Tourism product development and product diversification in destinations

•The assembly of primary tourism products varies between destinations.•Conceptual frameworks of destination product development and diversification.•There are niche, mass, integrative and parallel destination product features.•Spatial and thematic product links and synergies often develop in destinations.•A typology of destination product intensification and diversification options.

Primary tourism products are key draw cards which attract tourists to particular destinations. The diversification, intensification and linkage of these products can be crucial for the competitiveness and sustainable development of destinations. Yet these diverse features and relationships of primary tourism products in destinations are neglected in existing research. This paper develops two conceptual frameworks which assist with analyzing and understanding the features, relationships and strategic options associated with tourism product development, concentration, diversification and intensification in destinations. Tourism product features and options considered here include the development of niche and mass tourism products, parallel and integrative diversification, and thematic and spatial synergies between products. A typology of strategic options for tourism product development and assembly in destinations is presented which is based on the degree of intensification and of concentration and diversification of tourism products.