A GEOGRAPHY OF TOURISM: SETTLEMENT AND LANDSCAPE ON THE SARDINIAN LITTORAL

The study is an analysis of the impact of tourism on the settlement geography and landscape of the Sardinian littoral. The author maintains that the paucity of statistical data on tourism and tourist behavior can be partially remedied by the study of the landscape created by tourism. This landscape is considered an expression of the needs and ideals of its authors when viewed in terms of the processes creating it.;The first chapter presents a definition of tourism and tourist for use in the study. The author identifies three types of tourism: itinerant, residential and outdoor recreation. All of these involve overnight travel away from home with diversion as the primary motive. The author briefly reviews the geographic literature on tourism noting the use of two geographic concepts, landscape and region, and he defines these concepts for use in the study. Carl Sauer's appeal to geographers to study the processes creating landscapes and regions is cited and the writer suggests that geographers should study these processes as they occur, as well as in historical perspective. The major characteristics of tourist landscapes and tourist regions observed by geographers are noted and the author suggests that tourism be considered a form of play as defined by Johan Huizinga in his book, Homo Ludens, A Study of the Play Element in Culture. When so considered, tourist landscapes and tourist regions can be viewed as having a generic relationship with other landscapes of leisure, including suburbia and retirement communities. Finally, the author identifies the shore as an environment which continually appeals to tourists and the Mediterranean basin as a region which has achieved a mythical status for tourists.;Chapters two and three introduce Sardinia and present the geography of tourism in the Mediterranean basin and on the island, where a distinction is made between local and foreign tourism. The history of each type of tourism is presented and the occupation of the Sardinian littoral by each group is discussed. While initially distinctive in the form of accommodations they used, the two groups have merged in their use of the vacation home in recent years. Chapter three ends with a discussion of the importance of this form of lodging.;Chapter four is devoted to tourism planning and promotion in Sardinia with particular emphasis placed on the role of the Piano di Rinascita, Sardinia's special socio-economic development plan initiated in 1962. The author reviews the place of tourism in the plan and analyzes the attitude of the regional government towards foreign and local tourism. The spatial allocation of public funds for tourism is studied through a series of maps. The chapter also includes a section on Italian land use planning law and their influence on coastal settlement.;The new landscape created by tourism is presented in chapter five, primarily through examples of landscape elements. The major elements selected are land holding patterns, types and styles of vacation housing, including second homes, hotels, and beach cabins, and settlement siting, morphology and composition. The author shows how the two groups of tourists have created different landscapes although the cultural and economic power of the foreigners is beginning to prevail. A brief summary chapter concludes the dissertation.