimensions were measured with 45 variables. We used principal component and cluster analyses to identify three value-based clusters among respondents: Wellbeing seekers, Family-oriented competitors, and Novelty seekers. Novelty seekers were the youngest and least experienced group who are looking for novelty and they want to learn new things in competitive angling. Family-oriented competitors were the oldest and most experienced in competitive angling, and they valued friendship, family, and togetherness more than others. Wellbeing seekers were focused on self-development and positive effects on their wellbeing. Notably, proper and equal competition arrangements were the most important source of functional value. Surprisingly, the role of catching fish per se seems to be a minor contributor to the fishing competition experience value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic is a ‘trigger event’ which is remoulding new patterns of demand and supply for the tourism sector. For policy makers and destination managers it highlights the potential significance of niche tourism products. South Africa is viewed as fertile terrain for the promotion of different forms of niche tourism. The aim is to investigate international and South African research debates concerning niche tourism. The paper analyses the conceptual development of niche tourism, international debates, the (re-) emergence of niche tourism on the policy agenda of tourism stakeholders in South Africa and the state of existing literature and debates surrounding niche tourism in the country. The article represents a contribution to the growing and vibrant scholarship around niche tourism and change in the global South.

Purpose. The continuous evolutionary change in consumer preferences encourages the travel business to continuously look for innovative forms and techniques to meet consumer demand. There is a growing demand in the travel, tourism and hospitality sector for unique, personalized and sustainable travel. In this regard, the search for creative solutions to create highly competitive travel and sightseeing products that take into account current trends in consumer preferences is relevant. One possible avenue in this context is the creation of cultural heritage tourism products. The purpose of this study is to improve approaches to the design of cultural heritage quest-tour itineraries and to test the recommendations developed. Results. Creative tourism plays an important role in developing and maintaining interest in cultural heritage. The creation of travel and sightseeing products based on a combination of the concepts of heritage tourism and creative tourism allows meeting the consumer demand for uniqueness, authenticity, personalization, creative involvement and self-development. It is this combination of modern, innovative types of travel and sightseeing that we consider most promising in terms of providing highly competitive, unique products. Quest-tour is a type of travel and sightseeing service, which can be successfully used in the creation of heritage tourism products in the context of modern trends of changing consumer preferences. Itinerary design techniques for heritage quest-tour should take into account the significance of the excursion sites in terms of presenting the atmosphere of the era in question; the degree of preservation of authentic excursion sites; and the amount of available factual material. In this study, we tested the technique of designing the quest-tour itinerary on the example of our developed quest-tour «Early 19th century. German cultural heritage in Kharkiv». According to the storyline, the quest-tour is about almost the earliest documented period of ethnic German life in Kharkiv. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the improvement of the designing technique for quest-tours of cultural heritage on the basis of overlapping the concepts of heritage tourism and creative tourism. Practical value. The value of the study lies in the practical validation of the improved technique of designing heritage quest-tours, as well as the possibility of using the results in the practical activities of travel firms in the design of excursion products.

Social media influencer is one of the new concepts that emerged with the development of information technologies and new media. The study aims to explain the impacts of travel influencers on their followers in the context of bicycle touring as a sustainable special interest tourism type. For this, mixed methods research was performed by using exploratory design. In the first phase of the research, qualitative research was carried out through in-depth interviews. A scale development study was carried out in light of the themes and codings acquired. In the second phase, a survey was conducted with 915 participants. As a result of the analysis, the 'Travel Influencers' Impacts Scale' emerged, which met the validity and reliability criteria. According to the findings, the impacts of traveller influencers on their followers can be categorized into four categories: 'informative effects, motivating effects, effects as a role model, and communal effects.' The study provides theoretical contributions to understanding travel influencers as tourism actors and to measuring their effects on their followers. Additionally, the study provides some implications for public and private sector representatives to establish cooperation with influencers or use the influencer marketing approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aim to use survey data to define the value of the fishing tourism experience to anglers. Customer value is examined within the framework of Sheth et al. (1991) consumption value theory, complemented by the togetherness value suggested by Komppula and Gartner (2013). Our study, based on 937 responses from Finnish anglers, shows that value expectations differ. Six experience value-based segments within the tourist angler population were identified: service-minded novelty seekers; tranquillity seekers; service-oriented catch keepers; recognition seekers; food anglers; and novelty seeking experts. We propose that the customer value framework by Sheth et al. (1991), complemented by a two-dimensional togetherness dimension (family, friends), is well suited for defining the value of a hobby-related tourist experience. Additionally, three sub-dimensions of epistemic value are distinguished. The study presents numerous managerial implications for fishing tourism service providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Niche tourism refers to how to use a particular tourism product tailored to the needs of a particular segment of the market. Places with niche tourism products are able to achieve a high position and consolidate their future position in the tourism market. This type of tourism helps distinguish tourism products by creating an image of the destination and helping compete in the increasingly crowded environment of the tourism market. This paper investigates and analyzes the niche tourism attractions in Ghaleh Rudkhan tourist destination village using activity-based segmentation, the attitudes of the host community in dealing with niche tourism development, and the ability to implement tourism projects and socio-economic factors influencing tourism development in the region, which eventually offers solutions to overcome the current and potential challenges in the study area. To collect the data, interview-based methods, focus group interviews, individual observations and analysis of the documents obtained from different sources were used. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire was designed and distributed among 383 tourists and 190 rural employees. The data of this study were mainly evaluated using thematic and content analysis methods. Besides, we have also introduced the niche tourism potentials and tourism activities in the region. Finding - The results show that thanks to the economic and social opportunities, local communities support tourism development in Ghaleh Rudkhan; however, the challenges associated with tourism marketing, event management, uncertainty of private sector investors and environmental issues must be addressed through a participatory approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a 'trigger event' which is remoulding new patterns of demand and supply for the tourism sector. For policy makers and destination managers it highlights the potential significance of niche tourism products. South Africa is viewed as fertile terrain for the promotion of different forms of niche tourism. The aim is to investigate international and South African research debates concerning niche tourism. The paper analyses the conceptual development of niche tourism, international debates, the (re-) emergence of niche tourism on the policy agenda of tourism stakeholders in South Africa and the state of existing literature and debates surrounding niche tourism in the country. The article represents a contribution to the growing and vibrant scholarship around niche tourism and change in the global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The innovation process, and its application to tourism, has been gradually gaining ground in the academic community as a field of study. Similarly, in recent decades, tourism has received greater attention from researchers in various sciences, varying only by the different emphases considered: economic, social, cultural and environmental. This increased attention must be welcomed, as innovation research represents a meaningful and valuable way of understanding the economic dynamics of the tourism industry, and deeper insights will be helpful for the industry and policy makers alike. The purpose of this article is to identify literature on special interest tourism innovation, in particular from the perspective of wine tourism. In order to structure the sometimes unclear use of the innovation process (in tourism research), the article will present closely to primary classical innovation and entrepreneurship issues. This is a conceptual perspective that brings together the major components of innovation process and its implications in special interest tourism perspective We also consider some of the implications for management, as well as suggestions for future lines of research. This article concludes by drawing attention to the challenging research needs.

Olive-oil tourism is an emerging tourism typology that is especially developing in the Mediterranean basin, though successful cases also exist in other regions of the world. The main motivation underlying olive-oil tourism demand is the desire to learn about and enjoy the world of olives and olive oil. The objective of this article is to characterise this new tourism typology and identify its main activities. Based on a thorough bibliographical review and an expert panel, we show that this tourism typology corresponds to special interest tourism, and derives from three types of general interest tourism (rural, nature and cultural) with connections to other specific types of tourism. Furthermore, we demonstrate its links to an increasingly broad range of activities and services, thus revealing how complex this type of tourism can be, a feature proper to so-called special interest tourism.

Special interest tourism has emerged as a valuable niche market for tourism destinations in the past decade. However, tourism scholars have generally struggled to answer McKercher and Chan's [2005. How special is special interest tourism? Journal of Travel Research, 44(1), 21–31] question, 'How special is special interest tourism?' Such ambiguity extends to the related enquiry, 'How special are special interest tourists?', in attempting to define special interest tourists. This perspective research letter discusses these questions in terms of Chinese outbound tourism. Based upon the reflection of previous research, the authors' thoughts and ongoing research in this area, knowledge gaps are identified and research directions for scholars who are also interested special interest tourism are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I introduced a method for persona segmentation in the tourism industry to identify representative subgroups with different motivations or goals. Data from 496 key opinion leaders of groups representing 7,965 travel service users were analyzed with a logistic regression model of user characteristics and tourism motivation. I found that logistic regression is an integrated method of persona segmentation that balances precision and accuracy, and yields replicable and valid results. Three subgroups for persona segmentation based on logistic regression models are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study is to provide directions on coffee tourism administration as well as to establish a coffee tourism network among the communities in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, and Lampang provinces. A qualitative method is applied to the data collected from 45 attendees of a meeting on coffee tourism. They discussed several case studies and then visited Doi Chang Village in Chiang Rai to study their successful practice before exchanging views on how similar tourism management can be implemented in their own communities. With a problem tree constructed, they also identified major challenges regarding coffee tourism in Northern Thailand. The findings discusses the initiation of three projects: the community-based tourism by coffee farmers in Chiang Mai, the pilot study of a coffee tour program in Huay Hom Village, Mae Hong Son, and the project "Good Coffee in Lampang." Also, the six coordinators of the coffee tourism network assist the communities in publicizing tourism information. With growing popularity of special interest tourism, it is surprising Thailand still lacks coffee tourism though it is blessed with several tourism advantages. Therefore, it is critical to explore whether Northern Thailand can flourish as a coffee tourism attraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this article is to highlight the importance and the potential for the development of special interest tourism, in the example of two post-conflict target destinations within the territories of Croatia and Slovakia. The basic ideological platform of the article is to define sociological and psychological aspects of special interest tourism, and dark tourism as a reflection of the current society, in the trend of increasing demand for places from the distant or recent past, in which some tragedy or misfortune took place.

Copyright of Socijalna Ekologija is the property of Croatian Sociological Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

One of the trends in the development of modern tourism is the personalisation of tourist demand and the consumers’ growing interest in special interest travel. This article aims to analyze the potential for specialist tourism development of the Bulgarian islands in the Black Sea. To this end, it discusses the role of special interest tourism for the sustainable development of the tourism destinations and its economic, social and cultural impact on the tourism area and the local communities. The article analyses the natural, anthropogenic and other resources, as well as the specific prerequisites and conditions of the five Bulgarian islands in the Black Sea - St. Ivan, St. Petar, St. Anastasia, St. Kirik and St. Yulita, and St. Toma for their establishment as tourist attractions for special interest tourism. The article also suggests ideas for diversification of the local tourism product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 2017, the Society for bird protection in Serbia has organized free trips for domestic tourists in the protected nature reserves in northern Serbia. Their main task was to educate tourists about rare bird species in Serbia and explore the possibility for the development of bird watching, as a specific form of tourism. Since these forms of tourism are not sufficiently developed on Serbian travel market, the main aim of this paper is to examine the motives of tourists who are taking trips. Results of the research should determine the manner in which domestic tourists, in economically underdeveloped countries like Serbia, are related to natural values and whether it is possible that specific forms of tourism become point of interest for domestic tourists and part of the tour operators offer. The aim of the paper is to present the opinions of a group of 54 tourists who visited The Special Nature Reserve Deliblato sands in June 2017 for the education and observation of rare species of birds. Research has shown that the dominant motives of tourists were related to their need for physical activity, recreation and leisure, rather than observing and photographing rare birds. The results of the survey of the descriptive statistics show that the majority of the respondents believe that the observation of birds and sustainable tourism in the Nature Reserve of the Deliblato sands will only experience its development. Research results can be useful to business entities in tourism with the aim of forming a tourist offer for domestic and foreign tourists as well as individuals, with the aim of developing awareness of the importance and importance of protected nature reserves and their preservation in the future. This is the not first study, but one of the pioneer research to examine the motives of traveling by domestic tourists in terms of specific forms of tourism development in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines push and pull motivations of hunting tourists - those hunters who travel outside their usual hunting area - as well as push motivations differences between regular hunters and hunting tourists. An online survey was used to collect 557 responses from Finnish hunters. Principal component analysis was used to distinguish underlying motivational structures and help understand push and pull motivations. The resulting push motivations components were Competence-mastery, Nature, Family, Hunting, Relaxation, Social, and Added benefits. Pull motivation components were Tourism services, Destination novelty, Costs, Meal preparing possibilities, Game, Destination suitability for hunting, and Hunting grounds. Furthermore, a regression analysis was used to examine how push and pull motivation components explain hunting tourists' travel behaviour. Competence-mastery, Family, and Relaxation motivated the Finnish hunting tourists to visit destinations where they could learn about culture and animals. Tourism service providers should note that a hunting tourism trip should include educational elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer expectations, which are in a constant change and transformation today, cause a difference in the consumption point of touristic activities. In parallel with these developments, each individual creates his or her own special interests domain and moves to a new type of tourism. It is observed that mass tourism has started to lose its popularity these days and trends in the types of special interest tourism have started to increase steadily. In this study, it is intended to measure the awareness and the level of interest in space tourism, which is a type of special interest tourism. Half-structured interview technique was applied to Süleyman Demirel University Institute of Science and Social Sciences postgraduate students who are directly or indirectly related to space. As a result of the research, it has been determined that space tourism is a type of employment domain and tourism that can be preferred both as a business area and as an activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper was to analyze the current status of rural tourism in Croatia and to identify possibilities, guidelines and methods of its sustainable development. The research has shown that rural tourism in Croatia falls behind the sun-and-beach holiday tourism in coastal Croatia and that numerous and diverse natural and social resources in Continental Croatia are insufficiently employed, especially in the Continental part of the country Past research of rural tourism in continental Croatia relied on individual entrepreneurial initiative and scarce funding resources, so that consequently a heterogeneous and fragmented rural tourism offer, based on various tourism forms and special interest tourism types, has developed in an unorganized way. However, rural tourism can become a driving force for the development of rural areas, taking into account the concept of sustainable development, based on the balance of economic, ecological and social responsibility. In the future, it should encourage development projects that ensure integrated tourist offer and thereby enable long-term sustainable development of rural tourism in continental Croatia.

Astrotourism is a specific, new and perspective form of tourism which stands out from the mass tourist movement with special program that includes visits to astronomical observatories, with required astronomical observations. his form of tourism is considered to be "niche tourism" or special form of tourism which is intended for individuals or small groups, creating a diversity of offers in destinations. Astrotourism is now a modest, but not negligible part of the tourist destinations that wish to enrich its tourist offer. Like other small countries, Serbia has no spectacular planetarium, giant observatories and telescopes, but there are sufficient resources, with an interesting history, on the basis of which it can offer to astrotourists original programs whose carrier should be Astronomical Society "Rudjer Boskovic" in collaboration with the Astronomical Observatory in Belgrade.

Change is an inextricable part of tourism. In recent years, after the tourism demand has been affected by the changes in the social sphere, an inclination from mass tourism to particular interest tourism has started to be witnessed. Particular interest tourism, which is shaped in accordance with the desires, needs and demands of the tourists, has brought a different perspective to the traditional holiday concept. In Turkey, there is no legal basis for the voluntary death tourism, which is a subcomponent of the grief tourism -a type of culture based particular interest tourism- and can be defined as the travelling of the sick people to those countries where the jumping from the well-known centers or euthanasia is free (as Belgium, Netherland and Swiss). After the literature review it is clearly seen that the number of the studies, handling the subject of the voluntary death tourism with all its dimensions and examining all the attributed meanings to this term, is very limited especially in the national literature. It is believed that this study will bridge the gaps in this field and create a step for the following studies and make significant contributions to the understanding of the voluntary death tourism process. In this study, the term of voluntary death tourism is examined, the current situation towards voluntary death tourism is presented, the application in Swiss -where the voluntary death tourism is legally admitted- is examined and finally it is compiled by considering the available resources and focused about the legal aspects of euthanasia in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After conceptualizing the interrelationships between energy and tourism, the authors provide a definition of energy tourism as a new niche of industrial tourism, theorize on how it overlaps with other types of special interest tourism, and discuss specifics concerning its forms, locales, and possible societal impacts. Potential directions, along with research questions, for future research in the field of energy tourism are proposed. Then, the results of an explorative pilot study of energy tourism in the Czech Republic are presented to give a first insight into the proposed questions. Questionnaire surveys completed by tourists and operators of three energy tourism attractions – so-called Coal Safaris (guided tours through surface coal mines, observing minescapes and mining machinery in full operation), a nuclear power plant information centre, and Dragon Kite Festivals under wind turbines – have focused on exploring the motivations and perceived benefits of energy tourism for organizations; tourists' motivations for, and experience from, visiting; and any changes in attitudes towards current energy development dilemmas by visitors afterwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is generally regarded as a quite recent phenomenon, but researchers and scholars do not agree on its historical roots: some relate them to the mid-nineteenth century progress of transport infrastructure and the availability of leisure time, others to the Grand Tour as a particular type of aristocratic travel in the 17-18th centuries, and some even to mediaeval pilgrimages. However, trips similar to today's tourism were made as early as during the ancient period, when people travelled not only for trade and business, religion, sports, health, education and other specific reasons, but also for leisure and pleasure involving sightseeing of the new and unfamiliar areas. The aim of this paper is to bring together the insights of the literature on travel in the ancient Graeco-Roman world and, particularly, on special-purpose trips which might be seen as a distant forerunner of some modern forms of tourism.

The primary objective of this article is to highlight the importance and the potential for the development of special interest tourism, in the example of two post-conflict target destinations within the territories of Croatia and Slovakia. The basic ideological platform of the article is to define sociological and psychological aspects of special interest tourism, and dark tourism as a reflection of the current society, in the trend of increasing demand for places from the distant or recent past, in which some tragedy or misfortune took place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Chinese outbound tourists expand in numbers and diversity, they may seek more challenging special interest tourism (SIT) activities. Tourists' participation in SIT activities can be profitable to a wider range of providers, enhance destination image, and enrich tourists' experiences. This research investigated the opportunities for offering SIT products to the China outbound group market by interviewing 20 Chinese outbound tour operators to examine the extent of interest in developing the product as well as factors driving or hindering the development. Findings revealed four types of barriers that influence operators’ willingness to incorporate SIT activities in their product offerings. Drawing on a critical social theory approach that focuses on 'enlightenment' and 'critique', this paper argues the validity of these perceived barriers - operators are risk-averse for institutionalised practical, social, cultural, and policy-related reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]