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10 activity space
activities in tourism, as a link between motivation
and destination choice.)
activity space
GIANNA MOSCARDO, AUSTRALIA
The activity or action space of an individual refers
to the assemblage of places in which specific
activities, such as sleeping, feeding and working
usually occur. All these places are connected by an
elaborate network of paths, along which users of
these places travel according to more or less strict
daily, weekly or seasonal routines. The activity
spaces of individuals are akin to territories, but
these overlap to varying degrees and differ
according to such variables as gender, age, race
and socioeconomic status. The concept has been
applied frequently to studies of leisure activities
�Elson 1976) and linked to the patterns of movement
in and the images of cities �Lynch 1960).
Husbands �1986) has shown that the evaluations
of the qualities of sites and the activity spaces of
residents of destination areas differ markedly
from those of tourists. Furthermore, the patterns
of movement and associated perceptions of place
vary greatly between visitors of different types.
Pearce �1987) reports work on Lourdes which
shows that pilgrims travelling in groups have
more confined movements than those who are
independent. Somewhat similarly, Lucas �1964)
found that visitors to a wilderness area travelling
by canoe had larger activity spaces and more
constraining definitions of wilderness than those
going by boat. Some work has been conducted, for
example by Cooper �1981), on visitor search
behaviours which helps to understand how
visitors explore destinations and how the activity
spaces of visitors in destination areas are formed.
References
Cooper, C.P. �1981) `Spatial and temporal patterns
of tourist behaviour', Regional Studies 15: 359±71.
Elson, M.J. �1976) Àctivity spaces and recreational
spatial behaviour', Town Planning Review 47: 241±
55.
Husbands, W.C. �1986) `Leisure activity resources
and activity space formation in periphery
resorts: the response of tourist and resident in
Barbados', The Candadian Geographer 30�3): 243±9.
Lucas, R.C. �1964) `Wilderness perception and use:
the example of the Boundary Waters Canoe
Area', Natural Resources Journal 3: 394±411.
Lynch, K. �1960) The Image of the City, Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press.
Pearce, D. �1987) Tourism Today:A Geographical
Analysis, Longman: Harlow, 78±81.
adaptation
GEOFFREY WALL, CANADA
When culturally diverse groups of individuals come
into contact, there will be inevitable impacts on
each others' value system, social fabric, cultural
structure, political and economic processes. At the
social level, the outcome is usually assimilation,
acculturation, segregation or integration. At the
individuallevel,theresultmaybemoretransitoryand
assume the form of `passing', exaggerated chauvinism,marginalityorculturalmediation.Adaptation
thus occurs at both social and individual levels.
Adaptation is often used to describe the process
of psychological reaction whereby groups or
individuals accept and adjust themselves to fit into
a novel or unfamiliar environment. The original
concept of adaptation emerged from evolutionary
selection. Cultural innovation must either adapt
or alter pre-existing traits within a culture, in
neighbouring cultural systems or in the natural
environment. The more adaptable the cultural
group is, the better the chance of its survival. As
some cultures continuously grow more adaptive and
powerful, they will tend to dominate less privileged
cultures. Such dominance may be manifested in
genocide, assimilation, segregation, imperialism
or colonialism �see colonialisation).
Although both domestic and international
tourism involve cultural exchange, the cultural
clash is more evident in the latter. According to
Valene Smith's tourist typology �see typology,
tourist), explorers can easily adapt themselves to
local norms, but incipient mass tourists cannot
adjust to the lifestyles of the destination community.
However, tourists' levels of adaptation are