Open this publication in new window or tab >>2013 (English)In: Annals of Tourism Research, ISSN 0160-7383, E-ISSN 1873-7722, Vol. 43, no Oct, p. 370-389Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The tourism economy is a fertile ground for multi-disciplinary research. It is vast anddiverse and differs markedly from other sectors. The challenging epistemology of thetourism economy makes it an intriguing field of study for scholars who are not groundedin the discipline. Likewise, tourism scholars tend to be open to advancements in otherdisciplines and readily embrace them. However, the idiosyncrasies of the tourismeconomy mean any new approach must be carefully vetted for fitness to task. Currentadvances in evolutionary economic geography (EEG) are receiving increasing interestfrom tourism scholars. EEG emerged from the literature on path dependence, complexitytheory, and generalised Darwinism. It has proven to be a powerful explanatory paradigmin other sectors, e.g., high-technology and creative sectors. There remains, however, alack of theoretical discussion on evolutionary principles of economic change withinrelatively low-technology service sectors, of which tourism is a prime example.This paper introduces the sub-discipline of evolutionary economic geography (EEG) to awider tourism audience and explores its possibilities and its potential drawbacks inapplications within tourism research. After presenting the core principles of EEG andhow they relate to tourism studies, a selection of new research paths combining EEG andtourism studies are presented starting with a brief illustration comparing Butler'sTourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) to Martin's stylised alternative development paths. Asignificant advantage of EEG is its heterodox economic rationale which acknowledgesthe existence of several co-evolving, long-term, socially-embedded development paths.This has resonance for tourism scholars engaged in regional development research whosee tourism as one (or more) oft-contested, dynamic development path(s) among many.The paper finds a number of latent research synergies with potential mutual benefits toEEG development and tourism studies. The paper concludes by calling for furtherempirical engagement with EEG by tourism scholars to gain new perspectives ontourism's place in the wider processes of regional economic development.
Keywords
evolutionary economic geography, path dependence, TALC, tourism
National Category
Social Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-18782 (URN)10.1016/j.annals.2013.07.001 (DOI)000327286600018 ()2-s2.0-84886589348 (Scopus ID)ETOUR (Local ID)ETOUR (Archive number)ETOUR (OAI)
2013-04-222013-04-222017-12-06Bibliographically approved