Richard Butler’s The Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) has been extremely influential in the developing field of tourism studies over the past two decades. This volume consists of specially invited chapters by leading researchers who have reviewed the original model in the light of their own and other conceptual and theoretical positions and models.

The book is divided into five sections:

• the conceptual origins of the TALC

• spatial relationships and the TALC

• alternative conceptual approaches

• renewing or retiring with the TALC

• predicting with the TALC.

Each section features an introduction from Richard Butler, and the book concludes with Butler’s review of the future potential of the model in the area of the destination development process.