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usually considered to be an object-centred discipline.
Rather, it is distinguished by the approaches
taken by its practitioners. Four such approaches are
widely recognised, and all can potentially be
applied to the examination of tourism.
The first approach is human±environment
interaction. Geographers adopting this approach
are concerned with both the implications of the
environment for human activity and the impact
of human beings on their environment. These two
emphases together account for the bulk of
geographic tourism research. Much tourism is
directed to very special places, such as historical
monuments and national parks, and geographers
have been interested in the characteristics of
these places and how they have been modified by
this industry. They have explored the images
which people hold of such places and how these are
created. Further, they have also been in the
forefront of research on the impacts of tourism,
whether these be of an environmental, economic or
social nature.
The second geographic approach is spatial
analysis. This is interested in the real distribution
of phenomena, in this case aspects of tourism, and
in the flows of people, products, information and
money which unite areas. Such analyses attempt to
describe, explain and predict patterns of tourism
phenomena including the origins, routes and
destinations of the tourists themselves as well as
other associated features such as restaurants or
different types of accommodation. The movement
of people from place to place and the
development of associated transportation networks
have been major geographical concerns.
The third approach is regional synthesis.
Geographers interested in this approach attempt
to understand the character of places and the
landscapes which have resulted from the interaction
of natural processes and human activities,
whether they be at the scale of world regions such
as the Mediterranean coasts or the Alps, or as
applied to smaller areas such as specific resorts.
They attempt to delimit areas with common
human or physical characteristics, such as a similar
landscape or a similar dependence on tourism,
and to understand the relationships which exist in
particular places between tourism and other
activities, such as agriculture, forestry or urbaniza-
geography 249
tion. There is a close link between geography,
tourism and anthropology, for many studies are
geographically framed and culturally informed.
The delimitation of regions for planning or
marketing purposes is also a geographical
activity.
The fourth approach is physical processes.
Physical geographers study the forces which act
to modify the surface of the earth, such as water,
wind and ice. Tourism, being a human phenomenon,
does not generally attract the attention of
these geographers. However, climate and weather
significantly influence both the nature of resources
and the quality of experiences available at
particular times in specific places. Processes of
erosion and deposition in coastal and mountain
areas may have considerable implications for
people both as tourists and as tourism suppliers.
The applied aspects of physical geography thus
merge with the human±environment perspective.
There has always been a close relationship
among tourism, exploration and the description of
foreign lands and their peoples. However, the first
academic geographical publications specifically on
tourism date from the 1930s. Early work consisted
of the description of the landscapes of destination
areas and, as geographers became increasingly
aware that tourism resulted in the creation of towns
with particular characteristics, blossomed into
investigation of resort morphology and recreational
business districts. This is still a prominent
research area among geographers. However, interest
in tourism in urban areas has expanded to
include investigations of tourism in large cities,
economic restructuring, urban heritage and special
events. Geographers have also examined summer
cottages, parks and protected areas, and wilderness
travel and experiences in rural and remote
areas �see rural tourism).
Geographical work on tourism was spearheaded
in Europe, although American geographers, often
working in government agencies, played a prominent
role in the examination of the perception, use
and management of wilderness areas. Much
of this work was concerned with user conflicts,
the impacts of visitors on fragile environments such
as national parks, and the notion of carrying
capacity as viewed from both environmental and
social perspectives. Although of great relevance to