Destination Dynamics & Mobilities
Dr. Dianne Dredge
This presentation was given at Aalborg University, Copenhagen Campus, Denmark on
21 NOVEMBER 2013
ABSTRACT
The ‘mobilities turn’ provides an evocative lens to explore the way that movement of people, objects, capital and information transform the physical, social, economic and political characteristics of destinations. As a result, territorial and sedentary understandings of community, individual and collective notions of identity, and the ways a destination can be conceived, are being challenged. This presentation explores the implications of this mobilities turn on tourism planning, policy and governance using cases from Australia. The research highlights the implications of the mobilities turn on destination planning and management, and particularly what it might mean for destination governance.
Destination Dynamics & Mobilities
1. Background2. Current thinking3. Gold Coast case study4. Future research opportunities
Background~ Different lenses in understanding destination
dynamics
Institutional arrangements
Collaboration & partnerships
Networks- government,
business & civil society
Relational planning, Capacity-building,
Governance
Path dependencies
Policy complementarities
& trade-offs
Mobilities, liquid organisations,
resilience
Identity & positionality
Urban & regional/
environmental planner
Reflexive practitioner Boundaries of
knowledge, liminalitiesCritical
Social construction Case study
Using social science to tackle
societal issues
Current thinking ~ Mobilities • Inspired by Liquid Modernity (Bauman)
– Emphasis on consumption– Hyper consumerism, hyper-neoliberalism– Everything is on the move
• ‘Mobilities turn’ (Urry, Sheller, Mavrič)– Capital, labour, tourists, residents, ideas,
resources on the move– Rescaling of space and community
So what?Implications for destinations• Destinations continuously transforming
– Implications for destination identity– Democratic participation, governance of
destinations problematic under mobilities lens
• Three processes:– Spatial restructuring of the destination– Pluralisation of destination management– Re-visioning ‘community’
Gold Coast, Australia… a Surfer’s Paradise
9
Gold Coast Destination Development
TIME
GROWTH• Visitor No’s• Visitor Nights• Visitor Expenditure
Product renewal New markets
Destination decline
Mature
Developing
1950s
1980s
Emergent
Innovation
Our research*
• Aims– To apply the mobilities lens to the Gold Coast– Identify the implications for destination
governance
• Challenge of methods, approach, data– Focus on tourist and resident mobilities, labour
mobilities, capital mobilities, image mobilities – Spatial and temporal data inconsistencies
• Understandings of mobilities can only be partial
Dredge & Jamal (2013) Mobilities on the Gold Coast, Australia: implications for destination governance and sustainable tourism, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 21:4, 557-579
‘Permanent’ Residents Investo
rs
Capital
Temporary Residents
Tourists
12
Branding & Image
mobilityVERY GOLD COAST: Australia’s Gold Coast, the most vibrant experience you will ever have. Australia’s Gold Coast is a microcosm of the Australian lifestyle. Rich in colour and diversity, the region is synonymous with glorious weather, health, vitality and life itself. The environment is as diverse as the people creating an atmosphere of freedom, excitement and passion”
“Schoolies”
“Bikie wars”
Findings:Implications for governance?
• Spatial restructuring– Destination being produced at multiple scales– Uneven flow of capital, migration, investment– Spatial, temporal, socio-economic differentiation
• Pluralisation of destination management– Spatial unevenness
• Re-visioning of community– Networks bound in collective, shared identity,
narratives
So what?• Multi-spatial, multi-sectoral governance
• Multi-taskers, innovative, mobile, inventive
• Perpetually construct/reconstruct themselves
• Liquid governance – agile, spontaneous, relational
• Accumulate social capital
• Capable of building/shifting emotional investment in “swift-trust”
Future Research
Further research in complex
hyper-mobile destinations
Methods/ approaches
What is the relevance of
liquid organisations?
Policy and governance innovation
Destination mobility and policy
complementarities across policy sectors
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