Geography Reference
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the social and environmental impacts that may also occur. For example, Deller et al.
(1997) estimated that for the United States, second homes generate revenues that just
cover the increased expenses for public services. However, in other locations second
home tourism is considered an important cornerstone for many rural economies. Second
home owners tend to favour small rural shops and therefore contribute to the maintenance
of service levels in the countryside (Müller 1999: Hall and Müller 2004). For example,
Müller (1999) established that four German second
home owners in Sweden spent as much as a permanent Swedish household. In another
study in the Nordic countries it was shown that the consumption of between three and
thirty-two second home households equalled the consumption of a permanent household.
The differences depended primarily on the quality of the housing stock and the owners'
intention to actually use the second home (Jansson and Müller 2003). Similarly, in a
study of recreational homes in Wisconsin and Minnesota in the United States,
Marcouiller et al. (1998) demonstrated that second home owners played an important role
in generating local business activity in great part because they use their properties
throughout the year (albeit with greater use in summer). 'On average, recreational
homeowners spent about [US]$6,000 per year on items directly used or attributed to their
recreational homes. Purchases made locally ranged from 20-70 per cent of this amount,
including remodelling and meals' (1998:i). Interestingly, Marcouiller et al. (1998) also
found that at the county level, the expenditure patterns of the residents and recreational
home owners were generally similar with respect to how much money was spent outside
the county.
As with all tourism development, second homes invariably bring a range of impacts to
an area. Undesirable physical impacts may occur due to a lack of adequate infrastructure
and planning; this includes lack of sewage systems, inappropriate site choice, excessive
development and a failure to consider the excessive burden upon areas at peak holiday
times (Mathieson and Wall 1982; Gartner 1987). The responsibility for these impacts
usually lies with regional and local government which must put effective regulatory
controls into place (Dower 1977; Shucksmith 1983). Local government may also have a
significant role in relation to social impacts, as they can regulate development so as not to
incur conflict between second home owners and various groups. Examples of social
conflict have included disagreement between locals and second home residents regarding
levels of development (Jordan 1980; Gartner 1986; Green et al. 1996; D.G. Pearce 1998;
Visser 2004), conflict due to perceived social inequality (Gallent 1997), and competition
for the use of land (Gallent 1997; Visser 2004). Second homes, and the related issues of
'homes for locals' and the maintenance of services, are probably (more than most forms
of tourism migration/settlement) the focus of contested space issues (Jordan 1980; Girard
and Gartner 1993; Fountain and Hall 2002; Hall and Müller 2004).
To understand the impacts of second homes, one must discover the motivations behind
the decisions to have a second home. Second home owners are motivated by a number of
reasons, many of which have to do with the specific amenity characteristics of a location
including distance from primary residence, physical and social characteristics of the area
and availability of recreational opportunities (Tombaugh 1970; Boschken 1975; Coppock
1977a; Ragatz 1977; D.G.Pearce 1998). However, one of the most significant aspects of
second home ownership is the extent to which it is related to broader travel and lifestyle
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