Tourism Geographies, Vol.1, No.4, pp. 406-424 (return to Table of Contents for Vol.1)

Towards a Geography of the Geography of Tourism: issues and examples from New Zealand

Douglas G. Pearce
Department of Geography, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Abstract

This paper systemically explores three questions relating to the development of national geographies of tourism:
1) How might a national geography of tourism best be characterised?
2) What factors shape a national geography of tourism?
3) What are the implications of the existence of national geographies of tourism for the overall development of the geography of tourism?
The first two questions are considered in general terms then illustrated with reference to the New Zealand case before the broader implications of the issues raised are discussed. Factors shaping the geography of tourism include: national schools of geography, national patterns of tourism, external and personal factors. Distinctive New Zealand themes are: tourist travel patterns, tourism in national parks, restructuring and new forms of tourism.

Keywords: geography, geography of tourism, research themes, reviews, New Zealand