Abstract

In the popular imagination, Mallorca is the archetypal mass tourism resort, one of the world’s pioneers of mass tourism, linking the resources of the Mediterranean to the supply of tourists from northern and western Europe. It is now attempting to better manage the ubiquitous transformational environmental and socio-economic impact of the industry. The book identifies and examines critically the major socio-economic and political forces that have played a significant part in the formation of the industry; the development of tourism as a business and efforts to diversify the tourism product as it move into the uncertainties of the 21st century.

This is a thoroughly researched book on the history and development of tourism in Mallorca and is based on the author's long standing interest in tourism in the region. The book draws together both the historical background of Mallorcan tourism with a contemporary understanding of the tourism impacts and development issues facing the island in the 21st century. The readership of this book will be wide, to include undergraduate and postgraduate students of geography, tourism and development studies as well as readers who have a general interest in the Balearic region.

This is a well-written, accessible and readable text. It is authoritative without being over-jargoned and provides a comprehensive account of the phenomenon of tourism in Mallorca. It achieves an impressive synthesis of the detailed and the general and demonstrates a clear grasp of the relevant source material for such a study.

Professor (Emeritus) R J Buswell was Head of the School of Behavioural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle until his retirement. A geographer, his main research has been in the historical and contemporary aspects of urban and regional development. He has been a visitor to and part-time resident in Mallorca for twenty years. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Institute of British Geographers.

One of a series investigating the effects of tourism on particular areas/regions, this intriguing book is well-argued and well-researched with pieces on just about everything you can think of – from the growth of mass tourism through to golf and hiking. Essential reading if you want to understand the island.

This book deserves to be bought and added to reading lists.