ABSTRACT
This kind of analysis prompted a realisation that there is no longer any such thing as simple rural space, but, rather, a multiplicity of social spaces that overlap the same geographical areas. Another, perhaps less obvious implication is the extent to which conventional rural spaces have been transformed by touristic processes and practices (see, for example, Baerenholdt et al. 2004; Crouch 1999). As several authoritative texts have recently confirmed, rural areas have become increasingly significant in the reproduction of tourism over recent years (see, for example, Butler et al. 1998; Hall 2005; Roberts 2004; Roberts and Hall 2001). It is equally clear, however, that tourism has become increasingly significant in the reproduction of rurality, particularly in view of the existence of a clearly changing set of relationships between space and society in relation to the countryside.
