In 1980 R.W. Butler published a theoretical model of the evolution of a tourist area (The Concept of a Tourist Area and Cycle of Evolution: Implications for Management of Resources), better known by the acronym TALC. Butler's concept became a classic model, which continues to be developed to this day. In recent years it has been modified multiple times, but also confirmed by authors around the world. A quarter of a century after its debut in the pages of Canadian Geographer magazine, Butler oversaw the publication of a comprehensive, two-volume monograph entitled The Tourism Area Life Cycle (Vol. 1: Applications and Modifications, Vol. 2: Conceptual and Theoretical Issues).2 Volume One includes over a dozen articles presenting the premises of Butler's model, its implementation, and its use in interpreting the development of cultural heritage sites or tourist regions. The second volume include works that describe the theoretical bases of the TALC model, alternative conceptions, and numerous modification and applications. The following text, the first chapter of Volume One, takes us to the source of the theory of the evolution of the tourist area. It culls from the author's experiences in the 1950s, from observing British recreation sites like the Isle of Arran in Scotland, Rhyl in Wales, summer vacation sites on Clyde River and research (from his PhD thesis) conducted in the highlands and mountains of Scotland. His observations of changes occurring in the development of tourist regions in the British Isles and Continental Europe (such as Opatija, presently in Croatia) formed the basis for his theory of tourist site evolution. Butler published his first work on forecasting the development of tourism in 1972 (co-written by Brougham) at a sitting of the Travel Research Association in Quebec; it sought to form a hypothetical model for tourist destination development. R.W. Butler's work draws upon Christaller's earlier theories of peripheral centres, and Plog's psychogram of tourists, which had a considerable influence on the final shape of his theory. He also mentions Stansfield's work on the development of Atlantic City, Doxey's articles on changes in the relationships between residents of tourist centres and the tourists themselves, and the works of Roy Wolfe on the summer homes and beaches of Wasaga in the province of Ontario. In constructing his asymptotic curve, Butler was helped by Darling's study on changes in deer herd populations. In conclusion, the author states that the idea of the model of tourist site development appeared a century before his now-classic work of 1980, as proven by Godkin's 1883 article in The Nation on the development of American resort towns, Hobbs's piece for Worcester Magazine in 1915 and Gilbert's article for The Times in 1939. It was only with Butler's work, however, that an academic framework was given to the concept of the cyclical development of the tourist area. (original abstract)