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a religious meaning, and are thus used in religious
rituals �including prayer books, breviaries, rosaries,
crosses and so on), which religious tourists
keep as touristic souvenirs; on the return from the
journey, these souvenirs are then used regularly
when performing religious rituals. There are also a
large number of objects with religious characteristics
�pictures of saints, of the crucifixion, of the
Virgin, or various motifs from Biblical and other
religious stories, women's scarves with the same
pictures, religious motifs on garments or articles of
everyday use, and so on). In modern tourism, the
commercialisation of religious motifs and their
use on the most varied objects means that they
become, for the pilgrim as well as for the regular
tourist, symbols of a certain sacred site or content
�see site, sacred). In other words, they become
religious souvenirs. The commercial mass production
of these objects is stimulated further by the
large numbers of pilgrims gathering in religious
centres worldwide and representing an enormous
and willing mass of purchasers of souvenirs of this
kind.
spa
BORIS VUKONIC Â ,CROATIA
A spa is a resort which provides mineral or
thermal water for drinking or bathing. Although
the phenomenon dates back at least to Greek and
Roman times, the word is taken from the name of a
town in Belgium which provided medical cures in
congenial surroundings. Originally having a mix of
health and pleasure functions, spas reached their
zenith in Europe from the end of the sixteenth
century to the beginning of the nineteenth century
when places such as Bath and Tunbridge Wells in
the United Kingdom became fashionable pleasure
resorts. Although tastes have changed, spas still
function in many parts of the world �such as
Hungary, where there is an extensive network of
spas) and health resorts have seen a recent
resurgence in popularity. The transformation of
spas into pleasure resorts, together with the Grand
Tour, and the emergence and growth of coastal
resorts constitute the beginnings of tourism as one
knows it today.
Further reading
Lawrence, H.W. �1983) `Southern spas: source of
the American resort tradition', Landscape 27�2):
1±12.
Patmore, J.A. �1968) `The spa towns of Britain', in
R.P. Beckinsale and J.M. Houston �eds), Urbanisation
and its Problems, Oxford: Blackwell, 47±57.
Towner, J. �1996) An Historical Geography of Recreation
and Tourism in the Western World 1540±1940,
Chichester: Wiley, Chapter 4.
space allocation
GEOFFREY WALL, CANADA
Space allocation refers to the space required for a
total facility such as a restaurant, or the space
within it for different allocations such as dining
room or production kitchen. In this case, this is
usually expressed as space per seat. For instance,
the total space needed for a table service restaurant
is 2.5 m 2 per restaurant seat, with 2 m 2 for the
dining area, 0.9 m 2 for the kitchen, 0.3 m 2 for the
cloakrooms and 1.2 m 2 for the bar area.
Spain
Spain 549
PETER JONES, UK
According to the World Tourism Organization,
Spain is the number two destination in the
world, just after the United States, occasionally
slipping to third position in close competition with
France. The country began its tourism development
as a mass destination in the 1950s thanks to a
well-endowed resource base in natural and cultural
amenities, very favourable relative prices and its
proximity to the most important European markets
of origin.
In that first stage of the Fordian Age of Tourism,
when standardised mass-produced tourism services
were offered to non-discriminating consumers,
Spain had a limited quantity of facilities and those
that did exist were wanting in conveniences and
sophistication, even by the standards of the time;
tourism infrastructure and public services were
also lacking. However, as early as 1956 the number