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and regulation). More recently, Sorensen (2007) analysed the social innovation network
geography of tourism through a study of fi rms in Malaga, Spain. Although the agglomeration
and industry cluster literature presupposes that proximity facilitates the transfer of tacit
knowledge, since it is theoretically embedded in locality (Maskell and Malmberg, 1999),
according to Sorensen, this does not play out in some destinations. He argues that local
tourism social networks are dense though 'loose', since the smaller locally owned fi rms are
more concerned with day-to-day tasks rather than building local network alliances.
Conversely, Sorensen characterises the non-local networks of the larger tourism fi rms as
'sparse' but strong, since they are culturally and economically proximate (similar information
needs, fi rm cultures and production practices).
Shaw and Williams (2009) highlight the need to explicitly entrench discussions on innova-
tion and the transfer of knowledge in the study of tourism to better comprehend the competi-
tive nature of fi rms and destinations. From a geographical perspective, the focus is on a more
complete conceptualisation of tourism-based learning regions, particularly those places where
collective learning, knowledge transfer and inter-fi rm linkages facilitate a sustainable competi-
tive advantage. In an analysis of tourist attractions in Cornwall, Weidenfeld
et al.
(2010: 621)
found that the most common form of knowledge transfer 'was “learning by observation/imita-
tion”, followed by “labour mobility” and “inter-fi rm exchanges” through coordinated visits
between attractions, tourism associations and exhibitions'. However, more empirical research
is needed on the economic geography of tacit knowledge within tourism learning regions
before arguing with certainty that such spillovers are triggered by conditions of spatial prox-
imity. Hall and Williams (2008) suggest one fruitful avenue of research is to better integrate
an analysis of regional innovation systems in tourism with the resort cycle model, cultural and
museum districts, and the clustering of hotels in downtown and suburban nodes.
New directions: tourism labour geography
While tourism entrepreneurship, innovation, inter-fi rm networks and tourism's interrela-
tionship to learning regions periodically attract the attention of geographers, leading to valu-
able theoretical insights, another important dimension of the political economy of tourism is
neglected (Baum, 2007; Gibson, 2009). We refer the reader to examinations of the geogra-
phies of work and workers in tourism. This is despite Britton's (1991: 458) recognising the
necessity for geographic inquiry acknowledging the unusual characteristics of tourism
workers as 'simultaneously providers of labour services and part of the consumed product'. It
is, according to him, imperative to understand that tourism workers cannot merely be exam-
ined in terms of the tangible products they offer. Rather, one must account for the attitudes
and personal attributes of these workers since much of the visitor's experience depends on
these elements. Ultimately, Britton believed that comprehending the interlinkages of capital
to labour was a fundamental cog toward a stronger understanding of the mechanisms
governing the tourism production system.
To be sure, there are geographic studies attempting to incorporate a 'geographical agenda
in relation to tourism labour markets' (Church and Frost, 2004: 225). Lundmark (2006)
explores the effect of seasonality in winter destinations on labourers' migration patterns.
Church and Frost (2004) utilise Sassen's (1994) 'global city thesis' to investigate London's
tourism labour market, specifi cally looking at the inequities arising when a growing number
of tourism workers earn wages that cannot keep pace with the city's excessive property prices.
Gladstone and Fainstein (2004) examine how the regulatory regimes of various localities
create contingencies that signify varying conditions for hotel workers and, as we have already
