Transformation of a Tourist Destination

The process of transformation of tourist destinations is examined by summarising the theoretical arguments and geographical context of a research project aimed at understanding in a theoretically informed way the nature of tourist destinations – tourism regions – and how they emerge and change with time. Destinations are approached as socially constructed spatial units that evolve through certain discourses and discursive practices, which are conceptualised through a discourse of development and a discourse of region in the context of this work. The present thesis is based on six previously published articles, some of the empirical results contained in which are briefly summarised or reitarated here as statements of the main results and illustrative examples in the context of the theoretical considerations.