Resorts
A resort provides recreation and entertainment and is typically visited for holidays and vacations. A large variation of resorts is available, ranging from basic vacation parks to luxury-, and all-inclusive resorts. A common denominator of all resorts is that they attempt to cater for all or most of a vacationer’s wants; including food, beverages, lodging, sports, entertainment and shopping.
Originally resorts were predominantly found near the coast (or a railroad), but with the introduction of the automobile more remotely located resorts were realized. Resorts appeared in scenic places, far away from the hectic life of cities. To maintain the scenic character of the resort, protect the local nature and to ensure a (noise and air) pollution free and tranquil environment for the guests, most resort are no longer allowing automobiles to access their premises – facilitating remote parking near the resort entrance.
Besides a better guest experience, another advantage from restricting car-access to the resort is that the space reserved for parking is minimized – both at the different resort facilities and at the villas/bungalows. The need for transportation within the resort remains and, especially when the resort is set-up more spaciously, a transportation system is desired. The transit system will have to match the personal character and quality of the car (privacy, available at any time), while avoiding its’ space consumption (parking places). Shared usage of small, automated vehicles is a suited alternative for resorts.
Resort towns (communities where tourism is a primary component of the local culture and economy) typically feature multiple hotels and offer a similar variation in activities as a resort. The distinction is that these activities are offered by different, competing companies. Most ski-resorts are resort towns, but also popular destinations as Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Porto Seguro (Brazil) and Phuket and Trang (Thailand). Typically the transit demand in these towns will be more group oriented. Automation of the local transit system allows for a higher service level (at lower operational costs).
Several resort towns are now focusing on ‘soft mobility’ – environmentally friendly travel by means of public transport, bicycle or foot. The village of Werfenweng (Austria) is well known for its initiatives in this perspective. People movers fit extremely well within this concept.
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