Vue Touristique 1-4/1988 [antikvár]

OUR POINT OF VIEWMake way for thetourism of homotaber!Industrial tourism, technical tourism, economic tourism, and so on. This "baby" who is now over thirty years old, at least in the case of Europe, has still not been christened. It is a fact though that a new form of tourism already exists in the form of visits to enterprises in operation or shut down, ports, laboratories, farms, etc. Countries just braching out into tourism have includedtions and the workshops need to be made safe. Special insurance has to be taken out. Problems of possible economic or industrial spying must be considered. But won't a tourist feel too frustrated without a camera? Toilets need to be provided, as well as parking space for coaches and cars. This involves extra costs for the factory owner. The model we have been able to see is the Volvo factoryFIJET Board of Directors visiting Ford factory near Valencia in Spainthis form from the outset, even offering visits to hospitals. For today, tourism is no longer an excuse for mindless sunbathing and is being increasingly extended beyond the narrow limits of passive visits to museums and castles. It is becoming the "tourism of economic discovery". We could even speak of the "tourism of homo faber", giving people the opportunity to visit man at work.For professionals in the tourist trade, for those who organize and sell travel, this is a strange activity. It can be carried out in groups or individually, it can be arranged in tours, it can fill coaches and planes, but no charge can be made at the entry to the site. In addition, accommodation cannot always be found in the immediate vicinity. The enterprises, for their part, are opening their doors with caution. There are problems of accident protection: special equipment is needed or, even better, the installa-in Göteborg, Sweden, The Ford plant near Valencia in Spain is not bad either. And the whole thing works. In October 1987 when FIJETthe patron of this magazine "Vue Touristique"visited the Ford plant bookings for visits were already full till well after May 1988. This, despite the fact that two small trains, each seating thirty persons, attended by a team of six persons speaking a number of languages, are able to handle 20,000 visitors a year. On board, apart from the continuous running commentaries that can be heard perfectly despite the noise level thanks to the earphones provided, the visitor is even supplied with goggles as protection against sparks or any mishaps. And at times work comes to a standstill to let the tourist train pass through. In this case, the risk must be worth the effort. Mr. Juan Omenaca Gonzalez showed special enthusiasm. "Of course it's good for the general image of Ford cars. But it's alsogood for the socio-cultural and even family atmosphere. For the first visitors are the workers' own children and families. Back home it sometimes helps them to understand why Daddy is tired and grumpy at times." Does that mean that tourism can also be a factor in bringing families and households closer together? It is only a few months ago that we wrote here in "Vue Touristique" that "tourism is everything and tourism is in everything".Sales at the exitor afterUndoubtedly, this type of tourism is more immediately justifiable and regarded as "profitable" if, once the tour is over, the tourist finds himself in a shop where he can buy what he has just seen being made: wines, drinks, perfumes, chocolates, cheeses, porcelain, etc. And even vehicles. The favourable effects for the image of the product belong in another category. But there can be no doubt that they exist. Even nuclear power plants can be visited. Those in France received 400,000 visitors in 1987. And it is generally agreed that this helps to make this method of producing electricity more acceptable in the eyes of the general public. The major restructuring in industry in recent years has led to the closing down of old plants, particularly in the steel industry. In Lorraine and Franche-Comté, some of these have been transformed into tourist sites. The guides are former workers who lost their jobs when the mills were shut down. And the government has created the post of Conservator of the Industrial Heritage. Are these new types of masterpieces at risk?RÉMY R. LEROUX API Paris President of FIJET