The relationship between development and accessibility to places is a fundamental question in geography. The analysis of the literature has allowed us to show the complexity of the relationship between tourism development and accessibility to territories, and more particularly by air. Moreover, the air transport sector has undergone structural transformations over the last 20 years. The political will to move toward liberalization has been accompanied by the disengagement of governments and the rise of private companies, particularly low-cost airlines, motivated by economic (tourism) profitability rather than by a role in regional development. Despite the wealth of scientific production on air transport and tourism, there is a lack of studies that explicitly address the role of public and private actors and their strategies on the relationship between air transport, especially low-cost, and tourism development._x000D_
This paper therefore proposes to examine more specifically the interactions between the establishment of low-cost airlines in regional airports and the strategies of local actors for territorial development through tourism. We conducted semi-directive interviews with actors involved in economic, tourism and airport development (airport managers, public and private actors in local tourism development) for three case studies of airports in La Rochelle, Bergerac and Carcassonne. We show that the balance of power between the low-cost airlines, especially Ryanair, and the public actors in our three case studies is unbalanced and more advantageous for Ryanair. Even with the existence of other airlines serving La Rochelle and Bergerac, Ryanair remains in a dominant position. This positioning of the airline within our three case studies is reflected in Ryanair’s demands for advantages, particularly in Bergerac where it is demanding increased aid in order to open a new route. We also assert that public actors will have difficulties in continuing to subsidize air traffic due to budgetary constraints, particularly at the level of the communities of agglomerations. It should be noted that these airports have been affected by the health crisis, as have all airports. Due to such crisis, air traffic within our three case studies remains disrupted, which requires intervention by public actors at several geographical levels to ensure the continuity of air transport.

Yoann FADEL
University of Angers/ESTHUA

 
ID Abstract: 14