Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
8
COASTAL AND MARINE RECREATION
AND TOURISM
The coastal environment is a magnet for tourists and recreationists although its role in
leisure activities has changed in time and space, as coastal destinations have developed,
waned, been reimaged and redeveloped in the twentieth century. The coastal environment
is a complex system which is utilised by the recreationist for day trips, while juxtaposed
to these visits are those made by the domestic and international tourist. In an early
attempt to identify the complexity of the coastline for tourism, D.G.Pearce and Kirk
(1986) identified three elements to the coastal environment: the
hinterland
(where
accommodation and services are provided); the
transit
zone (i.e. dunes) and the
recreational activity
zone (beach and sea). This model typifies much of the research by
geographers prior to the 1990s: to observe, record, synthesise and model recreational and
tourism phenomena in pursuit of an explanation of the spatial relationships and nature of
the coast. In Lavery's (1971b) analysis of resorts, the distinction between recreation and
tourism blurred but the coastal resort was a dominant element of the observed patterns
and models of tourism activity. The pursuit of explanations of the spatial structure of
coastal tourism and preoccupation with the resort morphology has led to the replication
of a multiplicity of studies that look at the similarities and differences between resorts in
different parts of the world. As D.G. Pearce (1988a) rightly concluded:
In stressing the physical form tourism takes along the coast, geographers
have largely neglected the way tourists actually use this space. The
questions of where and how coastal tourists spend their time appear to
have been taken for granted for they have rarely been addressed explicitly
nor examined in any detail.
(D.G.Pearce 1988a:11)
This assessment may equally be applied to the recreational activities of visitors to the
coastal environment since this neglect is not germane to tourism alone. This was
confirmed by Patmore (1983:209) since 'For such extensive resource, it has been little
studied in any comprehensive fashion'.
Ocean and coastal tourism is widely regarded as one of the fastest growing areas of
contemporary tourism (Pollard 1995; Kim and Kim 1996; Orams 1999). While tourism
