Tourism destinations don't become popular overnight. They develop and change over time in a pattern that we can study and predict. Understanding how destinations evolve helps tourism planners make better decisions about managing visitor numbers, protecting local environments and ensuring tourism benefits local communities.
Key Definitions:
Understanding how destinations develop helps tourism managers to:
The most widely used model to explain tourism development is Butler's Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC), proposed by Richard Butler in 1980. This model suggests that destinations go through six distinct stages as they develop.
Butler's model shows how tourist destinations typically develop following an S-shaped curve, with visitor numbers increasing slowly at first, then rapidly, before eventually levelling off or declining. The model helps us understand why some destinations become overcrowded while others struggle to attract visitors.
By identifying which stage a destination is in, tourism planners can make better decisions about marketing, infrastructure development and environmental protection. For example, a destination in the early stages needs different strategies than one that's already well-established or declining.
Small numbers of adventurous tourists discover the destination. Limited facilities exist specifically for tourists. Visitors interact closely with locals. Minimal impact on local environment and culture.
Example: Remote villages in Papua New Guinea
Local people begin to provide facilities for tourists. Regular tourist seasons emerge. Basic advertising begins. Some organisation of travel arrangements. Local economy starts to depend on tourism.
Example: Parts of rural Albania
Large numbers of tourists arrive. Outside companies invest in hotels and attractions. Local control decreases. Natural and cultural attractions are developed specifically for tourism. Changes to the physical appearance of the area.
Example: Coastal areas of Vietnam
Tourism becomes a major part of the local economy. Visitor numbers continue to increase but at a slower rate. Major franchises and chains are present. Some older facilities may look dated. Heavy marketing to extend tourist season.
Example: Phuket, Thailand
Peak visitor numbers reached. Destination is no longer fashionable. Heavy reliance on repeat visitors. Environmental, social and economic problems may appear. Artificial attractions replace natural/cultural ones.
Example: Parts of Costa del Sol, Spain
Five possible paths: rejuvenation, reduced growth, stabilisation, decline, or immediate decline. The outcome depends on how the destination responds to challenges and whether it can reinvent itself.
Example: Blackpool, UK (attempting rejuvenation)
Several key factors determine how quickly and successfully a destination moves through the development stages:
How easy is it to reach the destination? This includes transport links (airports, roads, ports), visa requirements and travel time from major markets. Improved accessibility often triggers rapid development.
Example: When budget airlines began flying to Croatia, tourism development accelerated rapidly.
The availability of hotels, restaurants, attractions and basic services like clean water, electricity and internet. Poor infrastructure can keep a destination in the early stages despite having attractive features.
Example: Parts of Myanmar remain in early development stages due to limited tourism infrastructure.
The level of financial investment from government, private sector and international companies. Higher investment typically accelerates development but may reduce local control.
Example: Dubai's rapid development was fuelled by massive government investment in tourism infrastructure.
How supportive are local and national governments? Policies on land use, environmental protection and tourism development significantly impact growth patterns.
Example: Bhutan's "high value, low impact" tourism policy deliberately keeps visitor numbers low.
Iceland provides a perfect example of rapid movement through Butler's tourism development stages:
Challenges: Environmental damage to popular sites, housing shortages for locals as properties convert to tourist accommodation and strain on infrastructure during peak seasons.
Responses: Development of new tourist routes away from hotspots, limits on visitor numbers at fragile sites and investment in sustainable tourism infrastructure.
As we learn more about the impacts of tourism, many emerging destinations are trying to develop in more sustainable ways that avoid the problems faced by older destinations.
Modern tourism development often aims to be more sustainable by:
Some emerging destinations try to "leapfrog" certain development stages by learning from the mistakes of older destinations. They might:
Emerging destinations face several common challenges as they develop their tourism industries:
Rwanda shows how an emerging destination can develop tourism in a controlled, sustainable way:
Understanding tourism development stages helps us to:
For emerging destinations, the challenge is to develop tourism in ways that bring economic benefits while avoiding the problems that have affected many mature destinations. By understanding Butler's Tourism Area Life Cycle and applying sustainable development principles, emerging destinations have the opportunity to create tourism industries that benefit both visitors and local communities for generations to come.
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