A resort is a place where the most important activities are to do with vacations. That means that the resort will be at a place where lots of people want to do the same kind of sport, or other activity. This is often in mountains, by the seaside, or beside rivers and lakes.

A resort will be built, or it will develop, to give as many people as possible access to the activity they want. So, on the coast, hotels and houses will spread along the coast to give as many people a view of the sea, and access to the beach, as possible. In mountains it will be hotels gathered around ski lifts. It will also be high in the mountains to be in an area where the snow lasts for longest.

By a river it will be at a place where people can walk from their homes or hotels, and be on the riverside.

But resorts have to be more than just places to stay. People need food, they need entertainment and much more. So, tucked away from the main activities will be warehouses and other places where workers make the food, clean the linen and so on. It will also be where the people who work at the resort live.

Resorts often have seasonal trade. That means there is lots of work by the seaside in summer, but less to do in winter. So resorts look for other things to attract people. Ocean City on the Atlantic coast of the USA has its casinos, Blackpool on the west coast of England has its illuminations, and so on.

The resorts that have less of a seasonal trade tend to be closer to the tropics. So, for example, Florida and the Mediterranean can have visitors all year round.