MOVING ON FROM THE BEACH: MEDITERRANEAN DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT FOR TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY MARKETS

This paper contends that significant changes in the values and expectations of northern European leisure markets mean that the nature and characteristics of conventional resort destinations in the Mediterranean region are becoming less well-attuned to tourists’ needs and wants. After an assessment of the present situation, consideration of changing twenty-first century market preferences indicates an increasingly apparent product: market divergence, and particularly in relation to the lack of provision for holiday activities and ‘soft adventure’. Destination product development needs are identified, and proposals made for the provision of new attractions based around biophysical and cultural resources by Destination Management Organisations and others. Drawing upon experience from central and northern Europe, proposed developments will complement existing products at relatively low cost, offer opportunities for entrepreneurial activity, and address elements of destination sustainability.