Evolutionary economic geography and tourism studies: extant studies and future research directions

Abstract

This paper presents the extant literature on evolutionary economic geography (EEG) and tourism studies and briefly reviews what has been produced thus far. There are two main areas addressed: path dependence (and how to break from a path) and co-evolution (of tourism paths within a given region and of regional paths including tourism). The papers already published on EEG and tourism feature cases from resort communities, mass tourism destinations and rural and peripheral areas with all cases from highly developed countries (Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and Australia). Next, the papers of the special issue are explored and show a broadening of the geographical reach (to include China and Spain) and a move to apply EEG theory as part of a hybrid theoretical framework. Finally, the paper concludes with a call for broader evolutionary approaches in tourism studies beyond strictly business development studies. This ultimately requires the development of EEG measures in line with the goals of sustainable tourism development.