Tourism destination development

The Tourism Area Life Cycle Model

Bibliographic Data

ID5761963
AuthorsRichard Butler (0000-0002-2386-0586)
Year2025
Volume27
Issue3-4
Pages599-607
Publication date2025-05-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTourism Geographies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-6688 • E-ISSN: 1470-1340
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14616688.2024.2325932
OpenAlexW4392652265
LanguageEN
Citations received27
References cited33

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

Business · Economic geography · Geography · Tourism · Tourism geography · Cruise Tourism Development and Management · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Marketing

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