Large tourism precincts in south-western Europe-genesis, evolution and territorial impact

Abstract

Many coastal regions in the world have witnessed the de-naturalization of vast areas through the private development of large enclosed tourism resorts (i.e., tourism precincts). In emergent economies, this type of private tourism development aims at insulating the resort from the surrounding lack of amenities and safety; in South-Western Europe it aims at adding value to a specific kind of real estate in coastal areas. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the processes and forms of territorial occupation of these tourism precincts through a morphological methodology that identifies the significant changes on the structural patterns of coastal territorial occupation both through development and through its spatial externalities. Two main purposes drive the research, namely to reach an operational definition (i.e., ethos and spatial features) of tourism precinct in South-Western Europe and to assess the need of a specific territorial tool for the parts of the coastal area where this type of private tourism development tends to concentrate through individual settlements.