CHAPTER 10

DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT

By Group 4
Anjani Mega Hapsari (43115010271)
Alvin Denis Saputra (43116010044)
Silfi Defi Saryanti (43116010066)
Desi Triherawati (43116010157)
 INTRODUCTION
This chapter examines the process of destination development in more
detail, by integrating the content of earlier chapters on impacts, markets,
destinations and tourism products.

The following section considers the concept of the destination cycle, and
focuses specifically on the Butler sequence, which is the most frequently
cited manifestation.

This section also provides a critique of the model, and examines the factors
that can contribute to changes in the destination cycle.

The dynamics of tourism development at a national scale, which are usually

not adequately described by the cycle concept as represented by the Butler
sequence, are then considered.

The concept of spatial diffusion is presented as an alternative model that

more accurately describes the evolution of tourism at a national scale.
 DESTINATION CYCLE

The idea that destinations experience a predictable evolution is

embodied in the concept of the destination cycle.

This theory is of great interest to tourism managers, who would

then know where a particular destination is positioned within
the cycle at a given point in time and what implications this has
for the future if no intervention is undertaken.

The destination cycle, should not be regarded as an unavoidable

process, but rather one that can be redirected through appropriate
management measures to realize the ecologically and socioculturally
sustainable outcomes that are desired by destination stakeholders.
 The Butler Sequence

 Butler in 1980 presented his S-shaped resort cycle model, or Butler sequence, which proposes that
tourist destinations tend to experience five distinct stages of growth, those are:
• Exploration
• Involvement
• Development
• Consolidation
• Stagnation
 The purpose of the Butler model is to look at the way that tourist resorts, grow and develop.
 The tourism industry is dynamic and constantly changing. Therefore, the Butler model is a way of
studying tourist resorts and seeing how they change over time and in relation to the changing
demands of the tourism industry.
 These changes can then be compared to the prediction as shown on the model.
The Illustration of The Butler Sequence
1. Exploration

The exploration stage is characterized by very small numbers of visitors who are dispersed
throughout the destination and remain for an extended period of time.

The tourism ‘industry’ as such does not exist, as the negligible visitor numbers do not merit
the establishment of any specialized facilities or services.

The tourists themselves are adventurous, allocentric types who are drawn by what they
perceive to be authentic and ‘unspoiled’ pre-commodified cultural and natural attractions.

On a worldwide scale, the number of places that display exploration type dynamics is rapidly
diminishing due to the explosive growth of tourism since 1950.
2. Involvement

Local entrepreneurs begin to provide a limited amount of specialized services and facilities in response to
the regular appearance of tourists, thereby inaugurating an incipient and, at first, largely informal tourism
industry. These services and facilities typically consist of small guesthouses and inns, and eating places; and
include the provision of guides, small tour operations and a few small semi-commercial attractions.

This incipient and still largely informal tourism sector begins to show signs of concentration within local
settlements, transportation gateways or near tourist attractions. However, the sector is still small scale, and
has little visual or environmental impact on the landscape.

The visitor intake begins to increase slowly in response to these local initiatives, ending the low-level
equilibrium of visitor arrivals that characterized the exploration stage.
3. Development

In this stage, the host country starts to develop and

advertise the area. The area becomes recognized as a
tourist destination.

The development stage is characterized by rapid

tourism growth and dramatic changes over a relatively
short period of time in all aspects of the tourism sector.

The change from involvement to development is

usually marked by a transition rather than a sharp
boundary, although specific events can act as a catalyst
for accelerated change.

Spatially, the development stage is a time of rapid

landscape change, as small hotels and guest houses
give way to large multistore resorts and agricultural
land is replaced by golf courses, and so on.
4. Consolidation

The consolidation stage involves a decline in the growth rate of visitor arrivals and other
tourism related activity, although the total amount of activity continues to increase.

In this stage, the destination is wholly integrated into the largescale, globalized tourism
system, and tourism dominates the economy of the area.

Attractions are largely specialized recreational sites of a contrived, generic nature

(symbolized by theme parks, golf courses and casinos).

Seasonality emerges as a major influence on the destination’s economy, along with high
turnover in hotel and restaurant ownership, and abandonment of facilities and areas due
to a lack of interest in redevelopment.
5. Stagnation

Peak visitor numbers and levels of associated facilities, such as available

accommodation units, are attained during the stagnation stage.

Surplus capacity is a persistent problem, prompting frequent price

discounts that lead to further product deterioration and bankruptcies,
given the high fixed costs involved in the sector.

One way that companies respond to this dilemma is to convert hotel

type accommodation into self catering apartments, timeshare units or
even permanent residences for retirees, students or others.

The affected destination may still have a high profile, but this does not
translate into increases in visitation due to the fact that the location is
perceived to be ‘out of fashion’ or otherwise less desirable as a destination.
6. Decline

 The stagnation stage can theoretically persist for an indefinite period, but it is likely that the
destination will eventually experience either an upturn or a downturn in its fortunes.
 The scenario of decline, beyond destructive external factors such as war or natural disasters,
will occur as a result of some combination of the following tourism related factors:
o Repeat clients are no longer satisfied with the available product, while efforts to recruit new
visitors fail.
o The major attractions that a destination depends upon are no longer available due to
immediate events (e.g. a fire or closure) or longer term disruptions.
o No attempts are made by destination stakeholders to revitalize or reinvent the local tourism
product, or these attempts are made but are unsuccessful.
o Resident antagonism progresses to the level of outright and widespread hostility, which
contributes to the negative image of the destination.
o New competitors, and particularly intervening opportunities, emerge to divert and capture
traditional markets.
7. Rejuvenation

According to Butler, rejuvenation is almost always accompanied by

the introduction of entirely new tourism products, or at least the
radical reimaging of the existing product, as a way of recapturing the
destination’s competitive advantage and sense of uniqueness.

The rejuvenation seldom occurs as a spontaneous process, but arises

from deliberate, proactive strategies adopted by destination
managers and entrepreneurs.

Success in achieving revitalization is associated with the ability of the

public and private sectors, with collaboration from the community, to
cooperate in focusing on what each does best.
 Application and Critique of The Butler Sequence

Cycle Applications

- Since its publication in 1980, the Butler sequence has been empirically examined well over 50 times just within
the published English language literature.
- The great majority of these applications have identified a general conformity to the broad contours of the
model, supporting its potential as an important theoretical as well as practical device for describing and
predicting the evolution of destinations.
- However, most applications have also identified one or more anomalies where the sequence does not apply to
the targeted case study, and/or where the overall results of the exercise remain ambiguous.
General Criticisms
 Description of Graphic

Supply-Driven Scenario Demand-Driven Scenario

In a supply-driven scenario A, the carrying capacities are
In a demand-driven scenario B, the conventional
deliberately left as they are, but the level of
sequence of involvement and development takes place,
development is curtailed so that they remain below the
but measures are taken to raise carrying capacity
relevant thresholds, this could be achieved through a
thresholds in concert with the increased visitor intake.
number of strategies, alone or in combination,
including:
This can be achieved on the sociocultural front by
- Placing restrictions or quotas on the allowable
demarcating and enforcing front stage/backstage
number of visitors (as in Bhutan before the early
distinctions or by introducing tourist and resident
2000s).
education and awareness programs.
- Imposing development standards.
- Introducing limitations to the size and number of
accommodation facilities
- Zoning only certain limited areas for front stage
tourism development.
 The Question of
Geographic Scale

• Butler’s cycle, in its classic format, does not apply to such large
countries, because of the tendency of large-scale tourism to concentrate
only in certain areas of these countries.
• The Butler sequence itself, as demonstrated by the array of case studies
in table 10.2, is more appropriately applied at the scale of a well-defined
individual resort concentration such as the Gold Coast, Byron Bay,
Spain’s Costa Brava, a small Caribbean island such as Antigua, or an
alpine resort such as Thredbo or St Moritz (Switzerland).
 Cross-Sectoral
Considerations

Butler’s cycle, in its classic format, does not apply to such large countries,
Tourism dynamics are additionally affected by non-economic external factors
such as political unrest and natural disasters, which also need to be taken into
account in the management of destination development.

For Example:
Within Australia, the Queensland city of Bundaberg experienced successive
disastrous floods in 2011 and 2013 which both times resulted in dramatic
visitation declines due to damaged infrastructure and negative media publicity
(Stafford 2013).
 The Butler Sequence as An “Ideal Type”
The Butler sequence, in summary, best describes
destinations that are:

Dominated
Spatially Highly
Relatively by free In high
well focused on
small market demand.
defined tourism
forces
FACTORS THAT CHANGE THE DESTINATION CYCLE

The factors that influence the evolution of tourism

in destinations can be positioned within a simple
eight-cell matrix model of cycle trigger factors. As
with the attraction inventory discussed in chapter 5,
the dotted lines indicate that each variable can be
measured along a continuum — discrete categories
are used as a matter of convenience for discussion
purposes, rather than as an indication that all
factors neatly fit into eight homogeneous cells.
There are 3 models:
 Internal-intentional actions
 External-unintentional actions
 Internal-unintentional actions
 External-intentional actions
1. Internal-intentional actions

From a destination perspective, the ‘ideal’ situation involves stimulants that originate
deliberately from within the destination, or internal-intentional actions.

Applicable stimulants that trigger further growth include infrastructure upgrading,

environmental improvements, effective marketing campaigns directed by the local
tourism organization, innovative investments in facilitating technologies by local risk-
taking entrepreneurs, and the decision by local authorities to pursue a growth pole-type
strategy based on tourism.

Conversely, internal and intentional depressants, such as entry fees and infrastructure
restrictions, can be used deliberately to restrict or reverse the growth of tourism.
 2. External-unintentional actions 3. Internal-unintentional actions
• Trigger factors that originate from beyond the • As with external-intentional actions, are
destination, and in an unintentional way, can be intermediate between the first two categories
described as external – unintentional actions. with respect to the control that can be exercised
• Because they are spatially removed in origin by then destionation.
from the destination, and because they are not • For example: A prolonged civil war (though some
the deliberate result of certain actions, they civil wars can also be intentional) or coral reef
tend to be highly unpredicatable both in destruction caused by a local pollution source.
character and in outcome, and mostly
uncontrollable by destination managers.
• For example: climate change and its harmful
impact on the greet barrier reef, and political
chaos in Indonesia in so far as it hinders tourism
in Bali.
4. External-intentional actions

The opposite situation is described by external-intentional actions.

Depressants in this category include a country that drastically and

dramtically devalues its currency, perhaps in part to become a more
affordable and attractive destination competitor relative to an
adjacent country.

For example, the legalisation of gambling in Atlantic City was a

potential depressant for Las Vegas, but in retrospect could be
considered a stimulant because of its role in forcing Las Vegas to
rejuvenate its product.
 NATIONAL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

As argued, the Butler sequence, and the destination cycle concept in general,
are not applicable at the scale of entire countries, except for those that are
exceptionally small.

To gain insight into the process of tourism development at the country scale,
it is helpful to revisit the internal spacial patterns, which involve the
concentration of tourism within large urban centres and in builtup areas
adjacent to attraction such as beaches and mountains. Thereby, an
understanding of the concept of spatial diffusion is essential.
Spatial Diffusion

Spacial or geopgraphical diffusion is the process

whereby an innovation or idea spreads from a
point of origin locations. Spatial diffusion can be
either contagious or hierarchical.

• The idea or innovation typically originates in the largest

Hierarchical urban centre, and gradually spreads through
Diffusion communications and transportation systems to smaller
centres within the urban hierarchy.

• The spread occurs as a function of spatial

Contagious proximity. This is demonstrated by the likelihood
Diffusion that a contagious disease carried by a student in
a classroom will spread first to the students
sitting next to the infected student, and lastly to
those sitting farthest way. Contagious diffusion is
sometimes likened to the ripple effect made
when a pebble is thrown into a body of still
water.
Effects of Hierarchical
Diffusion
The concentration of tourism activity
in urban areas is a manifestation of
hierarchical diffusion.
A country’s largest city is likely to
function as the primary gateway for
inbound tourists.
Also, because of its prominence, it will
contain sites and events of interest to
tourists.
The dominant city, then is often the
first location in a country to host
international tourism activity on a
formal basis.
Effects of Contagious
Diffusion
The effects of contagious diffusion
follow on from the effects of
hierarchical diffusion.
As cities grow, they emerge as
siginificant domestic tourism markets in
their own right as well as increasingly
important destionations for inbound
tourists.
Both markets stimulates the
development of recreational
hinterlands around these cities, the size
of which is usually proportional to the
population of urban area.
 Diffusion Barriers and Facilitators

- This process, however, is not likely to continue indefinitely, in part

because demand is not unlimited, but also because of barriers that
terminate, slow, redirect or, more rarely, reverse the tourism diffusion
process.
- These barriers can take numerous forms, the most common being the
lack of attractions capable of carrying the destination beyond the
exploration stage.
- Other barriers include community rersistence, political boundaries and
climate.
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