Does high-speed rail affect destination choice for tourism purpose?

Abstract

There is a growing but controversial literature concerning the link between high-speed rail (HSR) services and the tourism market. The aim of this paper is to identify this link in the case of two theme parks, namely Disneyland Paris and Futuroscope Parks, both served by an HSR station. Two revealed preference surveys were carried out interviewing tourists at both stations, with the objective of investigating the influence of HSRs on their decision to visit these theme parks. The results significantly diverge. In the case of Disneyland, tourists declared that the presence of HSR was fundamental in the choice of the destination; they would not have come without it. On the contrary, in the case of Futuroscope, tourists stated that HSR was not relevant. Indeed they would have come to Futuroscope in any case, also without this service. Moreover, the link between HSR and visiting other places close to these parks is also very different. These two case studies show again that the relationship between HSR and the local economic development in general and tourism in particular is very different according to places. HSR does not always contribute to the tourism market even in the case of a “stay tourism”.

Keywords

• high-Speed Rail service
• theme parks
• tourism market
• destination choice