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The leisure society : is there no end to tourism growth ?

 

A quote

• “growth curves only tend to infinity in mathematics. In reality, they level out or run into each other”

1978 D. Gabor – Nobel Prize for physics

Growth or development ?

• Growth
  Growth refers to an essentially quantitive process, one that is distinguishable from the notion of economic progress implying a value judgement on the nature or impacts of economic evolution.
    
• Development
  Transformation of a society in the sense of global progress. Development has economic, sociodemographic, political and cultural elements.

Some observations

• In Europe we have been speaking about development for 10 years now
  • Development policy, development project, development facilities, etc.
• We speak about sustainable tourism
  • Originally as a way to use the environment for controlling economic growth
  • Nowadays as a new model for ensuring that development is balanced between social issues, the economy and the environment

Growth

• C.tot = N.units of product x P. unit  
• 3 factors :
  • Productivity (worforce and technology)
  • Organisation (management capacity)
  • Raw material
• For tourism
  • The raw material is the tourists’ time (a raw material that is evident at the time of consumption)
  • Management is the ability to attract tourists and manage the tourist product (be innovative)
  • Productivity depends on the workforce and the availability of the raw material

Tourism growth factors

• Quantity of tourists
  • Depends on general wealth and its distribution
  • Depends on holiday time available
  • Currently limited (particularly in developed countries and Europe)
• Product and destination
  • Must be as comprehensive as possible to ensure maximum profitability. Tourist space must be exploited to the maximum.
  • Have excellent “image motivators”
• Management is the critical factor as it organises the product and the image

Limitations

• Demography in Europe
  • The number of tourists is reaching its ceiling
  • Growth depends on the developing countries (Eastern Europe, Asia),
  • But will they use European products or will they prefer their own?
• Competition from all angles
  • New types of tourism (visiting cities to enjoy the arts, going overseas, holidays based around nature, gastronomy and wine)
  • New destinations that make “traditional” destinations and tourism seem commonplace
• Ever-changing leisure time sociology
  • More “city-based” practices and activities (e.g. rollerskating)

Consequences ?

• Growth in tourism is limited by :
  • The availability of leisure time, but this seems to be increasing
  • That is not all, though, as we also need availability of money
  • Both these factors must increase at the same time, otherwise one will restrict the other.
• It is currently difficult to predict what direction tourism growth will take in the future
  • Because of leisure parks that absorbe a large part of the budget
  • Certain sports that are becoming “urbanised”, more important relationship and sociability possibilities that exist in the towns more than in tourist resorts

A new cycle of sustainable development ?

• Sustainability of development (controlled growth) could generate a new cycle based on :
  • Better quality of life for producers (more productivity)
  • Less sense of being in the midst of a tourism “factory” (improved economic output)
  • Land development so that the product is less mundane and more competitive compared to overseas tourism (authenticity value)
• But that will require
  • More efficient land management
  • More public-private partnerships

Slideshow