Backyard Tourism Peter de Salis As there is ,?ss and less developable space in densely populated areas, such as towns and cities, city planners a;e being forced to allocate space in order to accommodate for leisure areas and touristic points. of interest. Many cities, such as New York or Barcelona, have many touristic hubs that have developed as part of the city over time, however if prospecting city planners were to consider building"â' Disneyland or similar at!}action in a city such as Geneva, they would likely find there is very little space. For large installmeA(s, the only option is to remove green spaces or demolish commercial areas in the center of towï{ If a large tourist attraction were build in Grand Saconnex, how would this affect the town? The first issue that a city planner is likely to face is the traffic ciljd,fuovement of people. Currently Route de Ferney carries a very large quantity of vehicles from the freeway and directly into the center of town. It also passes via the Intercontinental Hotel and Place des Nations, which are both locations of political and touristic importance respective y. This road is also frequently used by those who work in the downtown Geneva area, but live further away to make their commute to and from work. Traffic is not uncommon in the early hours of the morning. Failure to manage tlfe traffic could lead to decreased air quality and increased air pollution (which is taken very seriousl(in Switzerland), as well as the slow of production in the local area as workers take longer to arrive. It is very nlikely that the current infrastructure could manage such a large influx of tourists to the attraction.,without an overpass or other for of shortcut from the freeway. An perfect example of this is in New York, where traffic causes massive delays. How about public transport, could this help the situation? Indeed, in areas where with taxi and bus lanes in busy areas, public transport can discourage people from taking their cars thus preventing many of the issues described above. However, in cities and areas where the roads cannot be expanded to create bus and taxi lanes, public transport can, in fact, exacerbate the issue-: Yellow taxis in New York account for a huge quantity of vehicles on the roads, and so fill up the already traffic-ridden roads. Similarly, in Grand Saconnex, where developable land is expensive and spae is tight, there is little space for public transport to accommodate for the extra demand from tourism. This issue may also pose a similar issue during construction of the attraction, whereby the large vehicles cause delays turning out of or into driveways or at intersections. In order to create space for this new development, it is likely that residential areas or green spaces will be demolished, and so will have to be compensated for somewhere else. It is possible that further residential development in natural areas such as fields may be required to achieve this compensation. Private land owned by farmers and agricultural establishments ']lay have to be bought out, thus reducing the annual yields and revenue of the agricultural sector in thà(area, which could come as a significant disruption to commerce. However, it is possible that the new service jobs to care for removal of extra rubbish and waste, as well as the commercial establishments that will arise as a result of the development, may compensate for some of this loss, perhaps even growing the commercial sector in that area. The economic implications of a largétouristic development are likely to be felt across a much wider area ,/ than Grand Saconnex. Tbjs development may become just one of many important honey pot developments that tourists come to Geneva, and so they are likely to make an extended visit to all of

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these places. During this time, they will be inclined to spend money at various commercial establishments both around Grand Saconnex and in the center of Geneva. the consequences of a_!Yincreased leisure industry in such a small area include far higher property prices, which is bad for those who are not yet on the property ladder, and greater social contribution taxes for those living nearby.~Despite the extra income generated by corporation and income tax from the newly constructed businesses and those who work there, it is reasonable to suspect that life will become far more expensive for the greater area of Grand S~connex Assuming that the aforementioned issues can be defeated, we now must consider the cultural and political impact of this development. The canton of Geneva is not necessarily known for its cultural importance, rather more so for the commercial success that various luxury goods brand have had in the city. Similarly, Grand Saconnex is quite generic in terms of cultural importance. Unlike in some cases, where tourism can affect the culfure and traditions of the country or city, the greatest impact is likely to be commercial, as stated earlie( Similarly, the political importance of the small town of Grand Saconnex is negligible. The greatest political impact of this likely small establishment will be improved relations between the brand associated with the development and the com~une. Finally, to summarise and conclude, my decision of whether or not to construct a large touristic attraction such as an amusement park or of similar nature, is based on the fine line between economic benefits such as increased revenue to the canton and new jobs for younger people, and the social disadvantages such as increased road noise from traffic, and increased social contribution taxes. I have concluded that it would not be ideal to create a large honey pot site such as a Di~yland or similar in Grand Saconnex. I believe that it is not possible to create one large enough for i90 make worthwhile economically, while the still bringing many social downsides with it. I recommend thát such a development is constructed in a less densely populated area, with appropriate road and service infrastructure.