With respect to the development of new tourism destinations Kerala has taken the lead among the various states in South India.  However, although the prerequisites that shape tourism development may be defined without much difficulty, the different processes of development surrounding tourism development can and do occur, and these will be associated with contrasting spatial patterns and forms.

When attempting to outline the summary of what is actually the most complex set of processes, we can find contrasting spatial forms of tourism development.  Thus the ‘development outcome’ is the product of interplay between the various ‘factors of influence’.  Five primary factors are proposed namely:

•   Physical constraints
•   The nature of tourism resources and attractions
•   Conditions that control planning and investment
•   Levels of integration
•   The nature of the tourism market

The spatial forms that result from this interplay are conceived as falling broadly into four categories.  They are

•   Enclaves
•   Resorts
•   Zones and
•   Regions

In spatial terms, these different forms are associated with varying levels of concentration or dispersal and may also be located into one of the several geographic ‘contexts’ that are expressed as

•   Simple continua
•   Urban/rural, inland
•   Lowland/mountain