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