Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This consciousness has been echoed in recent tourist policies associated with the transfor-
mation and improvement of mass coastal destinations, for example in the integral renewal
project of 'Platja de Palma' (Palma's beach) in Mallorca. The project is based on seven stra-
tegic ideas that link tourism with urban conditions in the destination (see Consorci Platja de
Palma, 2009) that are:
an integral renewal of the urban planning system;
opting for tourism positioning mechanisms that accentuate the destination internationally
as a Mediterranean leader;
improving the living conditions of residents and workers;
a commitment to the reduction of negative environmental impacts;
adapting to climate change and preserving natural, terrestrial and marine systems;
the development of an advanced conjoint digital space for all;
an institutional agreement that facilitates a new form of 'governance' for the change.
A fundamental question, then, is how the vulnerability of mass tourism destinations (facing
new global dynamics) can affect their competitiveness in negative terms. This is a question
that requires in-depth consideration from different research perspectives, especially in terms
of what destination vulnerability means in relation to issues such as climate change (Moreno,
2010; Richardson and Witkowski, 2010) as well as in relation to the role of policies that
destinations can implement to mitigate potential negative effects (UNWTO, UNEP and
WMO, 2008).
Rethinking perspectives on mass tourism
Mass tourism has helped to create new regulatory and organisational structures that draw
fl ows of both tourists and residents and that generate new social, economic and spatial rela-
tionships. We can state, from this perspective, that processes of spatial and urban development
have taken place that have their origins in population attraction dynamics that, in a tempo-
rary or permanent way, are also associated with the dynamics of mass coastal tourism. In this
respect, this chapter has highlighted the value of the mass coastal destinations as spaces for the
reception of social groups and, as a consequence, the appearance of the new economic and
social opportunities that exist for them in the context of globalisation.
This contribution to the analysis of mass tourism has highlighted not just opportunities
but also the need to analyse processes of mass tourism development in coastal areas in greater
depth, due to the following fundamental issues (among others):
The key role of mass tourism in the dynamics of global capitalism;
The clearly 'urban' nature of most coastal tourist destinations;
The connection between the destination growth and the new dynamics of mobility of a
residential, social and productive nature;
The extreme importance of renewal/restructuring processes in existing, consolidated
tourist destinations;
The emergence of new innovation environments;
The ability of tourism to bring about transformations and confl icts on every scale.
On the basis of the above, several key questions emerge for future research into mass coastal
tourist destinations. First, we need to understand in more detail the fl ows that tourism directs
