Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
shaping the operation and development of tourism in post-industrial cities, and the
implications for public sector tourism and leisure policy. One outcome of such research is
that it highlights the role of the state, especially local government, in seeking to develop
service industries based on tourism and leisure production and consumption in urban
areas, as a response to the restructuring of capitalism which has often led to employment
loss in the locality. It also illustrates the significance of place-marketing in urban tourism
promotion (Ashworth and Voogd 1990a, 1990b; Gold and Ward 1994; Gold and Gold
1995; Hall 1997b) as destinations seek to reinvent and redefine themselves in the market
for cultural and heritage tourism (Houinen 1995; Judd 1995; Bramwell and Rawding
1996; Chang et al. 1996; Schofield 1996; Dahles 1998; Hall and McArthur 1998).
Mullins' (1991) concept of tourism urbanisation is also useful as it assists in
developing the following typology of urban tourist destinations:
• capital cities
• metropolitan centres, walled historic cities and small fortress cities
• large historic cities
• inner-city areas
• revitalised waterfront areas
• industrial cities
• seaside resorts and winter sport resorts
• purpose-built integrated tourist resorts
• tourist-entertainment complexes
• specialised tourist service centres
• cultural/art cities.
(After Page 1995b:17)
This typology illustrates the diversity of destinations which provide an urban context for
tourist visits, and highlights the problem of deriving generalisations from individual case
studies without a suitable conceptual framework. Page and Hall (2002) provide a
framework for understanding the complexity of urban tourism as shown in Figure 5.5,
which identifies many of the interrelationships between the supply, demand and external
factors.
Interpreting urban tourism: from concepts to theoretically informed
analysis
Page and Hall (2002) point to the growing geographical research on postmodernism (e.g.
Dear 1994, 1999; Dear and Flusty 1999) to identify the defining characteristics of the
postmodern city. These characteristics have highlighted the significance of sociological
literature in the arising urban places and spaces used to produce and consume urban
tourism. The postmodern era has been characterised by cultural transformations which
have
