The Tourist Region: A Co-Construction of Tourism Stakeholders

In geography, a region is one of the most obscure and controversial scientific research objects. However, the tourism sector frequently uses the term, both in the communication of tourism destinations and in daily-life vocabulary, to characterize spatial practices that overtake the scale of a place. That said, a geographic concentration of place, equipment and accommodation does not equate to a tourist region.

In order to define the tourist region, this book presents the common thoughts and interpretations of it, which have been advanced by geographers since the beginning of the 20th Century. The Tourist Region also examines stakeholders' logics that are identified in the practices of a tourist destination in a regional dimension, and explores the tourist region as a territorial co-construction. Finally, this book analyzes multi-level regional networks of tourist places, built according to tourist mobilities.

By presenting several measurement methods of the tourist region, this book explains the spatial practices of tourists and anticipates the actions for tourism professionals.

Jérôme Piriou, PhD in geography, is a lecturer-researcher at La Rochelle Business School - Excelia Group, and member of the Centre de Recherche en Gestion (Research Center of Management) (CEREGE) in France. His research focuses on local development and the spatial practices of tourism stakeholders.