Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
growth in the number and quality of publications by tourism and recreation geographers
which, although not influencing geography outside the subdiscipline, has had a major
impact on the direction of tourism and recreation studies. Second, there is clearly a
conscious attempt to provide a stronger theoretical base to tourism and recreation
geography which would both be informed by and contribute to contemporary social
theory, particularly with respect to such issues as globalisation, localisation,
commodification, restructuring and sustainability (e.g. Britton 1991; Hall 1994; Shaw
and Williams 1994; Hall and Jenkins 1995; Ioannides 1995, 1996; Montanari and
Williams 1995; Hall and Lew 1998). Finally, tourism and recreation geographers are
seeking to promote their work more actively in academic and non-academic spheres.
This topic reinforces several of the above themes. At one level it seeks to highlight the
scope, nature and contribution of geography and geographers to the study of tourism and
recreation. However, at another it also aims to provide some insights into the nature of
the theoretical transformations which are occurring in the field. Figure 1.3 provides an
overall framework for many of the key issues discussed in the topic. The figure attempts
to illustrate the relationships between some of the foci of the geography of tourism and
recreation, including the opportunity spectrum that exists in relation to home-based
leisure, recreation and tourism, and corresponding factors of demand and supply. These
are themselves influenced and mediated by regulatory structures and the institutional
arrangements that govern tourism. The impacts that occur through the intersection of
supply and demand, consumption and production are located in a range of different
environments which each provide separate experiences of place and constructed leisure/
tourism spaces.
The following two chapters examine the demand and supply elements of tourism and
recreation. Chapter 2 examines how the demand for tourism and recreation is
conceptualised and analysed, the concepts developed to derive a focus for research and
the implications for a geographical analysis. In Chapter 3, the main techniques and
methods of evaluating tourist and recreational resources are discussed as a basis for
Chapter 4, and looks at the interactions of demand and supply variables in relation to the
impacts of tourism and recreation.
