Power, resource, mobilization and leisure conflict on inland rivers in England

This chapter shows that the nature and sources of power relating to tourism can be revealed by empirical studies that focus on the concept of resource mobilization. An examination of the conflicts in England over access to inland water for leisure between landowners, anglers and canoeists reveals how the socio-spatial process of resource mobilization linked to legal rights interact with state institutions and the structural principles of a neo-liberal society to produce leisure and tourism outcomes that favour those with property rights. The chapter demonstrates, however, the dependent nature of power relations so that those with authority rely on the actions and discourses of those they seek to exclude from particular spaces to justify the maintenance of property rights.