Tourism Management 52 (2016) 254e263 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Tourism Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman Exploring the tourist destination as a mosaic: The alternative lifecycles of the seaside amusement arcade sector in Britain * Anya Chapman , Duncan Light Bournemouth University, Department of Tourism and Hospitality, Fern Barrow, Bournemouth, BH12 5BB, UK highlights Conceptualises seaside resorts as mosaics of elements each with their own lifecycle. Focuses on the lifecycle of the amusement arcade sector within the resort mosaic. Examines the interaction of local, national and global influences on the arcade sector. Argues for a conceptualisation of resorts as assemblages. article info abstract Article history: One criticism of the tourism area lifecycle model is that it treats destinations as homogeneous entities. Received 1 March 2014 Instead destinations can be conceptualised as a mosaic of elements, each of which can follow a lifecycle Received in revised form that is different from that of the destination overall. This paper examines this issue with reference to 22 June 2015 amusement arcades in British seaside resorts and triangulates secondary sources and in-depth in- Accepted 25 June 2015 terviews to examine the historical evolution of this sector. It argues that the arcade sector has followed a Available online xxx lifecycle trajectory that is independent of the resorts in which they are located. A range of internal/ external factors and global, national and local influences have affected the lifecycle of the arcade sector, Keywords: fl TALC model including global developments in the entertainment industries; the in uence of state policies and Seaside resorts legislation; and the responses of local entrepreneurs to resort restructuring. The paper ends by arguing Global-local interactions that destinations can be conceptualised as 'assemblages' of interacting elements. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 1. Introduction way. Moreover, this perspective frequently assumes that, because the destination as a unit of analysis has experienced decline, then One of the most influential models within tourism studies is the so too has each element within it (such as accommodation, at- tourism area lifecycle (TALC) (Butler, 1980). This model proposes tractions and infrastructure). A critique of this approach led to the that destinations undergo evolutionary development from initial emergence of more nuanced perspectives which recognise that discovery, followed by rapid growth, through consolidation to destination trajectories are not uniform, and that particular internal stagnation, at which point demand is no longer increasing. In the and external circumstances can influence the way that a destina- post-stagnation phase the destination may decline in response to tion responds to changing demand (Agarwal, 2002; 2005; Gale, the rising popularity of other destinations and, in extreme cases, 2007; Ivars i Baidal, Sanchez, & Rebollo, 2013; Papatheodorou, may cease to be visited by tourists altogether. Alternatively, the 2004; Williams & Shaw, 1997). Furthermore, researchers recog- destination may rejuvenate by either developing a new product or nise that a destination is not a uniform entity but instead comprises by targeting new markets in order to stimulate renewed demand. a mosaic of elements (Agarwal, 1997; Cooper & Jackson, 1989; Ma & The TALC model tends to treat destination decline as a universal Hassink, 2013) each of which may experience its own lifecycle and inevitable process, experienced by all destinations in the same which is independent from that of the destination as a whole (Agarwal, 1997; Gale, 2007; Haywood, 1986). This highlights a need to disaggregate the destination as the unit of analysis, and focus * instead on the lifecycle trajectories of individual components of the Corresponding author. fi fl E-mail addresses: [email protected] (A. Chapman), dlight@ destination mosaic and the speci cinuences upon such bournemouth.ac.uk (D. Light). trajectories. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2015.06.020 0261-5177/© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). A. Chapman, D. Light / Tourism Management 52 (2016) 254e263 255 This paper addresses this issue with reference to one type of destination change (Agarwal, 1994). It has been argued that to destination: British seaside resorts. Such places experienced better understand destination evolution and decline it is important remarkable growth in the second half of the 19th century and to examine the complex interaction of internal and external factors remained popular until the 1970s after which they experienced a which affect that destination (Agarwal, 2002; see also Ivars i Baidal pronounced fall in patronage due to the growing popularity of et al., 2013). In particular it is necessary to consider how destina- Mediterranean package holidays (Cooper, 1990, 1997; Williams & tions are influenced by much broader changes in the external Shaw, 1997). There has been considerable interest in applying the environment over which they have no control (Papatheodorou, TALC model to the development and decline of British coastal re- 2004). For example, the ‘restructuring thesis’ (Agarwal, 2002; sorts (Agarwal, 1994, 1997, 2002; Cooper, 1997; Gale, 2007; Walton, Garay & Canoves, 2011; Ioannides & Debbage, 1998; Urry & 2000). However, most of this work has treated the destination as a Larsen, 2011) argues that there has been a broad reorientation in homogeneous unit and has neglected the trajectory of individual the nature of capitalist accumulation over the past 40 years. This components within it. This analysis addresses this issue by focus- has been characterised as a shift from Fordist to post-Fordist forms sing in detail on the lifecycle of a specific element of the British of production and consumption. Fordism is characterised by mass seaside resort mosaic that has received very little academic atten- production of standardised products for mass consumption by tion to date: amusement arcades (Chapman & Light, 2011). We relatively undifferentiated markets. Post-Fordism, conversely, is examine the evolution of amusement arcades in comparison with characterised by flexible methods of production of a much wider that of the destinations in which they are located. In particular we range of products targeted at particular market segments within an identify a broad range of internal and external factors that have increasingly globalised economy. Under Fordism the producer was shaped the development of the amusement arcade sector. Some of dominant, but post-Fordism is characterised by increasing domi- these factors are encompassed by the broader social, economic and nance of consumers who demand innovation, novelty and choice. cultural changes that have affected British seaside destinations as a In terms of tourism these changes are marked by increasingly whole, but others are independent of those changes and are specific experienced and discerning tourists who demand new destinations to the arcades sector. In particular, we address the global-local and tourist experiences, tend to travel independently, and make dynamics of coastal tourism (Agarwal, 2005) and we argue that fewer repeat visits (Shaw & Williams, 2004). Private capital has the seaside amusement arcade sector illustrates a distinct set of responded by creating a range of new destinations around the interactions between the global, the national and the local that world which cater for the demands of these ‘new’ tourists (Agarwal, unfold in the setting of British coastal resorts. 2002). In Britain these developments have had a substantial impact on Britain's coastal towns which are less attractive to increasingly 2. The tourism area lifecycle and the destination mosaic mobile tourists in search of new and unusual destinations. In this context, Britain's coastal resorts can be considered as ‘victims’ of Since it was first proposed, the TALC model has generated global economic restructuring (Agarwal, 2002). considerable interest within tourism studies. A plethora of research In addition, to fully understand the changing fortunes of indi- papers have explored the validity of the model in a range of des- vidual destinations it is necessary to examine the interactions be- tinations and regions throughout the world (for reviews see tween the local and the global (Agarwal, 2005; Gale, 2007; Ivars i Lagiewski, 2006; Ma & Hassink, 2013). Some have critiqued the Baidal et al., 2013). The response to changing patterns of demand original model and proposed modifications or refinements; others within a destination is dependent upon the local historical path of have sought to link the TALC model to broader issues within tourism development (Ma & Hassink, 2013; Walton, 1992); the tourism such as carrying capacity, destination planning, and influence of local entrepreneurs (Russell & Faulkner, 2004; Shaw & destination marketing. In a British context the TALC model has been Williams, 1997) and their willingness to invest locally; and the widely applied to seaside towns in order to understand the policies and resources of the local/central state (Ioannides, 1992; changing nature of demand for such destinations; the policy im- Morgan & Pritchard, 1999). The interactions of these local