ABSTRACT
This chapter explores engagement with and resistance to the concept of clusters within tourism policy and practice, drawing on a case study of tourism attraction clusters and policy making in Cornwall, England. It focuses on the relatively understudied attraction sector in two tourism clusters in Cornwall with low and high levels of agglomeration of visitor attractions respectively. The cluster concept draws on a critical, social constructionist approach, which refers to the product of human choices, rather than dictated by laws and regulations. It helps to explain the complexities of tourism planning and policy making, especially under neoliberalism. The chapter then explores the engagement with the cluster concept amongst tourism stakeholders and how this is understood and operationalised by attraction operators. It is too early to tell whether the crisis of capitalism' which was revealed in the Global Financial Crisis of 2009-2010 will lead to either significant changes in regulatory systems in main street economy or the financial sector.
