Astrotourism–Exceeding Limits of the Earth and Tourism Definitions?

Abstract

Emerging forms of alternative or even niche tourism represent a dynamic trend in tourism development. Astrotourism is completely off the beaten path. The aim of this study is to provide a deeper insight into this phenomenon. It strives to reveal motivations, experiences, and perceptions of its participants. It also aspires to propose its complex definition as an activity including both terrestrial astrotourism and space tourism. It is suggested to perceive it not only as a form of alternative and/or niche tourism, but also that of mass and professional tourism. To reach these objectives, the authors analyzed relevant published studies and astrotourism products presented on relevant websites and social media. They elaborated the collected secondary data by mental mapping and the comparative analysis of terrestrial and space tourism products. Moreover, the authors collected primary data through a survey with open-ended questions addressed to persons interested in astrotourism and through semi-structured interviews with terrestrial astrotourism participants and personalities. The results provide insight into both the specifity and variability of astrotourism and their typical products, as well as a discussion of their future trends. They also bring a motivation spectrum for the astrotourism participants and benefits perceived by them.

Space Tourism - Between Competition and Cooperation of States and Non-State Entities

“…And space security researchers emphasized the threats to countries caused by the convergence of areas considered today as battlefields, where space and cyberspace were added alongside the classic earth, air and sea (Gabriel and Koven, 2018). Astrorealism treats non-state entities as a threat to national interests in space, while the liberal-transnational perspective takes into account the constructive role of commercial entities and international organizations in the development of scientific research, using the economic values of space (Weinzierl, 2018) and space tourism (Cater, 2010;Soleimani et al, 2019;Pásková et al, 2021).…”

“…In the undertaken research and development of materials, the classic method of analysis of existing data (desk reasearch) was used, which is the result of three groups of methods, namely content analysis, statistical data analysis, and comparative literature analysis (Wendt and Bógdał-Brzezińska, 2018;Benghadbane and Khreis, 2019). At the beginning, literature studies were conducted in the field of the theoretical approach to space tourism (Cohen, 2017;Pásková et al, 2021), and then space tourism (Toivonen, 2020). The literature on the subject was also used, presenting political, military, economic and health determinants of tourism development (Peeters, 2018).…”

“…The US-Soviet rivalry in space inspired smaller countries to participate in international activity for the legal regulation of the status of space and to consider space policy as a condition for the development of their economies. Since the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, commercial space flights have become the subject of scientific interest, and the journal "Acta Astronautica" has become an important forum for scientific debate (Zhang and Wang, 2020;Pásková et al, 2021). The initially eclectic discourse has become more orderly, competing definition categories have emerged, such as astronomical tourism, which includes the observation of astronomical phenomena in particularly favorable destinations, or the classic exploring of space stations (Koshim et al, 2019) or space-related artifacts.…”

“…For the purposes of this study, a simple classification of astrotourism into terrestial, high atmosphere and space tourism was adopted. The latter, to which this research is devoted, can be divided into suborbit, on Earth orbit, beyond orbit and interstellar tourism (Cater, 2010;Fayos-Solá et al, 2014;Pásková et al, 2021).…”

Space Tourism: An Initiative Pushing Limits

“…Space tourism is not really a new idea after Apollo 11's first landing on the Moon in 1967. Today, space tourism has become cheaper and safer with the development of new Technologies (Pásková et al, 2021). In future, it is highly anticipated that corporations like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Orion Span, etc.…”