Life Cycle Models for Pacific Island Destinations

Abstract

Recent studies on the growth of tourist destinations have been based upon extending the concept of the product life cycle to portray the development of a destination. This study suggests that a general destination life cycle model as proposed by Butler does not apply to most Pacific island destinations. At best, the life cycle model can be used after the fact as a diagnostic tool, but it still can be misleading in the case of Pacific island destinations given the large variation in growth patterns.