Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
development processes of such coastal resorts, while in terms of the former, following on from
Hawkins
et al.
's research (2002), it sought to test the World Wildlife Fund's hypothesis that
resort development is largely initiated by the state either at national or regional levels. Indeed,
in both cases the situation was found to be far more complex as developments were brought
about in a variety of ways.
While variation may be relatively easily observed within the development of pleasure-
periphery resorts, the complexities of coastal resort development within this environment
unfortunately have not been researched by tourism geographers to any great extent. Thus,
whilst there is familiarity with the concept of the resort cycle, the detailed processes under-
lying contemporary resort developments are therefore only vaguely understood. The attempt
by Prideaux (2004) has partly highlighted some of the trends in the economic stages of resort
development, whilst others (for example Murphy, 2007) have established some of the manage-
ment issues associated with these resorts. As a consequence, as Brenner and Aguilar (2002:
503) argue, there remains the question of 'who builds the resort'.
But it is not only the involvement of the state in coastal resort development that little is
known about as there has been scant research on investors. They are drawn into the develop-
ment process as key stakeholders whose interest centres on obtaining a good rate of return.
However, such returns may only be realised after fi ve or ten years, which may extend in some
cases to 25 years (Honey and Krantz, 2007). It is after this time that these investors may
well lose interest, and at that critical point the resort may start to change due to a lack
of investment. Again studies of this investment cycle and its relationship to resort develop-
ment are non-existent and should as a result comprise a key research theme that enhances
understanding of the geographies of coastal resorts.
Furthermore, another major component in the resort development process is the role
played by large international hotel organisations in helping to create an identifi able, global
brand (see
Figure 31.1
). These hotel organisations provide instant recognition, along with
expertise in marketing and computerised reservation systems. Within this context the major
hotel chains involved are Starwood, Sheraton, Ritz Carlton, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and
Four Seasons (Honey and Krantz, 2007). The general expansion of these hotel chains has
been dramatic over the last decade or so and such organisations provide tacit knowledge and
expertise along with the brand. In most cases the hotels are franchised and owned by local
investors who provide the capital, assume the development risks and engage in a wide range
of different activities.
These organisations offer a comprehensive range of services from branding and market
segmentation through to design and construction expertise. Such promotion is critical to
engage local investors in the development process, along with other global organisations such
as cruise operators and tour companies. This in turn helps to produce what Flagestad and
Hope (2001) term a corporate model of destination branding (see also Moilanen and Rainisto,
2009). Hotels also are changing, not just in the numbers being developed in these resorts
but also in terms of their scale and size. Indeed it is in this respect that Ayala (1991: 570)
argues that 'land has become the “edge” value, and developers have moved increasingly to
the acquisition of larger areas of land' to meet the demands of the hotel companies.
It therefore appears that there are a number of agents involved in coastal resort develop-
ment, and their differing roles, infl uence and activities have important consequences for the
geographies of coastal resorts, especially in shaping these tourism spaces (Shaw and Williams,
2004). It is this issue that the remainder of this chapter turns its attention to, as it engages in
a more in-depth discussion of the ways in which trends associated with global development
processes are shaping coastal resort spaces.
