Unfolding touristification in retail landscapes: Evidence from rent gaps on high street retail

Abstract

Touristification is an emerging concept used to enable the understanding of how various stakeholders interfere and transform a neighbourhood through tourist activities. This study develops a touristification rent gap theory to examine how an influx of tourists causes an increase in retail rents. We hypothesise that ceteris paribus, a higher tourist-concentrated area, will have higher demands for tourist-specific goods and services that increase retail rent gaps. To test the hypothesis, we conduct both time series and cross-sectional data analyses. The time series analysis confirms a strong association between tourists’ spending and retail rents. In the cross-sectional analysis, we use a neighbourhood clustering method to endogenise the demarcation of retail habitats. The result suggests that touristification is not merely a subset of gentrification and that the two phenomena should be investigated as distinct but simultaneous processes. The finding also reveals that areas with more tourists will make the retail rent gaps of small shops higher. Destination management should be aware of significant touristification effects that threaten the original retail markets of local neighbourhoods.