The resort development spectrum: The case of  the gold coast, australia

The growth paths of resorts has been an enduring topic oftourism research for over sixty years yet the ability to operationalizemodels currently put forward to explain the process has not beensatisfactorily demonstrated. The Resort Development Spectrum discussedin this paper is a candidate for providing a model that does possessesan ability to be used as a planning tool in the forecasting of thelikely pattern of resort development into the future. The modelis multidimensional and based on an understanding of the demand-sideresponse to the market that operates in resorts and incorporateselements of Fordist, post-Fordist interpretation of production and demand.The model is tested by using it to explain the last 130 years of developmenton the Gold Coast, Queensland. The model is found to satisfactorilyexplain the growth path of tourism development on the Gold Coast