Changes in the evolutionary trajectories of peripheral destinations.

Abstract

The value and interest of the study lies in understanding the mechanisms that underlie the evolutionary process of a Latin American tourist destination. From the integrating evolutionary and relational economic and geographical perspective, the evolution of the thermal region of Uruguay is explained, a destination characterized by a trajectory dependent on the thermal water resource (for 80 years), with the presence of thermal centers in rural and peripheral areas as tourist. The complexity of the study topic, the tourist destinations evolution, required a methodological design that included a combination of approaches. The path dependency model in the tourist destination evolution, the integrative perspective of evolutionary and relational economic geography, and tourism policy analysis were used. We confirm the interventionist role of national governments and the support of international organizations in the creation, reproduction and conversion of a tourist destination. The study provides knowledge to facilitate the understanding of the evolution of destinations in peripheral Latin American areas and the importance of building an integrated approach to tourism research.