ABSTRACT
Although an important component of the tourism industry, researchers have generally shown little interest in undertaking research into drive tourism (Connell and Page 2008). The lack of research into the role of the car in shaping tourism demand and increasing the accessibility of many tourism resources is surprising. As Timothy (this volume) notes, cars carry more tourists in the US than any other mode of transport, a position that is echoed by the use of cars for leisure travel in Europe and other developed nations. Given this gap in the literature, the aim of this book is to present a scholarly and comprehensive review of drive tourism from a variety of perspectives. While the authors make no claim to an exhaustive treatment of every aspect of drive tourism, the book does bring together a range of drive tourismrelated research that we believe will assist to move the study of drive tourism from its current peripheral position to a more central place in the tourism research agenda.
