Garden Tourism in Ireland: An Exploation of Product Group Co-operation, Links and Relationships
Document Type Theses, Ph.D
Sucessfully submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy to the Geography Department, Trinity College Dublin in 2010.
Abstract
A garden is a space developed for the purpose of consumption and pleasure. Gardens open to the the public form part of the tourism resource of a destination. Those involved in provision within the gardentourism sector are continuously seeking ways of ensuring that both their businesses are successful and give value to the visitor i.e. sustainable. Developing and using co-operative approaches, linkages and relationships within the tourism supply sector is one way towards a more sustainable path of provision. This book explores the garden tourism sector in Ireland identifying such approaches, and concludes that a multiplicity of identities exist. Constructs that influence the multiplicity of identities include history and social systems; qualificiations and experience; ownership, and conflicting objectives and spatiality. These in turn influence the development and management of the product, the level of involvement with provision, with other gardens and with the visitor. Acknowledging and working with the constructs that create these identities can help to greater sustainable provision