Time, tourism area ‘life-cycle,’ evolution and heritage

Abstract

ABSTRACT The tourism area life-cycle (TALC) concept has often not been supported by data. The link between tourism area life-cycle and evolution is usually not explored. In-depth understanding of the relationship between natural and cultural heritage and tourism evolution, with a spiral concept of time, that can be better predicted by local ‘calendars’ and folk wisdom, is lost sight of, affecting understanding. Discrepancies in TALC are understood by adjusting facts, including a hypothetical homogeneous effect of marketing, to fit its hypothetical structure. This paper re-examines these with the concept of spiral time and shows that ‘normality’ as per statistics and Butler’s model is purely hypothetical, not borne out by facts. Examples from across the globe show that resorts do not follow an exact pattern as described by the model. Better insights can be gained by considering sub-cycles, cycles, and super-cycles. Evolution is part of a broad theory of tourism based on diverse needs – physical, physiological, psychological, social, cultural, linguistic, spiritual, and emotional. A theory of evolution is necessary to understand tourism, and statistical ‘normality’ cannot be adjusted with facts unless a fresh perspective on time is considered, implying a paradigm shift and a new perspective on tourism, heritage and evolution.