Leisure, Tourism, and Space: A Thematic Exploration

This contribution posits that the tourism sector—as part of the leisure society—deserves a more prominent position in regional science. After a general outline of trends in modern tourism, this chapter argues that promising research angles can be found in: (a) the closer examination of the complex components of leisure time, (b) the income drivers and prosperity impacts of tourism, and (c) the place-based characteristics of tourism destinations (including environmental and neighbourhood externalities). The new role of regional science research in tourism is also to be found in the wider context of the hospitality sector and in a context-specific research framing.