sustainable mobility initiatives in mountain destinations
TRANSCRIPT
Sustainable mobility initiatives in mountain destinations: observation, mobile
and visual methodologies to monitor traffic management measures in the
Dolomites’ passes (Italy)
Anna Scuttari*, Anja Marcher*, Harald Pechlaner***, Daria Habicher*, Gerhard Vanzi*
*Researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies, Eurac Research, viale Druso 1, Bolzano.
*** Head of Center for Advanced Studies, Eurac Research, viale Druso 1, Bolzano and Chair of Tourism and Director of the Center
for Entrepreneurship, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt, Germany.
Thematic area: New technological solutions to measure the objectives of sustainable tourism
Keywords: sustainable mobility; mobile video ethnography; participant observation; destination
management; traffic management
1 Introduction
In ecologically sensitive but tourism-intensive areas, transport policy-makers often acknowledge
the negative impact of tourism traffic, but usually do not take action to change the status quo
(Scuttari, Orsi & Bassani, 2018). However, a few pioneering initiatives of traffic management in
the Alpine area are trying to resolve this contradiction, introducing traffic management measures
to manage visitors’ flows. Among these, the most well-known example regards the Alpine Pearls
(Lund-Durlacher, Hergesell & Mentil, 2013). These initiatives can work as best practices to better
understand the transition management processes towards more sustainable tourism and mobility,
revealing success factors for the effective implementation of policies. Previous research (Scuttari,
Volgger & Pechlaner, 2016; Scuttari & Della Lucia, 2015) has addressed the development
dynamics of pioneering initiatives in sustainable mobility, investigating how innovative ideas are
introduced in destinations, how they are perceived at local level and how they can influence
tourism demand. This paper expands on the analysis of the effects of such pioneering initiatives
on tourism destinations and presents new technological solutions to qualitatively monitor the
effects of traffic management in the area of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site (Italy).
In 2017, the Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano and Trento implemented a mix of traffic
management measures to reduce traffic on the tourism intensive mountain pass Sella, which is
located in the WHS area. The aim of this paper is to understand and qualitatively describe how
traffic management has shaped the destination areas and how far it has influenced tourist behaviour
in space. This knowledge is produced by introducing visual methods as tools to understand
qualitative changes in space and individual changes in attitude related to the introduction of traffic
management measures, as well as by conducting video interviews and participant observation to
investigate users’ perceptions.
2 Literature review
Mobility, together with local attractions, is part of the tourism product at the destination level,
constituting the so-called “travel chains” (Schiefelbusch, Schäfer & Müller, 2007). Travel chains
can be defined as “a product which integrates both the different means of travel as well as the
tourism and transport elements into one single package” (Schiefelbusch, Schäfer & Müller, 2007,
p. 96), e.g. bus rides to access hiking routes, bicycle or car journeys to reach a museum, etc. Based
on this assumption it becomes clear that, when planning sustainable mobility initiatives, an
integrated approach at the interface between tourism and transport is needed, that takes into
account different target groups, different modes and the several attractions of the destination
(Scuttari, Della Lucia & Martini, 2013). Such an integrative approach is necessary in the transition
towards more sustainable practices, because changes in the mobility system might indirectly shape
new travel chains, i.e. they potentially create new tourism products. Notwithstanding this need for
an integrative approach, tourism transport literature is often focussed on the behavioural change
in tourists caused by the introduction of traffic management measures. These measures – classified
into ‘carrots’ or ‘sticks’, i.e. incentives for sustainable mobility or restrictions to unsustainable
behaviour (Cullinane & Cullinane, 1999) - are normally evaluated based on their effectiveness to
stimulate modal shifts (Scuttari, Orsi & Bassani, 2018). The quantification of the effects of traffic
management measures happens traditionally by quantitatively foreseeing or monitoring tourism
flows (e.g. Scuttari, Della Lucia & Martini, 2013; Scuttari, Orsi & Bassani, 2018). Nevertheless,
costs and benefits of traffic management measures affect also different target groups of the
destination area: not only tourists, but also local inhabitants and the tourist economy (Scuttari,
Volgger & Pechlaner, 2016). A balanced policy mix of ‘carrots’ and ‘sticks’ is the desirable result,
but also a hard task to perform in practice (Regnerus, Beunen & Jaarsma, 2007; Stanford & Guiver,
2016), because it has to cope with the transformation of habits and behaviours of all target groups.
Acknowledging this complexity, this paper claims for the need of a more comprehensive approach
both in the planning and in the evaluation phase of sustainable mobility initiatives, as well as a
consideration of wider effects of traffic management measures on destinations and tourism
products. The balance of the different interests – based on a close monitoring of the impacts of
management measures on different target groups – is a core element to design policies. Within this
framework, traditional monitoring methods to monitor modal shifts caused by traffic management
measures, such as stated or revealed preference surveys (Scuttari, Orsi & Bassani, 2018), lack to
grasp some relevant effects of a traffic calming, e.g. the spatial distribution of flows, changes in
mobility patterns of inhabitants, and the possible emergence of new tourism products. The
consideration of the mobilities geography and the support of visual methodologies open up for
innovative and smart approaches to monitor tourist mobility embracing these additional
perspectives, observing not only the traffic quantity, but also the quality of mobility as part of the
tourist experience.
Framing tourist transport studies through mobilities research
Over the last 20 years of research, tourist transport has been widely studied applying approaches
of transport geography. Transport geography refers to “the study of the spatial aspects of
transportation”, including “the location, structure, environment and development of networks as
well as the analysis and explanation of the interaction or movement of goods and people” (Goetz,
Ralston, Stutz et al., 2004, p. 221). These approaches assume a rational behaviour of the traveller,
interpret transport as an opportunity-cost and consider space as a constraint to the development of
transport infrastructures and the movement of flows. Applying this perspective, Page (2008)
conceptualises the tourist transport system: a complex system, where destinations and attractions
represent nodes, whereas linkages represent transport connections to, from and between
destinations. Based on this conceptualisation, over the last decades quantitative approaches to
monitor flows across space prevailed onto qualitative approaches aimed at understanding the
deeper value of mobility across the destination space.
To fill this gap, in recent years, the mobilities geography has been increasingly considered as a
complementary perspective to tourism geography, that allows to investigate displacement not only
in its practical meaning of shifting goods or people from A to B, but rather as a ‘constructive
framework for modern society’ (Shaw & Hesse, 2010). Indeed, mobilities research has its roots in
the socio-spacial theory by Lefevbre (1991), according to which ‘[s]pace is not a static container,
but the network of relations that composes a block of space-time’ (Mommersteeg, 2014, pp.2-3).
Therefore, mobility geographers interpret travel as a way of constructing space and travel time as
a ‘gift’ for passengers (Lyons, Jain, & Holley, 2007). They address bodily sensations, affective
appraisals, emotional states while travelling as part of the experiential dimension of displacement.
Mobilities geography explores also the meanings of multiple forms of mobilities: not only
corporeal travel, but also physical movement of objects, imaginative travel, communicative travel,
and virtual travel (Urry, 2007). Mobility is interpreted ‘on the move’, as well as through its links
to the “spatial fix” (Williams, 2013).
Mobilities geography claims not only for a conceptual paradigm shift, but also for a
methodological innovation, the so-called mobile methods (Buscher & Urry, 2009). Mobile
methods are ‘any attempt to physically or metaphorically follow people/objects/ideas in order to
support analysis of the experience/content/doing of, and interconnections between,
immobility/mobility/flows/networks.’ (Spinney, 2015, p. 232). Among mobile methods, visual
methodologies combined with ethnographic methods represent one of the possible and higly
innovative tools to implement mobilities research. These tools are in turn recognised as valuable
in the tourism field (Rakić & Chambers, 2012), yet their implementation to investigate aspects of
sustainable tourism and mobility is still scarce.
3 Case study
The tourism intensive mountain pass Sella is located in the area of the Dolomites UNESCO World
Heritage Site (WHS) in Italy, situated in the Eastern Italian Alps, that received the UN recognition
in 2009. The Dolomites UNESCO Foundation is in charge of managing the site and is responsible
for a harmonized and sustainable development of the territories of concern (Dolomites UNESCO
Foundation, 2014). Each year, between 1.1 and 1.4 million vehicles access the heritage site for
tourism purposes with a peak in flows during summer time and around some particular mountain
passes (Scuttari, Orsi & Bassani, 2018). One of these tourism intensive passes is the Sella Pass. It
connects at one hand two tourism-intensive valleys belonging to two different provinces, the
Autonomous provinces of Bolzano and Trento, and on the other, it is a highly attractive tourism
destination. Studies revealed and highlighted several impacts that are connected to traffic on this
and the surrounding mountain passes already some years ago (Scuttari, & Bassani, 2015; Pechlaner
et al, 2004). Prior research and the growing number of vehicles accessing the pass led to an
increased awareness of negative traffic side effects and encouraged the implementation of traffic
management measures. The UN recognition of the Dolomites as Natural World Heritage has
worked as a supportive tool to take action to preserve the landscape beauty, that is one of the two
criteria for WHS recognition.
Finally, in 2017 the Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano and Trento decided to implement a mix of
traffic management measures to reduce traffic congestion on the Sella Pass, also known as
‘Dolomitesvives’ initiative. For nine Wednesdays of July and August 2017, traffic was inhibited
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., on a road where round 4,000 vehicles were normally in daily transit during
summer months. It was the first pilot project of these kind within the Dolomites. It aimed to
promote sustainable mobility by means of a policy mix implementation and in particular, it was
designed to transform and improve the quality of experience on the mountain pass. An intense
public transport service, as well as a series of events were organized to guarantee alternative
mobility and increase the attractivity of the pass. In combination with the traffic closure ("stick"
measure) a series tourism offers have been implemented to increase the use of alternative mobility
("carrot" measures). “Carrot” measures included an exemption of the traffic closure for electric
vehicles - with a lower acoustic impact -, an intensification of the public transport service - offered
with a 15-minute cadence - and the organization of cultural, music and sport events on the
mountain pass. Within this framework, a monitoring tool was required to evaluate the effectiveness
of the policy mix, both in quantitative and qualitative terms.
4 Methodological approach
The mobilities theory advocates methodological innovation, as well as a combination of
quantitative and qualitative research for understanding displacement and its multiple shades
(Delaney, 2016). Prior to the mobilities paradigm introduction, research on sustainable mobility
was focusing mainly on quantitative approaches (e.g. Becken et al., 2003; Peeters & Dubois, 2010;
Peeters et al., 2007; Peeters van Egmond & Visser, 2004), while later on a few qualitative
approaches were used to address niche aspects of tourist transport, e.g. rural and slow travel (e.g.
Dickinson & Lumsdon, 2010; Dickinson & Robbins, 2007, 2008). The use of qualitative research
approaches in mobility and transport research is recently increasing, as the social science
perspective is gaining importance also in this research field.
Acknowledging the importance of both quantitative and qualitative approaches to monitor
sustainable mobility initiatives, and in order to create a full picture of how new traffic management
shaped the destinations areas and of how tourist behavior changed in space, a mixed method
approach has been used on the Sella Pass. Mixed methods research can be defined as “the type of
research in which a researcher or team of researchers combines elements of qualitative and
quantitative research approaches (e.g., use of qualitative and quantitative research viewpoints, data
collection, analysis, inference techniques) for the purposes of breadth and depth of understanding
and corroboration” (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie & Turner, 2007, p. 123). This paper is presenting part
of the overall monitoring procedure, with particular reference to the qualitative aspects. A
comprehensive representation of the monitoring results, including visitor flow estimations and
environmental impacts of the traffic reduction is available in the project report (Scuttari, Marcher,
Vanzi, 2017).
Three qualitative methods were implemented to monitor the traffic management initiative:
participant observation, qualitative video interviews and video ethnographic methods. All of the
methods used are relating to three different analytical dimensions of the area of concern based on
the conceptual framework developed by Pechlaner, Pichler & Herntrei (2013): spaces of mobility,
spaces of attractions, and experiences. The mobility space refers to the tangible part of the pass
area, including transport infrastructure, means of transport, paths and routes, forming the territorial
base for the movement of people. The space of attractions includes the areas where culinary and
cultural events were held, as well as other points of attraction, such as recreational areas on the
pass, refreshment points, etc. Finally, the space of experiences refers to the intangible dimension
generated by the values, the emotions and the atmosphere that is created in the interaction between
individuals (local inhabitants, guests, and tourism businesses), attractions and infrastructure. These
spaces coexist in the same area, but imply different characteristics and geographical locations of
the pilot region: the roadblocks (gates), the road and the pass area, each of them demanding
different approaches. Data collection took place in eight out of nine days of traffic regulation in
total, i.e. eight Wednesdays during the period of special traffic management measures in the
observation area. The survey days were split up in different time periods in order to concentrate
on the different spaces.
Participant observation
Participant observation, as one of the earliest qualitative methods, was used to gather a broad
picture of the research area as well as to get some insight in special features, dynamics, and social
practices of a research field of interest (Lueger, 2010). Participant observation enabled to access
and enter the field (Flick, 2011), where the researchers could take different positions and gather
different impressions of all three spaces. In participant observation, the role of the researcher
within the field is crucial; it influences the interaction with the field actors and how they react on
different situations. A researcher can either act as an alien or as a familiar individual, a choice that
influences dynamics of trust and information exchange in the field (Flick, 2011). Due to the easy
access to the pass and the quantity of people staying in the area of interest, our research team
(mainly consisting of three people) was holding an active and visible role as observer and was
acting as part of the field of research. Each researcher took field notes, which have been reported
immediately after the observation periods, to document contextual information. Additionally,
photographical material and videos (1,886 images and 218 videos) have been taken as an
supportive source. These documents were essential components and tools to reconstruct the
observed situation on the pass. Even though, the reconstruction of an observed situation, i.e. an
observed reality, is always a selective process and therefore the researcher had to be aware of the
difficulty of distinguishing what really happened in the field, what has been observed and what
interpreted. The priority laid in the most accurate description possible (Flick, 2011). The main aim
was to get an overall review of the three spaces: space of mobility, space of attraction, and space
of experience, including the behavior of people and dynamics in general. To achieve this goal,
visual mthodologies (Rose, 2012) were combined with the more traditional text-based analysis to
describe these three spaces. As a result, composite images (also called ‘technical’ images) were
built, based on a hierarchical image fusion of the collected and classified photographic material
(Toet, 1990). Participant observation made it possible to get a feeling for the survey area, in order
to better understand the effects of the new traffic management measures.
Video-interviews
During the ‘Dolomitesvives’ initiative 29 video-interviews grasped the attitudes of the three main
target groups towards the traffic management initiative: tourists, local inhabitants and tourist
businesses. The interviews investigated the perceived positive and negative aspects of the project,
as well as the possible suggestions and developments for the future. The qualitative data gathered
was analysed with the software GABEK®-WinRelan (Holistic Processing of Linguistic
Complexity), a computer-assisted method in qualitative research and textual analysis (Zelger,
2000). This qualitative research strategy helped to outline and reduce the complexity of the content
and represents a clear analytical method with a phenomenological orientation. After the
transcription of the video interviews, we followed a multiple coding process of the qualitative data.
First, the data was split into multiple paragraphs reflecting semantic units; then a manually open
coding with keywords was used; finally positive, neutral and negative emotional valence was
assigned to the statements, based both on textual and visual expressions. Therefore, it was possible
to distinguish between positive, negative or neutral attitudes of different target groups. After data
encoding, a keyword-based analysis with the software GABEK transformed the statements into
network graphs of interrelated keywords. The graphs show both related key words and the
associated emotions. Along this process, GABEK®-WinRelan Software and the associated data
analysis allow to extract the core messages from the multiple interviews, as well as to explore
causal and emotional relationships between keywords (Pechlaner & Volgger, 2012).
Mobile video ethnography
In addition to the two analytical methods of participant observation and video interviews, that
aimed at investigating the phenomenon in his broadness and complexity, video ethnography helped
to capture the deepness of individual tourist experiences travelling in the area of concern. Video
ethnographic methods (Spinney, 2011), and particularly drive-along and ride-along techniques
helped to record individual tourist experiences through the handling of action cameras. During the
days of the ‘Dolomitesvives’ initiative, different mountain pass visitors agreed to record their
experiences, thereby offering a video footage of their rich experiential consumption of the
destination space. In more detail, the investigation includes six experiences: two cyclists, one
electric motorcyclist, one electric car driver, one hiker participating in a guided tour, and one bus
user. The videos, analysed with the software Nvivo, served to discover further information and
uncover unknown shades on the visitors’ behaviour and perception, as well as to produce
documentary evidence of their embodied experiences. Five videos refer to the road space, mostly
including the journey before and after the gate, whereas the hiking video includes the pass summit
area only. Including experiences inside and outside the limited traffic zone made it possible to
compare changes in experience spaces along the road, showing different point of views or
interactions between different means of transport.
4 Results
Participant observation
The observation area refers to the whole tourism intensive mountain pass Sella with special focus
on the three spaces mentioned above. The main observation objects within the mobility space were
the transportation, paths and routes infrastructure as well as the gates. Concerning the attraction
space, the areas where culinary and cultural events were held, as well as other points of attraction,
such as recreational areas on the pass, refreshment points, etc. have been observed. Lastly, in terms
of observing and analyzing the change of the space of experience due to special traffic management
measures, the general atmosphere was the main observation object, including both transport
network and recreational areas. The method of participant observation helped to gather important
findings on the research question, i.e. on how the pass experience was changing due to the
introduction of traffic management measures as well as special events. The practice of participant
observation and the analysis of the related field notes, as well as the collection of photographic
material and videos led to different insights which are structured according to the three spaces of
interest: the mobility space, the attraction space, and the experience space. These reflect also the
categories according to which the visual data (videos and pictures) have been analyzed, classified,
and summarized through composite images.
The space of mobility - which includes parts of the pass area, the transporting infrastructure, the
means of transport, paths and routes as well as the movement of people - experienced interesting
development dynamics during the initiative. The main road was used primarily by cyclists during
the whole day. Additionally an increased number of public buses and a few electrical vehicles
passed too. According to the local public transport providers, the use of the bus to access the pass
area almost triplicated (Scuttari, Marcher & Vanzi, 2018).
Observing travel behavior across the space, different access dynamics were noticeable. The
majority of the pass visitors seemed to catch the bus directly from the valleys, in the village of
Selva di Val Gardena (Autonomous Province of Bolzano), as well as in Canazei (Autonomous
Province of Trento), since those buses starting from these villages were mostly crowded. Other
visitors parked their car on parking spaces in the surrounding areas of the gate after their access
was denied. The public buses were running on a 15 minutes schedule during the whole initiative
(from 9 am to 4 pm) and they were generally appropriate in numbers to support existing tourism
flows. Nevertheless, a diverse occupation rate of buses was perceivable, especially if comparing
different hours of the day or different starting points of the line (valleys versus parking spaces near
the gates). Generally, the connection between parking area and buses worked well, but sometimes
a lack of information and of understanding of travel direction caused orientation problems to
tourists. Notwithstanding the frequent bus connections and the adequate capacity of buses, not all
private vehicles were parked to shift mode. Sometimes, travellers decided to turn and change their
route or travel back and reschedule their visit. This decision might have been also partly influenced
by the lack of tourist information both on tourist offers and on traffic alternatives. In fact, observing
the gate areas it has been noted that the forest rangers – in charge of deviating road traffic – very
rarely offered detailed tourist information on alternatives in order to encourage a modal shift.
Moreover, they sometimes had linguistic difficulties in the interaction with foreign tourists, which
made the communication even less effective. Figure 1 illustrates the ambiguous role of gates as
both obstacles to mobility for guests travelling with their cars and entrances to quiet and
sustainable spaces for cyclists and authorized road users.
Figure 1: Composite images of the space of mobility: the role of gates
Along the road to the pass, three issues stand out: the location, visibility and standard of bus stops
and traffic signs and the usage of parking spaces. Concerning bus stops, a lack of homogeneity in
travel information was noticed: timetables along the road had different layouts depending on the
provincial standard and the readability of the timetable was not immediate. This resulted in a
number of tourists not knowing the direction to the pass, the bus number or even the schedule. A
second aspect was the location and information on traffic signs. Confusion was generated by the
necessity – related to traffic rules – to define the pass road as an “open road”, because the restriction
was not applied to all vehicles. A second difficulty was noticed in the explanation of the traffic
management rules on the traffic signs: these explanations were often unclear, too long to be on
signs or even false. This again caused confusion among tourists, that were not feeling the adequate
trust to shift mode. Finally, a positive remark must be quoted in relation to unauthorized parking
along the road to the pass, which was almost completely cancelled through the implementation of
traffic management measures. The landscape was thereby more clear and the pass road more
immersed in the natural landscape. On the top of the Sella Pass the main road has been used also
by hikers and visitors during their excursion. Negatively noticeable was the lack of parking
possibilities for e-vehicles on the pass summit area, both bicycles and cars.
The observation of the space of attractions lead to some remarkable findings, as well. It included
the area of culinary and cultural events as well as other points of attraction such as recreational
areas on the pass, refreshment points etc. Generally, the space of attraction as a whole was
crowded, especially occupied by hikers and cyclists that made use of the proposed initiatives.
Differences in the occupancy of the space were seen according to weather. The collection of
multiple pictures of each of the events helped in defining an average amount of participants per
each event, which is reported in figure 2. The areas of cultural events – located in the open fields
of the pass summit area – offered the possibility to experience a new way of living the pass space,
e.g. listening to concerts, opera, and other entertainment events and were massively welcomed by
the visitors. Other points of attraction used by the visitors were restaurants, who experienced a
different amount of flows according to their relative position in relation to events, bus stops and
trails.
Figure 2: Number of prticipants per event organised on the Sella Pass
The composite images below (fig. 3) illustrate these new attractions and their visual impact on the
area. For those facilities located in the surrounding of the events or the bus stops, the flows changed
significantly in their temporal distribution: from individual and continuous flows to sudden and
massive flows (based on bus capacity or even on the dynamics of public events). This caused a
different distribution of the business across time.
Figure 3: Composite images of the space of attraction on the Sella Pass
It was noticed in observing the area that several visitors, both at the gates as well as on the top of
the pass area, were not aware of the ‘Dolomitesvives’ initiative and were positively or negatively
surprised when they got to know about traffic restrictions. Thereby, it seems that a potential for
improvement lays in the marketing strategy concerning the initiative ‘Dolomitesvives’ as such but
also concerning the single events. The fact that only one info point was installed at the top of the
pass as well as the lack of visible banners in the whole area of the initiative might be some of the
reasons of the low awareness and – accordingly – the difficulties in visitor flow management.
Furthermore, the location of the events also had an influence on the concentration of flows. Public
events were only held in the pass area of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, which caused an
attraction of flows only in the surroundings of some pass areas, disregarding others. A more equal
distribution of events would probably have led to a more fair distribution of visitors in the pass
area, in order to distribute the benefits of the initiative to all economic players of the area.
Finally, regarding the space of experience, the main survey focus was on the intangible dimension
of atmosphere in the pass area with special attention to the people-nature relationship. During the
observation period, the whole pass area was very silent and peaceful. Green and hidden green spots
were used by visitors to hang out, to follow organized events or to hike outside the paths.
Especially during the events, people enjoyed to spend time at the pass by listening to music,
following interesting talks or taste some special culinary specialties. The biggest challenge related
to the experience space was the design of adequate transportation solutions for the relatively huge
amount of people after and before the events. In fact, in some cases there were more than 400
participants to public events, which made the transport by bus on a 15-minute basis almost
ineffective. Finally, another relatively new situation was the silent interaction between e-vehicles,
cyclists and other visitors on the road. The interaction – normally happening with the help of sound
– turned out to be sometimes dangerous, because sometimes the silent e-vehicles were not
perceived, despite their closeness and speed.
From an observative perspective, the overall initiative could be defined as successful, even though
some situations and measurements still have to be improved. In summary, it can be said that the
results of the participant observation work as important elements of a puzzle, to gather an overall
impression of the impact of the traffic regulating measurements at the Sella Pass, to evaluate the
effects of it as well as to establish further measurements relating to a more sustainable mobility in
highly sensitive mountain areas.
Video-interviews to tourists, residents, and local businesses
The following results illustrate attitudes and perceptions of the traffic management measures of
different target groups: local entrepreneurs, tourists, and local inhabitants. Figure 4 shows the most
frequently quoted keywords in the video-interviews related to the tourism traffic management
strategy ‘Dolomitesvives’. The emotional attitudes related to the keywords extrapolated were an
important element to grasp the target groups’ perception of the measures and to identify negative
and/or positive aspects linked to it (see Fig. 4). Results show that the interviewees characterise the
initiative on one hand by the closure of the mountain pass, the reduction of traffic and the extended
offer of buses in the area of concern. On the other hand they make reference to the definition of
the initiative, the information provided and the issue of pollution. In general, it is noted that the
majority of respondents perceived the traffic management strategy in a very positive manner,
including the extended offer of public transport.
Figure 4: Emotional attitudes related to the traffic management strategy ‘Dolomitesvives’
However, some critical and negative aspects emerge. The keyword "pollution", for example, is
negatively evaluated for two reasons. On the one hand, the negative evaluation relates to the fact
that pollution is perceived as a central problem in general terms that should be solved by limiting
the traffic: "I think it's a good initiative to try to reduce pollution and the number of cars [...],
considering that there's only one road, there is also a lot of traffic."1 On the other hand, there are
also some critical positions regarding the real existence of an atmospheric pollution in the region
and its use as an excuse to implement traffic management measures: "I think that as an idea
perhaps, organising events on mountain passes is not entirely wrong, but closing one pass to the
traffic with the excuse for acting on pollution is not right"2 Or "[...] it is said that there is pollution,
but it’s absolutely not there."3 Besides that, the interviewees highlighted also some information
gaps and problems related to the traffic regulation in general. All three targets (tourists, businesses
and local population) emphasised the difficulty in finding information: "The information has been
mishandled, because now I'm here in front of the barrier and I have to go back [...]"4 or “[…] it
was reasonably well organized, but almost nobody was expecting it. And this is ... the way you
organise it ... We need to warn people and keep them informed about all this.”5
Considering the target groups separately, divergent opinions are illustrated in figure 5. The results
show that local entrepreneurs were not satisfied with the traffic management measures, because
they influenced their economic activities negatively. At the same time, they mainly see topic of
pollution as an excuse, rather than a real motivation to regulate the traffic. This target group also
criticized the information management aspect, underlining in some cases that visitors were not
informed at all. In contrast to the business owners, residents responded to the measures favourably,
being aware of the growing traffic problems on the pass. However, they also emphasised the
personal or economic discomfort connected to the restrictions by influencing the daily life of
inhabitants and economic activities between the two valleys and provinces. Finally, the tourists
interviewed had a predominantly positive perception and were in favour of the sustainable and
quiet component on the mountain pass, especially in relation to the traffic limitation and noise
reduction.
1 Interview n°1 tourist (car driver), day n°6 of the traffic reduction measures. 2 Interview n°1 business owner, day n°1 of the traffic reduction measures. 3 Interview n°2 business owner, day n°6 of the traffic reduction measures. 4 Interview n°7 tourist (motorcyclist), day n°8 of the traffic reduction measures. 5 Interview n°3 business owner, day n°9 of the traffic reduction measures.
Figure 5: Target groups ‘emotional attitudes related to ‘Dolomitesvives’
Experience spaces of mountain pass visitors
Different types of mobility influence the perception of time and space and shape different spaces
of experience. Video-ethnography helped to grasp perceptions of different mobility experiences
during the days of ‘Dolomitesvives’ (fig. 6). Five of the recorded experiences started in the valley
and ended within the area restricted to traffic. Only the pedestrians’ experience was exclusively
recorded on the Sella Pass. This made it possible to compare the experiences on the road and
perception changes entering the area with traffic limitations. It gave insights from different points
of view, for example on congestions at the pass gate and interactions between means of transport.
By adopting the visitor's point of view using headcams, we were able to record images and
elements of the experience that go beyond the user’s conscious perception. The rich and dense
research material gathered helped to understand visual changes, interactions, and mechanisms as
well as user’s physical experiences.
Figure 6: Visitors ‘experiences by type of mobility
The type of mobility changes the interaction with others, but also the duration of the experience is
different according to the travel mode chosen, as shown in table 1. This means that the means of
transport used and time-related factors shape different experiences of mobility and impact the
visual engagement with the destinations’ landscape. Results show that time and speed are two
fundamental aspects that define the perception of the users ‘environment. Slower movements
increase the probability to view the landscape. The sensorial perception, i.e. temperature, visual,
auditory and olfactory senses, is additionally determined by the direct immersion in an external
space (e.g. the pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist) or by the limitations of a closed cabin (e.g. bus
or car).
Type of mobility Duration of the video
E-car 8 min 8 sec
E-Motorbike 14 min 23 sec
Bus 28 min 5 sec
Bike (n°1) 48 min 4 sec
Hiker 51 min 43 sec
Table 1:Type of mobility and duration of the experience
The analysis and visual representation of the data was made with the qualitative research software
Nvivo. By means of coding the video content we could synthesise and systemise the data. The
cyclist experience (fig. 7) reveals how the traffic management strategy changed the traffic
interactions and actions within the regulated area. The interactions of the cyclist with other means
of transport were more frequent before he was accessing the traffic limitation zone: he was
constantly overtaken by cars - e.g. the yellow line with the label "Being_overtaken_cars". Also the
traffic coming from the oposite direction was an important interaction factor (blue line with the
label "Oncoming_traffic_car"). Further, cars, trucks and motorcycles constituted a high
background noise. All of these aspects of congestion and noise disappeared after the cyclist
exceeded the roadblock (gate), highlighted by the vertical red line in figure 7. In addition to these
visual and auditory elements, other sensory perceptions changed for the cyclist. The transcription
of the cyclists statements and verbal interactions during his way up to the mountain pass shows,
for example, that also olfactory perception can vary. He states: “There is a difference in smell
between Selva [a place outsight the traffic limitation area] and the crossroads!” The crossroad he
was passing corresponds to the gate and describes a moment of transition for the cyclist, he enters
a different type of space, positively connotated by himself.
Figure 7: Experience space – the cyclists’ point of view
The analysis of all experiences showed a change of interactions between the different means of
transport due to a new ‘mix’ of vehicles on the road and a higher incidence of electric vehicles.
This causes also a reduction of noise that can be interpreted as positive side effect reducing noise
impacts, but also a risky effect for the interaction with other means of transport, as for example
cyclists did not hear an approaching electric car. The lower interactions with cars were substituted
by greater incidences of bus encounters within the regulated area. Due to the narrow road and the
broad buses, these interactions turned out to be dangerous sometimes, particularly for cyclists. In
sum, traffic regulation made it at one hand easier for cyclists and electric vehicles users to ride or
drive thanks to a low amount of traffic. On the other hand, the bus encounters led in some cases to
dangerous and rapidly growing traffic jams.
Finally, some remarks stand out also from the single experiences recorded. For instance, the bus
experience showed the difficulties of bus-bus frontal interaction. The electric car and motorcycle
journey revealed the critical aspects of a quiet engine and the need of more vulnerable road users
like cyclists or hikers to be more cautious. During the experience of the motorcyclist, for example,
the horn was frequently used to warn the cyclists, often riding abreast, to minimise the risk of
accidents.
5 Discussion
The analysis explored how the traffic management measures influenced mobility choices and new
mobility experiences, shaping new travel chains and new tourism products. Results show that the
interactions between means of transport and the environment are an important element to consider
when new traffic management strategies are designed. They also reveal that traffic management
measures provoke resistance and anxiety among local entrepreneurs, but also excitement in
tourists’ minds and contrasting attitudes in local inhabitants. Tourists felt excited about the
initiative and some new social practices started that were unusual in the pass area before, e.g.
walking along the main road or massively using the bus to access the hiking trails. Local
inhabitants welcomed the initiative of traffic calming, but at the same time suffered restrictions of
their (utilitarian form of) daily mobility. Local entrepreneurs in the hotel and catering sector had
to manage a different configuration of tourism flows – e.g. waves of tourists reaching the pass area
in one bus instead of groups of 2-3 people travelling individually; masses of tourists leaving music
events in the pass area and accessing mountain huts, etc. The reported changes and the interaction
dynamics revealed through visual methodologies between visitors and space suggested that a sort
of reorganisation of the whole destination system was happening, in order to cope with the
challenges of sustainable mobility.
6 Conclusion
Beyond the quantitative effects on tourism flows, traffic management measures caused changes in
the quality of tourism and in the activities on the pass. They also implied changes for the daily
business of tourism stakeholders and the daily mobility routines of local inhabitants. These
dynamics affect both the destination as a space and its management and marketing. Pioneering
initiatives for sustainable tourism seem thereby to have the power to give impulses for a broader
reorganisation process of the whole tourism system, where new balances of weights are to be found
between environmental benefits of a reduced mobility and socio-economic costs of a transition
process (Scuttari, Volgger, Pechlaner, 2016). These aspects need a deep understanding, because
they can explain dynamics of acceptance or rejection of change.
Mobile and visual methodologies enabled new perspectives of understanding for this system
transition. From a methodological point of view, visual methodologies and visual ethnography
helped to enrich and visually represent the mobility, activity and experience space. They offered
innovative layers of understanding tourist mobility and representing the embodied and sensory
aspects of it. They were also practically useful to estimate ex-post the number of visitors joining
public events in an open space, which would have been hardly traceable otherwise. Further, the
creative use of composite images with visual elements that can describe a phenomenon was adding
new possibilities to represent qualitative results of participant observation, thereby contributing to
the further development of the method. Therefore, the traditional monitoring schemes based on
flow monitoring or revealed preferences are enriched with new representations of the destination
space, including unique insights to understand users’ mobility experiences. Hence, the dimensions
of analysis of behavioural change become more comprehensive, allowing for a deeper monitoring
of visitors’ interactions with the landscape, with the tourism stakeholders and with other visitors.
New technological solutions to measure the objectives of sustainable toruism based on visuals
provide a micro-analytical level to improve the design of susatinable mobility initiatives, with
precise reference to critical issues in spacific places and times. Finally, they help in the
communication of results, making them appear more tangible, although interpreted through the
subjectivity of researchers (Rose, 2012).
References
Becken, S., Simmons, D., & Frampton, C. (2003a). Energy use associated with different travel choices. Tourism Management, 24, 267–277.
Buscher, M., & Urry, J. (2009). Mobile Methods and the Empirical. European Journal of Social Theory, 12(1), 99–116.
Cullinane, S., & Cullinane, K. (1999). Attitudes towards traffic problems and public transport in the Dartmoor and Lake District National Parks. Journal of Transport Geography, 7, 79–87.
Delaney (2016). Walking and cycling interactions on shared-use paths. Bristol: University of the West of England. [Online] Available: http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/27108 (June 15, 2018).
Dickinson, J., & Lumsdon, L. (2010). Slow travel and tourism. Tourism, environment and development. Washington D.C.: Earthscan.
Dickinson, J. E., & Robbins, D. (2007). Using the car in a fragile rural tourist destination: a social representations perspective. Journal of Transport Geography, 15(2), 116–126. DOI:10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2006.11.002.
Dickinson, J. E., & Robbins, D. (2008). Representations of tourism transport problems in a rural destination. Tourism Management, 29(6), 1110–1121. DOI:10.1016/j.tourman.2008.02.003.
Dolomites UNESCO Foundation. (2014). Analisi rete Natura 2000 Dolomiti UNESCO: Ipotesi di Armonizzazione Normativa e Gestione ʻUNES 5%ʼ, Rete delle Aree Protette. Available: http://www.dolomitiunesco.info/wp-content/uploads/ 2015/11/Documento_Armonizzazione_finale_rev.pdf (June 15, 2018).
Flick, U. (2011). Qualitative Sozialforschung. Eine Einführung. (4rd ed.). Hamburg: Reinbek.
Johnson, R.B., Onwuegbuzie, A.J., & Turner, L.A. (2007). Toward a Definition of Mixed Methods Research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1 (2), 112-133.
Lefebvre, H., Harvey, D., & Nicholson-Smith, D. (1991). The Production of Space. Blackwell Publishers.
Lueger, M. (2010). Interpretative Sozialforschung: Die Methoden. Wien: Facultas.
Lund-Durchlacher, D., Hergesell, A., & Mentil, K. (2013). Alpine pearls: a network promoting environmentally friendly holidays. In P. Benckendorff & D. Lund-Durlacher (Eds.), International cases in sustainable travel & tourism (pp. 9-24). Oxford: Good fellow publishers limited.
Lyons, G., Jain, J., & Holley, D. (2007). The use of travel time by rail passengers in Great Britain. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 41(1), 107–120.
Mommersteeg, B. (2014). Space, Territory, Occupy: Towards a Non-Phenomenological Dwelling. The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. [Online] Available: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/2510 (June 15, 2018).
Pechlaner, Harald; Pichler, Sabine; Herntrei, Marcus (2012): From mobility space towards experience space. Implications for the competitiveness of destinations. Tourism Review, 67 (2), 34-44.
Pechlaner, H., Laesser, C., Raich, F., & Bischof, L. (2004). Verkehrsentlastung Dolomitenpässe. Project report. Bolzano.
Pechlaner, H., & Volgger, M. (2012). How to promote cooperation in the hospitality industry: Generating practitioner‐relevant knowledge using the GABEK qualitative research strategy. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 24(6), 925–945.
Peeters, P., & Dubois, G. (2010). Tourism travel under climate change mitigation constraints. Journal of Transport Geography, 18, 447–457.
Peeters. P., Szimba, E., & Duijnisveld, M. (2007). Major environmental impacts of European tourist transport. Journal of Transport Geography, 15, 83–93.
Peeters, P., van Egmond, T., & Visser, N. (2004). European tourism, transport and environment. Final Version. Breda, Breda University of Applied Sciences: NHTV CSTT.
Rakić. T., & Chambers, D. (2012) (Eds.). An ibtroduction to visual research methods in tourism.London: Routledge.
Regnerus, H. D., Beunen, R., & Jaarsma, C. F. (2007). Recreational traffic management: The relations between research and implementation. Transport Policy, 14, 258–267.
Schiefelbusch, M., Jain, A., Schäfer, T. and Müller, D. (2007) ‘Transport and tourism: Roadmap to integrated planning developing and assessing integrated travel chains’. Journal of Transport Geography, 15, 94–103.
Scuttari, A., Volgger, M., & Pechlaner, H. (2016). Transition management towards sustainable mobility in Alpine destinations: Realities and realpolitik in Italy’s South Tyrol region. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24, 463–483.
Scuttari, A., Orsi, F., & Bassani, R. (2018). Assessing the tourism-traffic paradox in mountain destinations. A stated preference survey on the Dolomites’ passes (Italy). Journal of Sustainable Tourism. DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2018.1428336.
Scuttari, A., & Della Lucia, M. (2015). Managing sustainable mobility in natural areas: The case of South Tyrol (Italy). In F. Orsi (Eds.), Sustainable transportation in natural and protected areas (pp. 99–114). London; New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group; Routledge.
Scuttari, A., Della Lucia, M., & Martini, U. (2013). Integrated planning for sustainable tourism and mobility. A tourism traffic analysis in Italy’s South Tyrol region. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 21, 614–637.
Scuttari, A., Marcher, A., & Vanzi, G. (2018). #DOLOMITESVIVES. Vivere un’esperienza naturale sulle Dolomiti. Monitoring qualitativo. Technical Report. Bolzano: Eurac Research.
Scuttari, A., & Bassani, R. (2015). I passi dolomitici: Analisi del traffico e dei suoi impatti e proposta di misure di gestione. [Online] Available: http://www.dolomitiunesco.info/attivita/i-passi-dolomitici-pubblicato-lo-studio-eurac-commissio nato-dalla-fondazione/ (June 15, 2018).
Shaw, J., & Hesse, M. (2010). Transport, geography and the ‘new’ mobilities. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 35(3), 305–312.
Stanford, D., & Guiver, J. (2016). Driving pro-environmental change in tourist destinations: Encouraging sustainable travel in National Parks via partnership project creation and implementation. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24, 484–505.
Spinney, J. (2011). A Chance to Catch a Breath: Using Mobile Video Ethnography in Cycling Research. Mobilities, 6(2), 161–182. doi:10.1080/17450101.2011.552771.
Spinney, J. (2015). Close encounters? Mobile methods, (post)phenomenology and affect. Cultural geographies, 22(2), 231–246.
Rose, G. (2012). Visual Methodologies. An introduction to Researching with Visual Materials. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Toet, A. (1990). Hierarchical image fusion. Machine Vision and Applications, 1990, 3 (1), 1.
Urry, J. (2007). Mobilities (Reprinted.). Cambridge, Malden, MA: Polity Press.
Williams, A. M. (2013). Mobilities and sustainable tourism: path-creating or path-dependent relationships? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 21(4), 511–531.
Zelger, J. (2000). Twelve Steps of GABEKWinRelan. A Procedure for Qualitative Opinion Research, Knowledge Organization and Systems Development. In J. Zelger, R. Buber (Eds.), GABEK II. Zur Qualitativen Forschung (pp. 205–220). Innsbruck ua: StudienVerlag.