The Role of Niche Tourism Products in Destination - Repository ...

‘The economics of the new tourism is very different from the old - profitability no longer rests solely on economies of scale
and the exploitation of mass undifferentiated markets’
(Poon, 1989, in Lew, 2008, p.411).
Mass tourism was no longer seen to be the dominant paradigm, and the special interest tourism segment became the new tourism
of the 1980s and 1990s. As Knowles and Curtis emphasise, mass tourism will not disappear but be replaced by ‘a more
responsible and more realistic, variety of mass tourism, where price is no longer the critical factor’ (Knowles and Curtis, 1999,
p.95). Trufino, Petruzzellis and Nigro (2006) attribute this process of commoditisation to the predominance of Northern European
tour operators generating tourism concentration through economies of scale, and stimulating rapid unplanned development in
coastal resorts. As destinations move into a mass tourism industry, major changes in demand directly influence the destinations
due to their heavy reliance on the tour operators. Uncontrolled mass tourism is no longer attractive as it offered threats to
destination development and environmental planning; exploiting and damaging the natural and cultural assets that the tourist seeks
to experience (Poon, 1993). Other factors such as the growth of a more sophisticated, experienced consumer; global economic
restructuring; the evolution of tourist buying behaviour; and, the search for differentiation, heralded a move away from standardised
and rigid mass tourism, with destinations and consumers seeking alternative modes of delivery.
Academics began to publish work on ‘alternative’ tourism, recognising its huge potential to balance mass tourism by seeking
smaller numbers with higher spending power (Hall and Weiler, 1992). Trufino et al. (2006) relate the above to the development of a
new tourism typology in Italy. As a mature tourism destination with 39% of travel sold through European tour operators, they have
finally realised the benefits and positive impacts that a more alternative and niche tourism can have. Thus, the exploitation of
cultural, gastronomic and environmental resources offers a new opportunity to the destination. Truffino et al. (2006) use Butler’s