The geography of tourism production: Uneven disciplinary development?

Abstract

Production has been a relatively neglected area of research within tourism, in contrast to the notable advances made in adjoining disciplines such as economic geography. A review of the trajectory of tourism development in the UK provides insights into how changes in consumption, in scale and ownership, and in the geographical organization of production are leading to new supply-side structures. There have been attempts to advance theoretical understanding and empirical knowledge of some aspects of the changing geography of tourism production, notably in respect of globalization, labour markets, firm structures, information technology and restructuring. However, there are more gaps than areas of advancement in this research frontier, and this provides the basis for outlining a future research agenda.