TOURISM LIFE CYCLE –
THE BUTLER CURVE
IMPACTS OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM
TOURIST AREA LIFE CYCLE
(BUTLER’S CURVE - 1980)
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•
•
•
•
•
Exploration
involvement
Development
Consolidation
Stagnation
Decline
Rejuvenation
Number of tourists
BUTLER’S CURVE (1980)
Exploration
Time
EXPLORATION
• characterised by small numbers of tourists
• adventurous
• visit “new” places
• attracted by some unique feature
• few tourist facilities  reliance on local
facilities
• high level of contact between tourist &
host
• small impact on the host community.
Number of tourists
BUTLER’S CURVE (1980)
Involvement
Exploration
Time
INVOLVEMENT
• local residents begin to provide facilities for
tourists
• high degree of contact between tourists & locals
• locals may start to change usual patterns to
accommodate tourists
• pressure on local government to provide more &
better facilities for tourists.
Number of tourists
BUTLER’S CURVE (1980)
Development
Involvement
Exploration
Time
DEVELOPMENT
• tourism market: well-defined because of
promotion at tourist generating areas
• local control of facilities & development of
tourism starts to decline
• international organisations take root (Holiday
Inn, Hilton)
• physical nature of resort changes (not
universally accepted)
• number of tourists approaches (or exceeds)
local population (take notice at this point,
can start to see negative impacts)
• type of tourist  mainstream, conservative
Number of tourists
BUTLER’S CURVE (1980)
Consolidation
Development
Involvement
Exploration
Time
CONSOLIDATION
• rate of increase of tourist arrivals starts to
decline (even though absolute numbers may
still grow).
• number of tourists now exceeds local
population
• marketing & promotion well developed
• market is almost saturated, therefore new
development/building slows down
• growing discontent among host population
BUTLER’S CURVE (1980)
Number of tourists
Stagnation
Consolidation
Development
Involvement
Exploration
Time
STAGNATION
• peak number of visitors has been reached
(carrying capacity)
• environmental, social & economic problems
(beach erosion, local businesses sold,
dissatisfaction with locals)
• area is not as popular with tourists (beach is
dirty, crowded, not enough parking)
• original features which attracted tourists in
the first place will have been supplemented
by new “attractions”. (theme parks,
museums, bungee jumping, something that
wasn’t there before)
BUTLER’S CURVE (1980)
Number of tourists
Stagnation
Consolidation
Development
Decline
Immediate decline
Involvement
Exploration
Time
IMMEDIATE DECLINE & DECLINE
• immediate decline: an abrupt death of the
resort
• decline: a more gradual decline, where
number of visitors gradually tapers off
• infrastructure changes (hotels converted to
condominiums because not enough visitors)
• local population begins to buy tourist
facilities because of affordability
BUTLER’S CURVE (1980)
Rejuvenation
Reduced growth
Number of tourists
Stagnation
Consolidation
Stabilisation
Development
Immediate decline
Involvement
Exploration
Time
Decline
STABILISATION, REDUCED GROWTH &
REJUVENATION
• Stabilisation: the area stabilises and changes
very little over time
• Reduced growth: the area continues to
grow but at a reduced rate of growth
• Rejuvenation: can take place in 2 ways:
• building a new attraction
• taking advantage of previously untapped resources.
• Strong government or corporation involvement
BUTLER’S CURVE (1980)
Rejuvenation
Critical range of
elements of capacity
Reduced growth
Number of tourists
Stagnation
Consolidation
Stabilisation
Development
Immediate decline
Involvement
Exploration
Time
Decline
CRITICAL RANGE OF ELEMENTS OF
CAPACITY
• This is the stage when carrying capacities
become critical (cc has been reached)
• can be exceeded or managed
• Tourism Carrying Capacity:The number of
visitors that an area can accommodate
before negative impacts occur, either in the
physical environment, the psychological
attitude of the tourists, or the social
acceptance level of the hosts.
•Assumes destination went through all stages
(exploration)