Knowing Macau with Butler's Life Cycle ModelThe following literature suggests how a tourism destination can be analyzed using the tourism life cycle model by Butler. Butler (1980) introduced the concept of a model which clarifies and extends the earlier work of Cristaller (1963), Noronha (1976) and Stansfield (1978). In doing so, Butler clearly links the development cycle of tourism destinations to that of products in the product life cycle model. It is one of the best used management frameworks to understand the evolution of a tourist destination, as described by Baum (1998). Butler's original model included: • Recognition of dynamism within the tourism environment — at the time of its creation, constant change was not as widely recognized in tourism as it is today; on a common process of development within tourist destinations, allowing description and modeling.• Recognition of the capacity or limits of destination growth, again a relatively new concept in tourism at the time but a reflection from growing thinking in this area in the leisure literature. • Identifying triggers in the environment that result in changes toward a destination. • Recognition of the management implications of the model and, in this sense, the practical links with the life of the product. are obvious. • An argument for the need to consider tourism planning in its long-term context. • A spatial component which argues that there would be a series of spatial shifts as development stagnated, and • A universal application, that is, the model was essentially true for all tourist destinations (Butler, 1980: 4-5 ). Tourism, in many developed countries, has reached a point of maturity where resorts flourish...... middle of paper ......, C (1995) Strategic planning for sustainable tourism: the case of islands off the coast of the United Kingdom. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 3(4), 191-209.Cohen, E. (1972). Towards a sociology of international tourism. Social Research, 39(1), 164-182.Cristaller, W. (1963) Some considerations on the location of tourism in Europe: Peripheral regions – underdeveloped countries – leisure area. Regional Scientific Association Papers 12, 103. Goncalves, VFC and Aguas, PMR (1997). The concept of life cycle: an application to the tourism product. Journal of Travel Research, 36(2), 12-22. McCartney, G. (2005). Casino gaming in Macau: from legalization to liberalization, casino industry in Asia-Pacific: development, operation and impact. New York: Haworth Hospitality Press Stansfield, C. (1978) Atlantic City and the Resort Cycle. Annals of tourism research 5, 238.