This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Saarinen, J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

‘Destinations in change’

The transformation process of tourist destinations

University of Oulu, Finland, jarkko.saarinen{at}oulu.fi

Tourism studies have for a long time been interested in tourist destinations, their identity and the changes occurring in them. In view of the ‘spatialization of social theory’ and the past discussions on locality studies in human geography, this article seeks to contribute to our understanding of research into tourist destinations and their changes. The article focuses on the conceptual nature of tourist destination and especially the processes transforming the idea of a destination, its representations and physical character as a subject of research. Tourist destinations are seen as dynamic, historical units with specific identities characterized by hegemonic and other discourses, which all produce a notion of what the destination is and represents at the time. However, there is not just one idea or discourse of destination at the time but several, possibly even conflicting ones, which emphasizes the need to consider the ethical aspects of tourism development in research.

Key Words: development • locality studies • region • representations • space • tourist • destination

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?