Path creation and the role of entrepreneurial actors: The case of the Otago Central Rail Trail

Evolutionary Economic Geography (EEG) has emerged as a theoretical framework offering insights into how tourism activities develop in different places. Much of this research has drawn upon path dependence concepts and takes a macro or regional perspective. This paper takes a different approach and u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of tourism research 2019-07, Vol.77, p.79-91
Main Authors: Taylor, Paul, Frost, Warwick, Laing, Jennifer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agency
Central Otago Rail Trail
Economic geography
Economic models
Electroencephalography
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship
Geography
New Zealand
Path creation
Tourism
Tourism development
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Summary:Evolutionary Economic Geography (EEG) has emerged as a theoretical framework offering insights into how tourism activities develop in different places. Much of this research has drawn upon path dependence concepts and takes a macro or regional perspective. This paper takes a different approach and uses path creation concepts to explore the emergence and evolution of a cycle tourism attraction that has become an important development path for the Central Otago region in New Zealand. Insights drawn from the case highlight the potential of path creation concepts such as distributed and embedded agency, action nets and mindful deviation to understand the decisive role that entrepreneurial actors and the organisations they belong to may play in the development of significant tourism products. •Some flagship attractions can be important economic development paths for regions.•A path creation lens is used to explain the evolution of a major cycle tourism trail.•Actors have mindfully deviated from established practices to create the trail.•Actors have built powerful collectives to mobilise resources for trail development.•The interaction of distributed actors in action nets has driven trail development.
ISSN:0160-7383
1873-7722
DOI:10.1016/j.annals.2019.06.001