ABSTRACTThe role of tourism in uneven regional development is under‐researched. This article considers three conceptual issues ‐ spatial and temporal polarization, and restructuring ‐ which have important implications for uneven regional development. These are then investigated empirically in a case study of the UK, using indicators of tourism demand and of employment. One of the principal findings is that the restructuring and the internationalization of demand have led to a relative shift in favour of the core re