Destination Community: The Evolution of Travel, Tourism, Leisure, and Community

Giving New Life to Old or Forgotten Communities - Understand the branding of small communities for improved tourism, economic development and placemaking. In this book, David Twiggs discusses tourism in destination communities, destination branding for small cities and community development through tourism. This book intends to layout the components of creating an Integrated Tourism System for Destination Communities. These concepts can be used to develop destination communities in urban as well as rural settings for truly sustainable communities. To build an understanding of this process the following areas will be discussed: - Opportunities Resulting From Value and Behavioral Shifts In Specific Target Markets - Using Complementary Subcultures as Basis for Building Specific Destinations - Understanding Subcultures and Human Capital - Cataloging System Assets and Creating Narrative of Place - Growth and Maturation of Destination Communities Why You Need to Read Destination Community: This book begins with where does the concept of "destination community" come from, how does it work and where to go from here, how it develops and matures. We see the shifts in cultural values in the American society since the 1950's, which results from the economic prosperity and technology advancement. The culture shift brings forward the changes in people's lifestyle, when people became more and more distant from the agrarian based living. Later, the shift in community models and tourism experience is discussed. As the formula community, as David calls it, rises and declines, the concept of Destination Community, as a more sustainable tourism based community, is introduced. The new generation of in-migration is becoming smarter in choosing their community. We explore the main characteristics of a destination community, why David calls it "handmade" experience, and why people are attracted by it. It all comes down to connecting authentic and versatile "subcultures" fostered by a supportive business environment. Later we look at theory and examples to explain a supportive business environment, namely "Integrated Tourism System", and how to design such a system. In David's opinion, this is a key to the success of a destination community. We lay out the vision of the future growth beyond the initial phases of building a destination community, where all readers are invited to imagine with us, work with us and proceed with hope, creativity, passion, and thoughtfulness.