Coastal Mass Tourism

This text examines the development of mass tourism in coastal regions of Southern Europe, with implications for similar regions. It provides a critical assessment of attempts to make mass tourism resorts more sustainable, and the development of smaller-scale, alternative tourism products.

With more than 230 million international tourists a year, the Mediterranean region is the largest tourist destination in the world. This book outlines that its economic importance is matched by its significance as a cultural and aesthetic phenomenon. Through a series of ethnographic insights into some of the key sites of mass Mediterranean tourism, it focuses on package tourists' experiences of the serial, banal and depthless spaces that are mushrooming along the coast and the enchantments, dissolutions and dreams that saturate them. Moving away from the notion of authentic places corrupted by mass tourism, the book shows how new forms and spaces are made and remade by the mobilities and performances of locals, workers and tourists. Finally, the book looks at the complex materialities of mass tourism and the many networks that make it possible.

Once content to sunbathe and follow guides and established itineraries, tourists are increasingly seeking authentic culture. This is taking them into the private areas and zones to which the locals retire in order to escape the tourist gaze, creating tensions between the two groups. Based on recent anthropological field studies, this book describes how European communities dependant on tourism have been affected by the commoditization of their culture and explores the ways they cope with the constant attention of outsiders. The collection demonstrates both varied and skillful ways in which individuals and communities react to and cope with the impact of decades of mass tourism on their lives and values, thus throwing new light onto questions of identity, boundary maintenance and cultural adjustment.

This book aims to develop a global perspective on the management issues facing coastal resorts. It does so bydrawing on examples from a range of economies and environments written by key experts. The majormanagement themes highlighted include the processes of restructuring, attempts to develop sustainableagendas and environmental issues of developing resorts in sensitive areas.

This new book reviews all aspects of the phenomenon of mass tourism. It covers theoretical perspectives (including political economy, ethics, sustainability and environmentalism), the historical context, and the current challenges to domestic, intra-regional and international mass tourism. As tourism and tourist numbers continue to grow around the world, it becomes increasingly important that this subject is studied in depth and best practice applied in real-life situations. Finishing with a speculative chapter identifying potential future trends and challenges, this book forms an essential resource for all researchers and students within tourism studies.

In fewer than three hundred years tourism has become a global service industry of great economic, cultural and political importance. Published to critical acclaim, the Encyclopedia of Tourism - now available as a Routledge World Reference title - is the definitive one-volume reference source to this challenging multisectoral industry and multi disciplinary field of study. Comprising over one thousand entries, this volume has been written by an international team of contributors to provide a comprehensive guide to both the manifest and hidden dimensions of tourism. It explores the wide range of definitions, concepts, perspectives and institutions and includes: comprehensive coverage of key issues and concepts definitions of all terms and acronyms entries on the significant institutions, associations and journals in the field country-specific tourism profiles, from Greece to Japan and Kenya to Peru thorough analysis of the trends and patterns of tourism development and growth. The extensive cross-referencing and comprehensive index will assist the reader in making links between the diverse aspects of tourism studies, and the suggestions for further reading are invaluable.

This book brings together literature on Coastal and Marine Tourism to provide a comprehensive introduction to the development, impacts and management of Tourism in these coastal regions to offer insight into what makes this distinct from other forms tourism. The book achieves this by reviewing the history and motivation for coastal and marine tourist visits. It then reviews tourist activity, its organization and interaction with three main types of place: shorelines, urban resorts, and the ocean. In order to supply tourists’ needs, resources and businesses in these settings are then discussed and analyzed, within both an economic and geographical context. The focus of discussion then moves to examining the impacts of coastal and marine tourism on environments and local people, as well as future sustainable development. The book takes a multidisciplinary approach and offers original models for consideration and debate. It looks at coastal tourism globally, drawing out both underlying themes and cultural differences that impact upon coastal and marine tourism in different parts of the world. Well chosen international case studies with reflective questions at the end are integrated throughout to provide readers with valuable insight into the practicalities of developing and managing these destinations. To encourage reflection on main themes address and critical thinking, discussion questions and links to further reading are included in each chapter. This introduction to Coastal Tourism is essential reading for students studying on Tourism as well as Coastal Management programmes.