A broad context model of destination development scenarios

Intensity and regulation are employed as variables to formulate a broad con text model of tourism destination development. This model consists of four inclusive tourism development states (i.e., circumstantial alternative tour ism or CAT, deliberate alternative tourism or DAT, unsustainable mass touri sm or UMT, and sustainable mass tourism or SMT), and eight possible scenari os of transition from one state to another. It is argued that the Butler se quence is just one possible scenario within this framework, and that most p laces are CAT destinations that are unlikely to progress beyond this status quo. The model is applied to the Gold Coast of Australia to suggest that a n integrated DAT/SMT product should be the outcome of destination managemen t strategy, to replace the current unintegrated CAT/UMT structure. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.