Tourism and new economic geography: Issues and challenges in moving from advocacy to adoption

Abstract

Calls for closer, mutually-enriching dialogues between studies of tourism and economic geography are often justified by the argument that tourism scholars are offered considerable theoretical, conceptual, and analytical opportunities by progress in economic geography. This article examines this claim through a discussion of the epistemological and methodological issues raised in the course of a study on unfolding production and consumption trends on Cyprus. Specifically, it focuses on how the concept of innovation is understood by academics as well as industry stakeholders in their efforts to bring the island destination to market. Innovation is a key construct in contemporary social science research and it has been the source of considerable research activity in economic geography. This article demonstrates the need to move beyond appeals for, and defenses of, more widespread adoption to the practicalities. Set against the backdrop of recent debates on the nature of geographical inquiry, this work argues for a more realistic assessment of the limits to which geographical bodies of knowledge are able to contribute to further progress studies of tourism, in particular in marketing and distribution.