Tourism Cycle

1. Tourism Cycle Where do we go ?

2. Tourism CycleButler Stagnation Decline or Rejuvenation Consolidation Development Involvement Exploration

3. The problems of overdevelopment are the same everywhere; water, air and noise pollution, traffic congestion, and pressure on resources and services.  • The local environment is damaged by the loss of attractive landscapes, loss of habitat for flora and fauna, and the depletion of marine life through increased sewage outfall.  • These problems are compounded in mass tourism areas by massive seasonal increase in consumption of power and water, and increased pressure on waste disposal and emergency services (Sinclair & Gomez, 1996). 

4. 6 - Decline OR Rejuvenation • 6A - Decline option • The competition from other, ‘newer’, ‘more fashionable’ areas increases • The absolute numbers of tourists drops and the psychocentrics left are lower spenders looking for bargains

5. 6A - Decline • The attendant property values on tourist facilities starts to decline (for sale signs, vacancies abound) • There is an increase in weekend or day trips if possible • Attempts are made to change activities - perhaps use of facilities for retirement living

6. 6A - Decline • Local involvement begins to grow again • Corporations leave the area • The economic base changes and falls in value - the ‘heyday’ is over

7. 6B - Rejuvenation Option • This only seems to occur with a complete makeover • Return to the original attraction - clean up the physical environment and rejuvenate (upgrade) accommodation and other facilities • Stay with local ownership or high-grade outside ownership • Intense advertising and marketing

8. 6B - Rejuvenation Option • Addition of human-made focus or facilities • Prime example would be gambling such as that created in Atlantic City 1930 - Boardwalk

10. Use of previously untapped physical resource • Example would be such as older European Spas now used as facility bases for winter skiing • New England summer resorts refurbished and used for winter skiing • Hot trend - use of environment - Ecotourism

11. What is Sustainable Tourism?Tourism is one of the world's biggest and fastest growing industries. There is much debate about whether it can be truly sustainable and increasingly people talk of more sustainable tourism. This means trying to balance the often competing demands of residents, the environment,businesses and tourists themselves. The position of the balance varies from destination to destination.

12. Considerations • Places may not be able to sustain rejuvenation • May end up floating from one activity to another • Places may not see a ‘cycle’ progression but may establish a fixed long-term clientele

13. A steady state may develop where a steady return rate of mass tourists keep coming back • Example would be Disneyworld - marketing changes and new developments and playing the nostalgia card • A different example would be places where cost and accessibility are foremost - such as English seaside resorts

14. So the cycle can be held at any stage or initiated (progression) by determined planning • Movement on either axis (time or number of visitors implies an increase in impacts • The cycle has a lifespan implicit (the X axis) but little work has been done on this aspect

15. Ecological factors: • climate • vegetation • animal life • landscape • water. • Political factors: • jurisdictions • individual capability • individual priorities • personal goals. • accommodation

16. Physical factors: • accommodation • water supply • sewage systems • transportation / access • visual attractiveness. • Economic factors: • personal income • living costs • labour costs • resort technology • resort investment.

17. Local residents' experiences: • invasion of privacy • involvement in tourism • benefits from tourism • tourists' behaviour. • Visitor experiences: • volume of people • visitor behaviour • levels of service • welcome from locals • visitors' expectations

18. Butler has indicated four strategies for dealing with the problems of mass tourism: • reduction of the number of tourists to a level which the environment can support • change in the type of tourism • change in the resource itself • education of tourists, the host country, the business community and the government so as to bring about a reduction in the impact of tourism and control of its development. • This last option is the most desirable, but is only possible in the long term

19. Alternative - Gormensen Model • Development may come from and be initiated by - external developers (pro active) • The tourist ‘elites’ that are linked to allocentric behaviour may demand luxury accommodations and facilities

20. Seeing trends and profit potentials, governments and local populations may initiate development and keep control • Factors other than tourism (Butler) may drive the system • Style of local culture • Government considerations • Butler may be a part (sub-set) of the above considerations

21. When looking at the Western tourism in the third world debate, the argument falls into four specific debate-categories. • that tourism causes cultural destruction, when in fact it can cause cultural preservation; • that tourism causes societal destruction, when in fact it can cause societal preservation; • that tourism causes massive environmental destruction, when it fact it can cause ecological preservation; • that tourism is merely neo-colonialism under the guise of innocent sun seeking, when in fact it is the vehicle propelling the world into an nonracist direction