Volume I – No. 3 – September 2004
T2M or T4M?
During my opening speech at our last Eindhoven conference I had included in my Power Point presentation a slide with the above question, the T-square standing for transport and traffic, and the extra two T’s representing travel and tourism. During the last Paris meeting of the Executive Committee I was given the assignment to start negotiations with the International Commission for the History of Travel and Tourism (ICHTT) about a possible future cooperation. As a first expression of this cooperation a common conference could be organized, an endeavor which could help us explore and define the common interests between the two fields of Mobility History and the History of Tourism. I wouldn’t have written this message if I had not already received some indications from the tourism group of a strong interest in such negotiations.

Close cooperation (or even a merger) between our two organisations could help us reach our goals quickly and elegantly. We, as an association, do not yet have the critical mass to organize an annual conference without a certain financial risk to the local organizer, a situation we should strive to avoid as soon as possible in order to reach a state of stability and continuity. Also, the subscription base of The Journal of Transport History could be expanded substantially which could open the road to an extra, annual third issue, providing a more frequent platform for our scholarly debates.

At the moment you receive this Newsletter the meeting with the tourism group has yet to take place. In Dearborn, at the Members Meeting, I hope to report to all of you, and bring good news about our next conference, either T2M or T4M. Whatever happens, it is very likely that our next conference will be held in good old England.

Gijs Mom