‘Destinations in change’: The transformation process of tourist destinations

Tourism studies have for a long time been interested in tourist destinations, their identity and the changes occurring in them. In view of the ‘spatialization of social theory’ and the past discussions on locality studies in human geography, this article seeks to contribute to our understanding of research into tourist destinations and their changes. The article focuses on the conceptual nature of tourist destination and especially the processes transforming the idea of a destination, its representations and physical character as a subject of research. Tourist destinations are seen as dynamic, historical units with specific identities characterized by hegemonic and other discourses, which all produce a notion of what the destination is and represents at the time. However, there is not just one idea or discourse of destination at the time but several, possibly even conflicting ones, which emphasizes the need to consider the ethical aspects of tourism development in research.