The first edition of Vacationscape, published in 1972, was the first major work in the field of tourism to challenge popular beliefs and offer conceptual ideas for better land development. It identified tourism as a system, described traveler imagery, and provided land design guidance from the regional to the site scale.

This third edition retains these basic principles, which have stood the test of time. In addition, this updated version stresses the role of community, identifies potential pitfalls, and raises issues of development ethics. The reader will also find several new examples of tourism development that are environmentally sustainable. The book is filled with sketches, functional diagrams, and photographs.