Research note: Implications for regional destinations of new airline strategies

Recent developments in airline strategies have resulted in important changes in both airfares and services offered to tourists. Analyses of the impacts of the latest changes are only now emerging, usually in fairly general terms. The consequences for specific destinations, particularly those that may be a bit outside the norm, have not been considered. This discussion sets out to identify some important changes in the airline industry and to consider their likely impacts on the demand for tourist destinations. The focus is on strategic, that is relatively long-term, developments in the airline industry, rather than short-term or singular effects, such as the impacts of the 9/11 terrorist attacks (although these can be seen in the examples). The Balearic Islands (Spain) and Adelaide (Australia) are considered as widely differing regional cases in assessing how destinations can be affected by these airline strategic developments.