Theory Of Tourism Space

THEORY OF TOURISM SPACE Roberto C. Boullón presented his theory about tourist space in the book Planificación del espacio turístico (Planning tourism space), which was released by the Mexican publisher Trillas in 1985. His work was influential in Latin America but is not well known outside the region because it is not never published in English, only published in Spanish (1985) and (1989) in different editions as well as in Portuguese (2002). For Boullón (2001, p. 65), '...tourist space is a consequence of the existence and territorial distribution of tourist attractions, which we must not forget, as the raw material for tourism. This element of tourism heritage, alongside business ventures and tourist infrastructure, is enough to define the tourist space of any country. According to Boullón (2001), because tourist attractions rarely touch each other, there are no tourist areas. Even in countries with a high density of tourist attractions, there are large areas without such attractions; Thus, regionalization techniques should not be used in tourism planning or large areas without tourist attractions will be classified as tourist attractions, which is erroneous. Boullón proposed the theory of tourist space to replace the idea of tourist areas. Tourist space is determined by observing the territorial distribution of tourist attractions and infrastructure. In this way it becomes possible to identify the various components, which are classified according to their size. These components can be differentiated as zones, areas, complexes, centers, units, cores, clusters, corridors, transit corridors and finally visiting corridors. The tourist zone 'is the largest unit for analyzing and structuring a country's touristic spatial universe'. (Boullon, 2001, p. 66). Its size varies because it depends on the size of the country where it is located. Each zone must have at least ten relatively close tourist attractions. Figure 18 shows two types of tourist zones: the first in small countries and the second in countries with larger land areas. Tourist areas 'are the parts zones can be divided into, and their surfaces are smaller than the whole that contains them' (Boullón, 2001, p. 69) They function as subsystems of larger systems and must have good transport and communication infrastructure , together with a tourist center and at least ten tourist attractions.. Figure 19 shows tourist zone 5 (Z.5) of Figure 18, divided into two tourist areas (A.5.1 and A.5.2). The tourist center is an entire urban conglomeration that has tourist attractions in its own territory or within its radius of influence of a type and rank sufficient to motivate tourist travel' (Boullón, 2001, pp. 69–70). They can be divided into the following categories: • Distribution tourist centers: tourists stay there for 1-3 days and visit all nearby tourist attractions. • Visiting tourist centers: tourists stay there and visit the same attractions every day, for example beaches. • Scale tourist centers: transport network connections and intermediate points on long journeys, namely intermediate stages between outbound and inbound markets. • Excursion tourist centers: accept tourists for at least 24 hours; These tourists come from other tourist centers. The radius of influence of tourist centers is estimated as 2 hours distance-time, depending on the vehicle and route used, which can range from dirt roads to toll roads. Figure 20 shows the radius of influence of the tourist center. The term tourist complex is not often used. It consists of groupings that are larger than the center but smaller than the zones. It has one or more ‘attractions’ of the highest rank, whose visit, in relation to others that complement it, assumes a stay of three days or more (Boullón, 2001, pp. 76– 77). Although the existence of a tourist complex depends on the presence of at least one distribution tourist center, it can also be structured around two or more centers (Figure 21). A classic example of a tourist complex is the Iguaçu National Park, where two tourist centers try to work in a coordinated manner: the Argentinian (http://www.iguazuargentina.com) and the Brazilian side (http://www.cataratasdoiguacu.com.br). Tourist units are ‘concentrations of smaller facilities’ produced to intensively explore one or more attractions located next to each other’ (Boullón, 2001, p. 79). Thus, the tourist unit can be a water park or a forested garden with a gazebo and walking trails in the woods. A tourist nucleus is a tourist grouping that has between two and nine tourist attractions and that is isolated in the area, hampering its operations. A tourist cluster is a tourist nucleus that is connected to the road network, a factor that changes its spatial situation. This is the phase where the core consolidates operations by building a tourism business. A tourist cluster develops into a tourist unit or center (centres). Tourism corridors are routes that connect tourist space components; They can be for transit or visiting. Transit tourist corridors are a country's road network, along which tourists flow to complete their journey. Corridors with better landscaping should be prioritized, even when they are longer. There should be various tourist facilities along the corridor to ensure the safety of all passing tourists; These facilities should include gas stations, restaurants, shops, tire shops and hotels for overnight stays. The visiting tourism corridor ‘plays the combined role of tourist center and corridor’ (Boullón, 2001, pp. 84–85). These are elongated areas usually located along rivers, lakes and seas. Some examples might include scenic highways in coastal areas or even tourist routes, usually off the highway, passing through smaller places. Thus, Boullón (2001) presents three categories of tourism elements, including: 1. Elements that cover a relatively large surface area: ● zone; ● areas; ● complex; ● core; ● clusters; And ● distribution centers. 2. Localized elements, covering a relatively small area: ● scale centres; ● visiting centers ; And ● units. 3. Longitudinal elements: ● transit corridors; And ● visiting corridors. Boullón's theory is important because it is one of the bases for developing tourism flows and building other activities in this sector, because tourism planning must start by identifying the physical and geographical aspects of the destination being developed. Obviously, this is a proposal for geographic distances that cannot always be applied to all destinations. One of the criticisms of this approach concerns the fact that the theory proposes clear boundaries between tourist spaces, which is not always the case in practice.