LEISURE AND TOURISM THROUGHOUT THE CHANGE S AFFECTING TODAYS SOCIETY - REFLECTIONS ON A SCIENTIFIC APPRAISAL

Just as scientific research on leisure economy, and its consequences i n terms of space and society, has come out of its fledgling stage at t he end of the 70's, it already seems to be at a standstill or to be re dundant within some areas of knowledge. Yet its fundamental concepts h ave all and still are reexamined under the pressure of new technologie s. So much so that important methodological questions are posed by new phenomena such as the transition from world to metaworld, civilizatio n crisis, virtual time and space. From now on, it seems that only mult idisciplinary approaches will provide an indepth and thorough understa nding of these issues.