Transportation as a lifeline of tourism development in socialist countries
International Association for the History of Traffic, Transport and Mobility (T2M)
Theme Group: Tourism in Socialist Countries
New Delhi 02.12.2010-05.12.2010, National Rail Museum (NRM), New Delhi, India
Deadline: 01.05.2010
The International Association for the History of Transport, Traffic and Mobility (T2M) invites proposals for papers to be presented at the Eighth International Conference on the History of Transport, Traffic and Mobility, to be held in New Delhi, India, 2nd to 5th December 2010.
The dominance of public transport (especially trains and buses) in socialist countries contrasts with the strong and constantly increasing appreciation for the automobile - and later the aeroplane - in tourism-related transport in western societies. Nevertheless there are huge national differences, e.g. capitalist European countries were/are much less automobile-oriented than the USA; or: the sheer size of the USSR made other means of transportation the most viable option when compared to smaller socialist countries.
All socialist governments have favoured public transport and have therefore instituted strong control over transportation policy in their respective countries, often through central ministries. Tourism was given an important role within the activities of these institutions since at least the 1970s - when the systems competed with more and more individual transportation (especially automobiles) used especially for vacation trips - partly as a matter of socialist ideology. Private transportation was made expensive and uncomfortable - waiting times for cars, low product quality, rationing of petrol, limited road network - while public transport was nearly always available and cheap. On the contrary more market-oriented countries have partly neglected public transport, while opening the market for private transport initiatives; and furthermore developments to improve individual transportation have been subsidised. In socialist countries, while promoting and providing it in large quantities, public transport was run on a low level of comfort and service since this 'non-productive' sector was considered to be of secondary economic importance. Concerning tourism, public transport was thought to be most consistent with a planned economy, since there were clear limits and moreover a dense control on people's mobility.
The papers should critically address one or more of the following assumed benefits of transportation adjusted to the general conference'scategories: