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This book provides an in-depth exploration of the dynamic intersections between economic geography and tourism, highlighting how spatial, economic, and social processes shape tourism development and how tourism, in turn, transforms economic spaces. Combining theoretical insights with real-world case studies, it offers a comprehensive understanding of tourism s evolving role within economic geography.
The first part lays a strong theoretical foundation, introducing key concepts such as the Tourism Area Life Cycle, path dependence, agglomeration economies, smart specialization, and regional resilience within the context of tourism research. It explores spatial and temporal patterns in tourism development, the growing influence of digitalization and smart tourism, and the roles of innovation and competitiveness in shaping destination dynamics.
The second part shifts focus to tourism s broader economic and social implications. It critically assesses urban tourism s links to gentrification, circular economies, and social conflicts while exploring strategies to address spatial enclaves and foster integrated tourism networks in low-density and fragile regions. Environmental challenges, including the impact of tourism mobility on local communities and ecosystems, are also examined.
The book concludes by addressing the tensions and future trajectories of tourism development, questioning whether sustainable or regenerative tourism can thrive within market-driven economies where decision-making prioritizes individual preferences over collective well-being. It calls for a reassessment of contemporary policy and regulatory frameworks to align tourism with broader economic and environmental goals.
By bridging economic geography and tourism studies, this book equips scholars, policymakers, and practitioners with analytical tools to rethink tourism development and advocate for strategies that are economically viable and effectively sustainable, inclusive and resilient.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Introducing a multidisciplinary context: tourism, economics and geography.- Part I. From Economic Geography to Tourism.- Chapter 2. Tourism Area Life Cycle, evolutionary tourism development and path dependence.- Chapter 3. Spatiality and temporality: tourism as a place and knowledge-based activity.- Chapter 4. Smart tourism and the co-creation of experiences: social networks and Big Data manipulation.- Chapter 5. Agglomeration, externalities and regional innovation systems.- Chapter 6. Smart specialization, tourism competitiveness, growth and resilience.- Chapter 7. New Economic Geography: cultural-creative economies and urban tourism.- Part II. From Tourism to Economic Geography.- Chapter 8. Experiential tourism, circular economy, gentrification and conflicts in cities.- Chapter 9. Fragile terrains: thematic routes, spacial integration of attractions and mediatized places.- Chapter 10. Transport, spatial mobility, sustainability and climate change.- Chapter 11. Tourism impacts on common spaces and resources: the quest for participatory governance.- Chapter 12. From (un)sustainable to regenerative tourism planning and management challenges.- Chapter 13. Closing Remarks and Outlook: futures for tourism in the spatial economy.
About the author
João Romão is an Associate Professor at Yasuda Women’s University (Japan), specializing in tourism, hospitality, and regional planning. He holds a PhD in Tourism and has 60 publications, including books, editorial works and articles in leading journals. He serves at the editorial board of several journals. As a Principal Investigator, he has conducted tourism research in Portugal and Japan, obtaining 5 competitive research grants. His interests encompass innovation, creative economies, cultural heritage, sustainable development, and public governance. He applies both quantitative and qualitative methods, emphasizing spatial analysis. He has diverse experiences as a consultant for public policies, working on regional development and urban planning. He is also a co-chair of the cluster on Tourism, Leisure and Recreation of NECTAR (Network on European Communications and Transport Activities Research).
Additional text
“The book arrives at a time when both tourism research and practice grapple with challenges whose complexity transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. … In this context, the contribution of the book is not only welcome but necessary, particularly within economic geography, a field that, over the past decades, has remained peripheral to the reconfiguration of tourism policy. … The book is an indispensable resource for students, as well as for early-career researchers including doctoral and postdoctoral candidates.” (Bogdan-Constantin Ibanescu, Papers in Regional Science, Vol. 104 (4), August 2025)
“This book will be of particular value to regional economists, spatial planners, and graduate-level researchers interested in spatial data analysis and tourism policy. For those working within European contexts, its policy alignment and empirical richness are especially relevant. Even for scholars outside the quantitative tradition, the book offers conceptual tools that can sharpen thinking about how tourism’s role in reshaping spatial economies is both significant and enduring.” (Michael S. Engel, Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine, Vol. 161 (3), July 2025)
Report
The book arrives at a time when both tourism research and practice grapple with challenges whose complexity transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In this context, the contribution of the book is not only welcome but necessary, particularly within economic geography, a field that, over the past decades, has remained peripheral to the reconfiguration of tourism policy. The book is an indispensable resource for students, as well as for early-career researchers including doctoral and postdoctoral candidates. (Bogdan-Constantin Ibanescu, Papers in Regional Science, Vol. 104 (4), August 2025)
This book will be of particular value to regional economists, spatial planners, and graduate-level researchers interested in spatial data analysis and tourism policy. For those working within European contexts, its policy alignment and empirical richness are especially relevant. Even for scholars outside the quantitative tradition, the book offers conceptual tools that can sharpen thinking about how tourism s role in reshaping spatial economies is both significant and enduring. (Michael S. Engel, Entomologist s Monthly Magazine, Vol. 161 (3), July 2025)
