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Causes and consequences of underutilised capacity in a tourist resort development

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  • Palmer, Adrian
  • Mathel, Virginie

Abstract

There is a widespread presumption that the development of tourism resorts brings direct and indirect benefits to the area where they are located. There has been extensive critical discussion about the magnitude and distribution of these benefits. This paper adds to knowledge of these benefits by investigating the causes of under-utilisation of tourist resort capacity, typified by the problem of “empty beds”. Many owners of holiday homes in tourist resorts choose not to rent out their property when they are not making personal use of it, thereby reducing income earning potential of businesses in the area. This paper reports on a qualitative and quantitative study of holiday home owners at a ski resort in France. While personal use of properties was low, 40% of owners had never rented out their property. Analysis of the data converged on four emergent themes to explain this apparent reluctance to rent out: fears about the social habits of renters; issues of freedom and flexibility in use of their property; life course changes which forced renting/non-renting decisions; and financial issues. Financial issues were not a driver of investment/rental decisions, but derived from other social and lifestyle factors. The paper makes suggestions about how resort management can help to reduce owners' reluctance to rent, and thereby alleviate problems associated with empty beds.

Suggested Citation

  • Palmer, Adrian & Mathel, Virginie, 2010. "Causes and consequences of underutilised capacity in a tourist resort development," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 925-935.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:31:y:2010:i:6:p:925-935
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2009.12.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard G. Fritz, 1982. "Tourism, Vacation Home Development and Residential Tax Burden:," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(4), pages 375-385, October.
    2. Rebecca L. Collins & Phyllis L. Ellickson & Ron D. Hays & Daniel F. Mccaffrey, 2000. "Effects of Incentive Size and Timing on Response Rates to a Follow-Up Wave of a Longitudinal Mailed Survey," Evaluation Review, , vol. 24(4), pages 347-363, August.
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    4. Aric Rindfleisch & James E. Burroughs & Nancy Wong, 2009. "The Safety of Objects: Materialism, Existential Insecurity, and Brand Connection," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 36(1), pages 1-16, June.
    5. Alison Gill, 2000. "From Growth Machine to Growth Management: The Dynamics of Resort Development in Whistler, British Columbia," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 32(6), pages 1083-1103, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ruggero Sainaghi, 2015. "Il controllo dei costi nelle imprese funiviarie," ECONOMIA E DIRITTO DEL TERZIARIO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(2), pages 315-338.
    2. Foltête, Jean-Christophe & Litot, Jean-Baptiste, 2015. "Scenic postcards as objects for spatial analysis of tourist regions," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 17-28.
    3. Guang Chu & Liangjian Yang & Jinhe Zhang & Tian Wang & Yingjia Dong & Zhangrui Qian, 2024. "Navigating the Efficiency Landscape: A Data Envelopment Analysis of Tourist Resorts in Jiangsu Province for Optimized Socio-Economic Benefits," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-21, February.

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