TOURISM EVOLUTION: ON THE SYNERGIES OF TOURISM STUDIES AND EVOLUTIONARY ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

•Introduces evolutionary economic geography to tourism scholars.•Highlights research synergies of evolutionary economic geography and tourism studies.•Illustrates the potential complementarities by comparing the models of Butler and Martin.•Critically appraises evolutionary approaches to studies of the tourism economy.•Calls for empirical testing of evolutionary economic geography within tourism studies.

Evolutionary Economic Geography (EEG) is receiving increasing interest from tourism scholars. EEG has proven to be a useful explanatory paradigm in other sectors, e.g., high-technology and creative sectors. There remains, however, a lack of theoretical discussion on evolutionary principles of economic change within relatively low-technology service sectors, of which tourism is a prime example. This paper introduces EEG to a wider tourism audience by presenting the core principles of EEG and how they relate to tourism studies. A selection of new research paths combining EEG and tourism studies is highlighted together with a number of latent research synergies which can progress both EEG and tourism studies. The paper calls for further empirical and conceptual engagement with EEG by tourism scholars.