Tourism Area Life Cycle Model Research Articles

Tourism destination development: the tourism area life cycle model

The tourist area life cycle has been in existence for over four decades since its publication in The Canadian Geographer and was described as ‘one of the most cited and contentious areas of tourism knowledge….(and) has gone on to become one of the best known theories of destination growth and change within the field of tourism studies’ It was noted as one ‘Of the most influential conceptual models for explaining tourist, development’. The model was developed primarily from the Product Life Cycle model used in business and management studies and modified to explain the process of development and change that took place in tourist destinations throughout the world. The model has received considerable attention over its life span, but has often been cited from second hand sources or misquoted on many occasions. Its appearance in a non-tourist journal has resulted in it often not appearing in various early literature surveys based on tourism-focused sources and for its first decade access to the original article was limited and difficult, as demonstrated by many requests to the author for copies of the article. Electronic access to journals and libraries have resolved this problem, but its considerable visibility (in excess of 56,000 reads on Research Gate) and use (close to 5000 citations) means that it has possibly entered the realm of tourism myths and become part of accepted dogma in the field of tourism development. This could present problems to those challenging the original concept and introducing alternative or contradictory ideas and propositions, and it is perhaps, appropriate to briefly review the history of the concept.

The Consolidation Stage of the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) Model: The Case of Ibiza from 1977 to 2000

Ibiza is an island in the Western Mediterranean internationally known as a sun and beach tourist destination, and it is notable for its nightclubs. This fact is the result of a century of tourist history that began in the first third of the 20th century and reached its maximum data at the end of that century and the beginning of the 21st century. Using the tourism area life cycle (TALC) model as a reference, it is possible to affirm that Ibiza has already gone through most of the stages proposed by the TALC. The objective of this work is to undertake a historical approach to the events and context that this island experienced during the period that could be considered to be a consolidation stage (1977 to 2000), which is still little analyzed. During this period, demand growth continued, although at a slower pace than in the previous stages, and suffered the first major crisis. The regional administration had to face the errors of the previous decades with various legal actions as follows: the limitation of the accommodation supply, which was already oversized by that stage; the environmental protection of spaces that had not yet been affected by urban development; the modernization of the offerings, much of them being obsolete and degraded; and the diversification of the issuing markets, which had until then been focused on Germany and the United Kingdom. The economic crisis of the early 1990s was a turning point for the tourism sector, both in terms of administrations and companies, and quantitative growth was replaced by qualitative growth in the following years. Starting in 2000, tourism in Ibiza entered a new phase characterized by the modernization of the offerings and the stagnation of data.

An eco-social exploration of tourism area evolution in mountains through stakeholders’ perspective

This study delves into the intricate interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic influencers that shape the multidimensional eco-social spheres through the process of tourism area evolution (TAE) in a mountain tourist destination, Sikkim, located in the Eastern Himalayas. Understanding the eco-social aspects from the perspective of local communities in the Himalayan region has been challenging due to the overlapping and entangled ecological and social relations in the mountains, which lack a comprehensive and systematic assessment framework. To address this gap, the study incorporates 300 stakeholders' perspectives from five distinct groups, with the objective of constructing an explanatory model that combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies. This analysis was conducted within the framework of the widely recognized tourism area life cycle (TALC) model. Also, it integrated participatory appraisal with robust statistical modelling techniques, including Kruskal-Wallis Test, Principal Component Analysis, Analysis of Variance and Multinomial Logistic Regression to detangle the influence of internal and external factors on the eco-social structure of Sikkim. The results reveal that the status of TAE is uneven across Sikkim, predominantly influenced by diverse geoclimatic, geopolitical, environmental, economic, infrastructural, and sociocultural factors, as well as the capacity of the destination to cope with external changes. The study further identifies that the high-altitude destinations under protected and restricted areas, which are major attractions in Sikkim, are more vulnerable due to their relatively high socioecological sensitivity, posing challenges to future tourism development. However, based on the TALC framework and the stakeholders' perception-based model, the study predicts that the likelihood of Sikkim approaching the stagnation stage is low, unless phenomenon like climate (change), social security and environmental degradation trigger it. Albeit the greater concerns are for features (social structure, local-tourists interaction, seasonality and ecological disturbances) that potentially exhibit characteristics of consolidation. The key findings highlight the significance of the uniqueness, tradition, cultural heritage, basic amenities and community's capacity to cope with external changes may sustain tourism in Sikkim. Hence, the study advocates for a prioritized focus on capacity building through community-based participation, with special emphasis on the high-altitude destinations, as a crucial step towards ensuring the long-term sustainability of (eco)tourism and the preservation of the eco-social environment in Sikkim.

Qualitative analysis of a tourism area life cycle model for interacting tourism destinations

An extension of the tourism area life cycle (TALC) model is proposed by considering two interacting tourism destinations. Three types of interaction dynamics are investigated: competition, mutualism (or cooperation) and predator–prey. Using dynamical systems theory, aqualitative analysis of the proposed model is performed and all possible tourist equilibria are identified. These three interaction dynamics are then discussed from the perspective of nation-branding and competitive identity in the context of the race for soft power, and further illustrated empirically with examples from Malaysia and the Middle East.

DEVELOPING HOST COMMUNITY’S SUPPORT MODEL FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN PURI REGION, INDIA

The study aims to develop a host community’s support model for tourism development based on the principles of Social Exchange Theory for heritage tourism destinations in a developing country. For the case study, three communities from the Puri region, a popular heritage tourism destination of eastern India, are selected. The survey instrument was a questionnaire survey, and 450 samples were collected. A scale was developed to measure the host community’s attitudes and perceptions. The measurement scale comprises seven factors: six exogenous factors: Economic Impact; Positive Socio-Cultural Impact; Development and Maintenance of Heritage and Infrastructure; Image of the Region; Negative Socio-Cultural Impact; Environmental Issues, and one endogenous factor: Support for Tourism Development. The structural relationship between exogenous factors and endogenous factors was examined through Structural Equation Modelling. The result confirmed that the perceived tourism impacts significantly influence the host community’s attitude. The findings suggest that when the host community perceives the positive tourism impacts, their support for tourism development gets influenced positively and vice versa. This confirms the explanatory power of the perceived tourism impacts to explain the host communities’ attitude toward tourism development and the applicability of Social Exchange Theory. However, the findings contradict Butler’s Tourism Area Life Cycle model in describing the host community’s attitude toward the destination in the development stage.

Mapping tourism strategy patterns on tourism area life cycle

PurposeTourist destinations are constantly changing products, evolving as per the controls exerted by the stakeholders. The study aims to map the pattern of tourism development and identify the strategies formed at the destination over a seven-decade period for a state as a unit of analysis.Design/methodology/approachThe paper evaluates tourism development through the tourism area life cycle (TALC) model and uses Mintzberg's strategy analysis process to identify strategies. The study involves time series analysis, pattern matching and explanation-building techniques. The TALC is plotted for the number of tourist arrivals from 1947 to 2019, and strategies are mapped for each stage.FindingsThe TALC shows a cycle-recycle pattern of tourism development. The research revealed several strategies at different stages. Both the central and state governments and entrepreneurs, distinctively and in conjunction, have formed strategies. The pattern shows the period of piecemeal and global strategic changes contributing to tourism development.Research limitations/implicationsThe research unearths the strategies that drive the development curves of TALC, emphasising the integration of TALC with other theories. The research also assesses the strategy formed in the pre-tourism stage.Practical implicationsThe research brings to light the use of TALC as a strategic road-mapping tool. In addition, the study emphasises the significance of global and piecemeal strategic periods and stakeholder's regulatory and operational roles.Originality/valueThe research uses a unique methodology that maps the strategies, periods of strategic changes and incremental strategies for each stage of TALC, along with identifying the stakeholders.

A comparison of tourism-related stressors experienced by residents of three island destinations

Resident stress has emerged as a problem in many tourism communities. However, little is known about differences in resident stress across diverse destinations. This research gap is addressed by comparing stressors experienced by residents of three global island destinations of O’ahu, Hawaii, U.S., Falmouth, Jamaica, and São Miguel, Azores, Portugal. These three island tourism destinations have diverse tourism types and differing levels of tourism development along the tourism area life cycle (TALC). The ‘Travel Intensity Indices’ (TII) were used to evaluate tourism development inflection points and determine stage of the TALC for each destination. Thematic analysis of open-ended responses about stressors experienced by residents revealed that in the early stages of tourism development, residents experience stress related to physical changes to their community. In later stages of development, residents experience stress related to the presence of tourists in their community. The type of tourism present in the community also played a role in resident stress, with cruise tourism creating a unique set of stressors. The implications of above findings have two sections. Theoretically, examining resident stress in diverse destinations expands the application of stress theory in the tourism context and begins to establish destination level characteristics that influence resident stress. These findings also extend the application of TALC model to the health and wellness of residents’ vis-a-vis the stress they experience. Practically, exploring similarities and differences across these destinations can inform destination developers and managers of the potential stressors that residents may be experiencing that are unique to their level and type of development.

Tourism distribution at competing destinations: Mobility changes and relocation

We present a dynamic model of competing destinations to study the agglomeration and dispersion forces driving long-run geographical distribution of tourism. The relative strength of these forces determines whether tourism is agglomerated at one destination or is more disperse. Economies of scale in the tourism industry favour agglomeration while tourists’ preference for local tourist attractions and local services is conducive to dispersion. If returns to scale approach constant and tourists do not appreciate local goods, the interaction between the two destinations disappears and our model converges to the well-known Tourism Area Life Cycle model. By contrast, if destinations interact and the price sensitivity of tourists is low enough to offset the economies of scale that induce firms to agglomerate, the sharing of tourism between the two destinations is stable. Otherwise, tourism tends to agglomerate in one destination. Tourism policies interfere with the agglomeration and dispersion forces and could induce tourist relocation. We calibrate the model with real data before and after the restrictions in force during the pandemic in 2021 and those derived from the war in Ukraine.

Tourism's long- and short-term influence on global cities' economic growth: The case of Hong Kong.

This research examines how tourism development has impacted economic growth in a global city–Hong Kong. A large body of research has investigated national tourism-led growth in developed and developing countries. However, many such studies have overlooked how policies aimed at fostering the development of tourism affect the local economic development of global cities. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments liberalized their visa policies with the launch of the Individual Visit Scheme in 2003. Such liberalization has led to significantly more tourist arrival from China. Our autoregressive distributed lag model of tourism-related data from 2003 to 2019 provides strong evidence that more tourism can spur short-run economic growth. Yet, such tourism can lead to uncertain effects on local economic development in the longer run. Hong Kong’s transient tourism-led growth has almost entered the stagnation stage of the Tourism Area Life Cycle model. During such stagnation, jurisdictions like Hong Kong can expect limited long-term economic growth from their tourist sector. Our findings thus sound a warning for global cities looking to tourism to sustain longer-term economic growth.

Decline or Rejuvenation? Efficiency Development of China’s National Scenic Areas

The decline is one of the essential issues for developing tourism destinations. The rapid adoption of appropriate policies will enable them to reverse the decline and enter the rejuvenation stage in time. This study advocated establishing an operational evaluation model of tourism efficiency with DEA and the super-SBM model to estimate when China’s mass tourism destinations are in decline and rejuvenation based on the tourism area life cycle (TALC) theory regarding China’s national scenic areas (NSAs) samples. The results show that the development of China’s mass tourism destinations can be divided into three phases, in which there is a clear process of persistent decline and rejuvenation. Different types of NSAs vary in terms of efficiency level and change trends. Human landscape, caves, and wetland and lakes all have distinct phases of persistent decline, but humanistic landscapes show a significant rejuvenation trend. These findings provide an innovative re-interpretation of the TALC model.

Managing Tourism – A Missing Element?

The paper argues that despite the widespread use of the term management in the context of tourism destinations, there is little actual management of tourism or tourists in most destinations. The paper uses the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model (Butler 1980) as a lens through which to view some current issues and problems facing tourism destinations. It explores some of the basic elements of the TALC model including carrying capacity and triggers or forces bringing about change in destinations and argues that the reluctance of many stakeholders to adopt sustainable principles is reflected in current problems such as overtourism. Recognition of the often ignored political element in the sustainable triumvirate of economic, environmental and social components is important because without political support for appropriate initiatives has meant that efforts to move towards more sustainable destinations have often proved fruitless. The paper concludes that despite calls for new ways of defining success for tourism destinations and for drastically changing the nature and scale of tourism in the post‑pandemic future, it is likely that tourism will resume, at least for the short to medium term, in a form very similar to what existed before the advent of COVID 19.

How Does Destination Image Evolve? Introducing the Co-creation of the Destination Image Approach

Abstract Although destination image is one of the most studied topics in tourism literature, little is known about how it is formed in the minds of people and how destination image evolves through destination life cycle stages. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical approach to the destination image formation process. In this conceptual paper, the co-created destination image (CoDI) approach was introduced. Co-creation and tourism area life cycle (TALC) approaches were used as the theoretical frameworks. The main elements of CoDI are interaction value, self-regulated image, and the co-creation process. Twelve CoDIs were developed for the four main stages of the TALC model—namely, exploration, development, stagnation, and decline. The CoDI approach shows that destination image formation evolves throughout the destination life cycle. Co-creation of the destination image is first introduced in this paper, which is used to explain how the image of destinations evolves.

COVID-19 and its potential impact on stages of tourist Destination Development

ABSTRACT Literature on the impacts of COVID 19 reveals thathow the effects of the pandemic may be experienced at destinations in different stages of their development has not been studied. This paper discusses the impact of a break in tourism visitation to destinations caused by COVID 19 and uses the Tourism Area Life Cycle model as a framework from which to argue that the scale and importance of the impacts on destinations will vary depending on the stage of the development cycle reached by any specific destination. Such impacts may range from a short term and temporary loss of tourists to a permanent departure of the destination from tourism. It is argued that the nature and degree of recovery of the tourism market at any specific destination will vary in speed and level of recovery, the degree of permanence of impacts, and the likelihood of destinations retaining their overall appeal after the pandemic has ended, depending on their stage of development. The paper concludes with a discussion of the possibility of destinations using the pandemic to reposition themselves in terms of their markets, and attempting to modify the tourism industry itself.

Tourism area life cycle analysis in San Miguel de Allende Guanajuato

The Tourism Area Life Cycle model is in itself one of the most used tools to analyze tourist competitiveness. In order to solve the problem of the lack of a comprehensive tourism strategy in the city of San Miguel de Allende that can comply with sustainable development, this research establishes its objective in the documentary analysis of the evolution of the tourism indicators that it has presented in destination for its analysis and comparison with the model of the Tourism Area Life Cycle model, identifying in the corresponding stage and thereby establishing relevant tourism planning strategies. The document was developed with a descriptive quantitative approach that used documentary review and analysis techniques of various tourist indicators of the destination. In conclusion, it is highlighted that the city of San Miguel de Allende has individual indicators in various stages of the life cycle: Development, Consolidation, and Decline; globally, it has been in the Stagnation stage since 2015 with prominent features of Decline and Rejuvenation. This results in an obvious need to define sustainable tourism management strategies to boost the destination's competitiveness effectively.

Design as an Indicator of Tourist Destination Change: The Concept Renewal Cycle at Watkins Glen State Park

For decades, the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model, its iterations, and its critics have shaped the conversation about change and adaptation at tourist destinations. However, few life cycle models consider the designed landscape as a factor in the evolutionary process or as a signifier of change. This oversight is problematic because the landscape, the aggregation of consciously designed spaces and amenities, is where tourism takes place. It is the physical manifestation of the tourist destination and therefore significantly influences how the site is organized, consumed, and evaluated. To illustrate the landscape’s importance, this article proposes a new life cycle model called the Concept Renewal Cycle (CRC), which tracks the intent of the designed landscape, the concept, to understand and document destination change. The model introduces and utilizes relevancy as the variable that determines concept success and instigates action. The proposed model and other prominent life cycle models are analyzed and compared through the case study of Watkins Glen State Park in New York state. While the other models struggle to reflect the evolution at Watkins Glen, the CRC shows resilience by eschewing TALC’s inevitable, time-based decline structure in favor of a cyclical pattern where concept revision allows for prolonged maturity.

Characterization of ecotourism destinations in Toba Lake area with the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) method and sustainability analysis

Lake Toba is one of national strategic tourism destinations which is projected to become one of the economic contributing sectors. To make the strategic programs for the sustainability of its development, detailed mapping of its characteristics is needed. This study aims to map the position of 4 destinations in Lake Toba namely Soda Water Natural Pool, Aek Nauli Forest, Tao Silalahi and Sampuran Efrata Waterfall which present the types of ecotourism and its geographical distribution. Mapping was made in the Tourism Area Life Cycle model. Criteria in mapping include attractions, facilities and services, accessibility, image of tourism object and costs or prices. Measurement of criteria is done by conducting a survey of 120 respondents representing four kinds of stakeholders are private owner, Department of Tourism, research institution and local community. The result of this study is presented that the destination of Soda Water Natural Pool is in the exploration stage, Aek Nauli Forest is in the involvement stage and Tao Silalahi and Sampuran Efrata Waterfall are in the stagnation stage. The position in tourism life cycle will be the basis in making development strategies of ecotourism in Lake Toba Area.

Sustainable tourism development strategy in Bintan Regency based on Tourism Area Life Cycle

Bintan Regency is regarded as a significant potential tourist destination. The tourism sector has already been developing quite rapidly there in recent years. This study examines its stages of tourism development based on Butler’s tourism area life cycle model. Identification of the stages was made by looking at the characteristics of various criteria: destination characteristics, marketing response, economic impacts, social impacts, and environmental impacts. The stage identification result shows that this district is in a “development” phase. Using this result, we generate a strategy for pushing Bintan Regency to the next stage in the TALC model. The AHP model was developed as a decision support system to determine a priority strategy based on experts’ assessment of tourism development in the Bintan district. From the analysis, we found that economic and social criteria have a more significant impact on the regency’s development. Meanwhile, security and safety improvements and quality of service improvements must become higher strategic priorities. They were also regarded as being the most important strategies to develop the tourist areas of the Bintan Regency during the “consolidation” stage.

TOURIST VILLAGE REJUVENATION AND OVER-TOURISM MANAGEMENT: THE DESA WISATA NGLANGGERAN LIFECYCLE EXPERIENCE, YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA

Purpose of the Study: Over-tourism is an issue that is being experienced by many well-known destinations in the world, both in urban and rural areas. The purpose of this research is to find out how the experience of developing a Tourist village is seen from the tourism lifecycle approach. This study also explores the sensitivity of managers to the phenomenon of over-tourism in their village, to design strategies for product rejuvenation. Methodology: This research adopts a historical qualitative research approach. This method is exercised through two data sources. Primary data was carried out through non-participant observation (for four months) in the Nglanggeran tourist village, Yogyakarta to observe and interview tourist village managers, tourism entrepreneurs, workers, and local communities. Meanwhile, Secondary data used include online media articles, scientific writings, and promotional media. Main Findings: The study found that in the tourism area life cycle model approach, tourist villages' growth can be grouped into 6 phases. The exploration phase and stagnation, marked by the start of the Nglanggeran tourist village and massive growth that had environmental, social, and cultural impacts. The management adopts several strategies, including price management, visitor management, and length of stay management. Implication/Applications: This experience is very important to be learned and known by tourism stakeholders, especially tourist village managers and the government which is developing similar tourism products massively throughout Indonesia. The originality of the study: This research is original, and this is the first study that finds out how the experience of developing a tourist village is seen from the tourism lifecycle approach and explores how managers are sensitive to the phenomenon of overtourism in their village. Thus, this scope is expected to be developed in other tourist villages in Indonesia to get generalizations about the development of tourist villages.

Perkembangan dan Interaksi Modal Ekspatriat Berbasis Tourism Area Life Cycle di Ubud

The expatriates in Ubud have played an important role in the development of Balinese tourism since the early 20th century and their influence continues today. This study aims to examine the development, dynamics and interactions of capitals between expatriates, society and local elites by adapting the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model, combined with Bourdieu’s capital theory and Homan’s social exchange theory as an analytical tool. This qualitative research uses critical phenomenological analysis based on action research, with data collection methods in the form of participatory observation, in-depth interviews and documentation studies, with research locus in Ubud and its surroundings. This research is intended to assist stakeholders, practitioners and tourism academics in uncovering the development and interaction of expatriate capital that occurs in the realm of Ubud based on the life cycle of tourism destinations. This research reveals that by adapting the TALC model, currently the development of Ubud tourism is at a consolidation stage, and the interaction of capitals (economic capital, cultural capital, symbolic capital and social capital) is becoming tighter and more complex. In all these processes, the symbiosis of mutualism is more dominant, although in some cases there are still practices of marginalization and hegemony which are measured based on ownership of capital.
 Keywords: expatriate, development, capital, tourism area life cycle

Ecological inspirations for the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model

Richard Butler’s Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model proposes a specified view on the qualitative changes in the number of tourists N in the area over time and the environmental, social and economic processes taking place there simultaneously. N changes follow S-shaped curve up to stagnation phase. Such a course was adopted in the TALC model, assuming that the tourist population at this stage develops in accordance with a logistic model derived from ecology. This work aimed to recall the properties of the logistic model and the ecological assumptions underlying it, and some of the consequences of incorporating the logistic model into the TALC model. An attempt has also been made to link other TALC aspects with ecology. In particular, reference is made to the graph on the right side of the logistic equation of the TALC model as a function of N with the phases of evolution of the tourist area marked, which reminds that the most attractive area is the original area, i.e. when N is small, as it is characterized by the highest per capita growth of the tourist population. According to this figure, as N increases, there is a linear decrease in attractiveness despite the investments introduced according to the TALC model scenario, i.e. they do not reverse this trend. The same diagram can be used to show some elementary differences between ecotourism and mass tourism. The issues of population regulation were also raised, including the density-dependent self-regulation, the Allee effect, the concept of environmental capacity and r and K strategies. It was also pointed out that the experience gained in the field of population modelling in ecology could help to model tourist populations.