No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Geomorphic Impacts of Resort Evolution along the Gulf of Mexico Coast: Applicability of Resort Cycle Models
Abstract
Conceptual models of resort evolution have been used to document pat-terns of tourist flows, social and economic impacts, and changes in resort morphology. Tourism/environment relationships are often perceived as being linear, with greater levels of tourism development correlated to greater negative environmental impacts. Documentation of Gulf of Mexico coastal resort evolution by application of a resort cycle model reveals a more complex human-environment relationship. Minimal geomorphic disturbance characterises initial tourism ‘exploration’, although a subsequent ‘rapid development’ stage is usually accompanied by the greatest negative impacts upon the dunes and shore zone. During more advanced stages of the resort cycle, accurate perceptions of environmental degradation lead to increasing efforts at environmental preservation, e.g. shoreline armouring, beach nourishment, dune stabilisation, etc. However, because of prevailing adverse physical parameters as well as previous human- induced environmental degradation, these efforts are usually costly and rarely successful. Resort cycle analyses are useful in understanding both the evolution of Gulf of Mexico resorts and also the corollary geomorphic and related environmental impacts. Such analyses for forecasting evolutionary trends and geomorphic impacts are greatest at sites of ‘spontaneous’ unregulated tourism development, such as in the lesser developed countries.
... The coastal and marine tourism industry is also growing and is expected to employ 1.5 million more people by 2030 compared to 2010 (from 7 million employed in 2010 to 8.5 million by 2030) [4]. Coastal tourism typically has a negative impact on the surrounding coastal ecosystem because of tourists and facilities around the coast [5]. The Boracay Island, a vacation location in the Philippines, has undergone ecosystem changes due to over-tourism, with the island closing for six months in 2018 to reduce its impact on the ecosystem [6]. ...
... Coastal tourism is one of the many human activities that create conflicts in coastal spaces because coastal tourism is sometimes incompatible with other human economic activities or protection activities [12,61]. Coastal tourists travel to places where the coastal scenery is beautiful; however, the coastal tourist facilities developed around them have an adverse effect on the coastal environment [5,62]. In terms of managing coastal environments and ecosystems, spaces accommodating many visitors may be regarded as vulnerable spaces. ...
There is an increasing need for spatial planning to manage coastal tourism, and applying social media data has emerged as an effective strategy to support coastal tourism spatial planning. Researchers and decision-makers require spatially explicit information that effectively reveals the current visitation state of the region. The purpose of this study is to identify coastal tourism hotspots considering appropriate spatial units in the regional scale using social media data to examine the advantages and limitations of applying spatial hotspots to spatial planning. Data from Flickr and Twitter with 30″ spatial resolution were obtained from four South Korean regions. Coastal tourism hotspots were then derived using Getis-Ord Gi. Comparing the derived hotspot maps with the visitation rate distribution maps, the derived hotspot maps sufficiently identified the spatial influences of visitors and tourist attractions applicable for spatial planning. As the spatial autocorrelation of social media data differs based on the spatial unit, coastal tourism hotspots according to spatial unit are inevitably different. Spatial hotspots derived from the appropriate spatial unit using social media data are useful for coastal tourism spatial planning.
... Urban and urbanized beaches around the world are environments where vegetation is used, in many cases, as a part of urban planning (Meyer-Arendt, 1993) without necessarily a connection with the original ecology. In addition, in these environments some human activities, such as landscaping of the margins of beaches, the transit of vehicles or pedestrian trampling are major causes of the presence of exotic species due to the dispersion they imply Dadon, 2010, 2011). ...
Human occupancy of beaches is an important cause of environmental and landscape transformations, some of which are identifiable through vegetation analysis. Commonly, arboreal vegetation has been socially perceived in a positive way, as it contributes to the creation of environments appreciated as beautiful and natural. This type of vegetation has been recreated in urban coastal areas worldwide, including those located in arid environments where it is not always common or endemic to these areas. The typology of plant species, human impacts on beach environments, and the social perception of vegetation contrast were analyzed to understand the landscape influence and human impact on beach environments from arid regions. The study was carried out on 12 beaches with different degrees of human occupation (4 urban, 4 semi-urban and 4 natural) in Gran Canaria island (Spain). The results indicate that the number of exotic and ruderal (first to colonize human disturbed environments) species increases with human occupation of the beaches. A greater number of arboreal species were identified on urban beaches, while shrub and herbaceous species were more common on less occupied beaches (semi-urban and natural). However, when surveyed, the users of semi-urban and natural beaches, considered that arboreal vegetation compose a more attractive landscape than other with herbs or shrubs, even though tree species appear occasionally on these types of beaches. This inconsistency identifies a conflict of values between the development and conservation of beaches in arid environments. This study can be used to establish environmental sustainability strategies on beaches. Conservation and environmental information about ecosystem services related with indigenous plant species is and important issue for integrated management on beaches from arid regions, especially those that may be urbanized in the near future.
... The development stage sees a growth of tourism, while decision-making power may move from local authorities to institutions. Psychocentric 2 tourists become the majority of the visitors, while the allocentrics move on in search of new places (Meyer-Arendt 1993;Agarwal 1997). ...
... Even with strict controls and regulations, successful outcomes are not certain . The numerous US laws and regulations from the 1920s through to the 1980s have been acknowledged to have had relatively minimal effect on preserving and conserving the environmental resources along its coastal regions (Meyer-Arendt, 1993; Hershman and Russell, 2006). ...
This new edition - now with Nancy Jackson as a co-author - continues the themes of the first edition: the need to restore the biodiversity, ecosystem health, and ecosystem services provided by coastal landforms and habitats, especially in the light of climate change. The second edition reports on progress made on practices identified in the first edition, presents additional case studies, and addresses new and emerging issues. It analyzes the tradeoffs involved in restoring beaches and dunes - especially on developed coasts - the most effective approaches to use, and how stakeholders can play an active role. The concept of restoration is broad, and includes physical, ecological, economic, social, and ethical principles and ideals. The book will be valuable for coastal scientists, engineers, planners, and managers, as well as shorefront residents. It will also serve as a useful supplementary reference textbook in courses dealing with issues of coastal management and ecology.
For tourism geographers, coastal tourism is a major focus of international research. In South Africa, however, there has been a relative oversight by local tourism geographers on coastal destinations. The policy environment concerning coastal tourism in South Africa is changing with new policy interventions and debates around the blue economy. Against this backdrop, the chapter provides an examination of coastal tourism in South Africa from a geographical perspective. The study is the first to map out the size, complexion and spatial distribution of coastal tourism in South Africa on the basis of investigating the 15 district and metropolitan municipalities that adjoin the national coastal line. Arguably, the contribution of coastal areas to South Africa’s tourism economy is in relative decline. Existing coastal tourism is geographically concentrated upon the two major coastal metropolitan areas. In addition, different geographies are revealed for different types of tourism, namely leisure as opposed to business or VFR travel and for domestic as opposed to international travel. The research discloses that coastal tourism is polarizing and is increasingly an urban phenomenon in South Africa. The uneven geographical impacts of coastal tourism raise a number of policy concerns about the need for strategic interventions to spread more widely the impacts of coastal tourism in the country.
Changes to beaches and dunes in New Jersey reveal that hard-protec-tion structures are not the final phase in evolution of landforms on an erod-ing, developed coast. Beach nourishment provides the basis for restoration of landforms and biota, and for recovery of lost environmental heritage. Landform evolution is linked to changes in federal and state policies and programs that are triggered by damaging storms. The economic value of beaches and dunes as shore protection is crucial to willingness to construct them, but natural values are an important byproduct that increases accept-ability of future restoration programs. Stable funding for shore protection is key to creating and preserving restored habitat, as are prevention of beach raking (required, in places, by the need to protect nesting birds) and resis-tance to demands for new construction. Achievable dune-restoration out-comes are identified in selected municipalities. Dunes can evolve as natur-al dynamic landforms on the seaward side and be stable on the landward side, providing vegetative diversity and protective value. Restoration of habitat makes the case for nourishment more compelling, but conservation of this habitat may not occur unless there is a long-term commitment to nourishment and control of subsequent human activities on the coast.
Cebu and the adjacent limestone island of Mactan constitute the second most popular tourist destination in the Philippines after Manila. The more exposed southeast side of Mactan has a low rock coast with limited sandy beaches and two lagoons. Since the 1970s, this coast has experienced significant change due to resort development. Based on a survey of the resorts, three types of modification to the rock coast can be identified. The early stage of modification involved the least amount of change to the rock coast. The existing limited sandy beaches were used and sea walls were built where necessary. The middle stage of modification witnessed a variety of coastal structures built to retain the beaches, together with the use of imported sand for beach nourishment. Groins and breakwaters were deployed in various ways to create different resort layouts. The final stage of modification was the excavation of the rock coast and the creation of new and artificial beaches. Mactan's experience shows the potential of low rock coasts for tourism development. The typology of change to the rock coast can be considered as limited, localized and effective modification of the rock coast for resorts. Such uses tend to result in, and reinforce, the enclave character of tourism development along a rock coast, which differs from the prevalent ribbon pattern of tourism development along sandy beaches.
This paper examines the environmental factors and the policy framework that have driven new approaches to shoreline management since the mid-90s, and how they interact with tourism development. The paper argues that resorts in the rejuvenation stage have limited options for coastal defense strategies due to the value of their economic (built) assets, unless redevelopment allows coastal re-alignment, while resorts placed earlier in the cycle can implement more sustainable strategies that work with the “natural” environment. However, environmental quality is not coupled to resort cycle stage. It can be enhanced at any stage, but especially so in the earlier and late (rejuvenation) stages.RésuméTourisme côtier et gestion du littoral. Cet article examine les facteurs environnementaux et le cadre politique qui sont à l’origine des nouvelles approches de la gestion du littoral depuis les années 1995 et étudie comment ces facteurs interagissent avec le développement du tourisme. L’article soutient que les lieux de villégiature dans l’étape de rajeunissement ont des options limitées pour formuler des stratégies de défense du littoral, ce qui est dû à la valeur de leur capital (construit), à moins que le nouveau développement ne permette un réalignement côtier, tandis que les lieux de villégiature qui se trouvent plus près du début du cycle peuvent mettre en œuvre des stratégies plus durables qui harmonisent mieux avec l’environnement «naturel». Pourtant, la qualité de l’environnement n’est pas couplée avec les étages du cycle de vie du lieu de villégiature. La qualité peut être améliorée à n’importe quelle étape, mais surtout vers le commencement et vers la fin (rajeunissement).
The ability of man to alter the landscape has been receiving increasing amounts of attention in recent years. In few environments is this ability better exemplified than along the world's shorelines and in few countries is it more in evidence than in Japan. Japan, with a highly varied and dynamic coast, now supports some 8,000 km of dikes and seawalls, 4,000 harbors, 10,000 groins and jetties, and 3,000 detached breakwaters. More than one-fourth of its over 32,000 km long shoreline is now considered artificial and another one-eighth as only seminatural.
A series of case studies show that the way in which, and the extent to which, coastal materials, processes, and forms have been altered depend on human objective and execution as well as preexisting natural conditions.
Coastal resort development is attributed to a complex interplay of social, economic, and technologic factors. Social scientists have proposed S-curve or bell-curve models to better understand resort evolution. However, in spite of abundant literature addressing the issue of negative tourism impacts upon the environment, this human/coastal environment relationship has not been examined within a conceptual evolutionary framework. Based upon previous and on-going research at tourist destinations along the Gulf of Mexico littoral, preliminary modeling of environmental impacts is attempted. Temporally, a modified S-curve model of resort evolution is offered to describe the development of coastal resorts, and stages of exploration, infrastructural development, settlement expansion, and maturation are identified. The upper level of development, or maturation, differs among the sites, primarily as a function of demand. High-demand destinations may be subject to an additional stage prior to reaching maturation - one of landuse intensification. Environmentally, in spite of variability in degree of human impacts, general correlations are made. Dune disturbance, shoreline armoring, and wetlands dredging are abundant during the settlement expansion stage, but preservation efforts gain importance as a resort matures. -from Author
A new and promising field has appeared as a result of the increased tourist industry based on natural resources, though too often such expansion has been achieved without due planning and has taken many people by surprise. Conservationists and their organizations have often reacted adversely to this ‘invasion’, but this need not be so. There are many reasons and examples which prove that a change of attitude, leading to a symbiotic relationship between tourism and conservation in the wide sense, can offer a very large variety of advantages and benefits—physical, cultural, ethical, and economic—to a country.
A tourist industry can expect a brilliant future, based on natural assets of the environment, provided due consideration is given to the ecological principles which must guide resource-use. The alliance of those responsible for tourism with ecologists and conservationists is a natural one, that should contribute greatly to development—the right kind of development involving the right kind of change—leading to a better quality of life for all concerned.
Various writers have suggested that tourist areas undergo a cycle of evolution ending eventually in decline. This article suggests a five-stage evolutionary sequence appropriate to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, one of the leading tourist destinations in the United States. Elements of the County's physical and psychological carrying capacity are considered in ascertaining whether Lancaster County will undergo a significant permanent decline in tourist activity. The magnitude of possible future decline is influenced by relative location, diversity of the tourist base, and effectiveness of planning. Diversity and relative location clearly favor Lancaster County in comparison with competing tourist areas and will help to prevent significant long-term decline in number of visitors.RésuméCycles de visiteurs: Perspective d'avenir pour le tourisme dans le Comté de Lancaster. Plusieurs chercheurs ont suggéré que le régions touristiques subissent un cycle d'évolution qui mène finalement à un déclin. Cet article propose une séquence évolutionnaire en cinq étapes qui convient au Comté de Lancaster, en Pennsylvanie, une des destinations touristiques les plus importantes, dans les Etats-Unis. On considères des aspects de la capacité physique et psychologique de cette région pour établir si le Comté de Lancaster subira un déclin significatif et permanent dans l'activité touristique. L'importance d'un déclin éventuel à l'avenir est influencée par la situation géographique relative, par la diversité de la base touristique et par l'efficacité de la planification. La diversité et la situation relative favorisent nettement le Comté de Lancaster par rapport aux autres régions touristiques en concurrence et aiderona à empêcher un déclin significatif et à long terme dans de nombre de visiteurs.
Cohen Erik “The Impact of Tourism on the Physical Environment”, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. V, No. 2, April/June 1978, pp. 215–237. While moderate and well-distributed tourism may help to upkeep attractions and preserve the environment, tourism as a mass industry poses new environmental risks. This paper is a first attempt to assess systematically the environmental impact of tourism and to spell out the principal factors on which this impact depends: the intensity of tourist site-use, the resiliency of the eco-system, the time perspective of the developers and the transformational character of touristic developments. The environmental dynamics of the tourist ecological sub-system are shown to consist of a constant expansion at the margins and intensification at the mature core, leading to the creation of “contrived” attractions both at the core (as “natural” attractions decline) and the margins (to supplement meager “natural” attractions as tourism expands into less attractive regions). Two major types of measures for environmental protection are discussed: those protecting the environment for tourism and those protecting it from tourism. The need for the second type of measures is emphasized, particularly in developing countries, which face greater environmental risks from tourism than the developed ones.
For tourism, the environment represents not a constraint, but a resource and an opportunity. Tourism and the environment are not merely interrelated but are interdependent. The viability of tourism, rather than conflicting with environmental conservation, actually demands it, otherwise visitor satisfaction will be reduced as the inherent appeal of the tourism setting is eroded. Whereas tourism can lead to environmental degradation and therefore be self-destructive, it can also contribute to substantial enhancement of the environment. Satisfying tourism settings grow out of natural forces and social conditions and are complementary and compatible with them. The proposed Japanese tourist complex on the Queensland coast of Australia, discussed in this paper, could prove a useful vehicle for demonstrating the mutual benefits to be gained from such an harmonious relationship.RésuméPour le tourisme, l'environnement ne représente pas une contrainte, mais plutôt une ressource et une opportunité. Le tourisme et l'environnement sont non seulement en relation mutuelle mais aussi interdependents. Le tourisme, loin de s'opposer à la defense de l'environnement, à vrai dire la réclame pour être viable. Car la satisfaction du visiteur baisserait à mesure que l'attrait inhérent au cadre touristique serait miné. Si le tourisme peut entrainer la dégradation de l'environnement et causer par consequent sa propre destruction, il peut aussi contribuer d'une manière substantielle au rehaussement de l'environnement. Les cadres touristiques satisfaisants se développent à partir des forces naturelles et des conditions sociales et ils sont complémentaires et compatibles avec celles-ci. Le complexe touristique japonais qu'on propose pour la côte du Queensland et que l'on discute dans cet article pourrait se reveler un véhicule utile pour démontrer les bénéfices réciproques qui pourraient se réaliser d'un tel rapport harmonieux.
Grand Isle, the most popular resort on the Louisiana Gulf Coast, has experienced an increase in shoreline erosion and a decrease in attractiveness in recent decades. Viewing the historical evolution of the resort within the framework of Butler's "resort cycle" reveals that cultural processes are largely responsible for these developments. Individual stages of resort evolution on Grand Isle have been accompanied by changes in settlement patterns, changes in environmental perception, and increasing effort to "fix" a naturally dynamic shoreline. Attempts to maintain a stable beachfront have only heightened the problem and helped propel Grand Isle into the stagnation stage of the resort cycle. Past adherence to the resort evolution model indicates onset of the decline stage. Whether a major beach nourishment/island protection project completed in late 1984 represents more than a temporary rejuvenation of the resort depends upon its effectiveness.
The strategy of industrial diversification into tourism by a peripheral underdeveloped region is considered with reference to Canada's Northwest Territories. A theoretical model of the evolution of the peripheral tourism industry is used to discover whether an ideal strategy exists which could avoid a “centre-periphery conflict”. The article concludes that avoidance of conflict requires maintenance of control over decision making by the peripheral authorities; and industrial development on a scale within the scope of local resources. Lack of local manpower and expertise in tourism is identified as the major block to successful development of a locally controlled industry.
Man evolved late in terms of geologic history, yet he has become a major geomorphologic agent despite his short tenure on Earth. His ability to alter the materials, processes and forms along the world's shorelines are manifested in a variety of ways. Beginning with the indirect changes that resulted from early agriculture and animal husbandry, he progressed to direct modification through reclamation and harbor construction. Today, in the name of shoreline stabilization, thousands of kilometers of natural shoreline have been modified by the addition of artificial structures.
This paper focuses on the impact of tourism development on the landscape of the village and presents a general model of the process of ‘touristization’ and landscape change. The model and accompanying discussion seeks to synthesize knowledge and understanding of change in the village as it is metamorphosed by tourism.
Abstract. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 1987. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 267-305). Photocopy.
Impacts of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act: A Pilot Study, Department of City and Regional Planning
- D Godschalk
Influence of man upon coastlines
- J H Davis
Recreational travel, the new migration, revisted, Ontario Geography 19
- R I Wolfe
Environmental aspects of resort evolution: applicability of resort cycle models
- K J Meyer-Arendt
- KJ Meyer-Arendt
Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth
- J H Davis
- JH Davis
Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth
- W L Thomas
- WL Thomas
Resort Evolution along the Gulf of Mexico Littoral: Historic, Morphological and Environmental Aspects
- K J Meyer-Arendt
- KJ Meyer-Arendt
Man and shoreline modification
- H J Walker
- HJ Walker