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Tourism has become one of the most important
sectors of the European economy. It is creating
some 100,000 new jobs every year and is estimated
to directly employ some 8 million workers with
a further 20 million being employed in related
activities. Moreover in many areas blighted
by geographical isolation, the decline of traditional
industries and continuing out-migration, tourism
often offers the only viable alternative for
economic and social regeneration.
Many areas suffer from environmental
degradation, which detracts from their potential
to attract visitors and encourage tourist investments.
At the same time these regions may hold considerable
eco-cultural attractions, which are currently
under-exploited through the lack of an integrated
tourism policy. Such regions may also be located
near to or adjacent to areas where tourism is
highly developed (i.e. tourism 'honey pots'),
offering opportunities to redistribute or capture
tourism flows.
The wise spatial planning of tourism
can contribute to social and economic cohesion
between the wealthier and poorer regions or
sub-regions of Europe. It can also arrest the
environmental degradation of areas suffering
from neglected industrial activities and/or
an over-provision or poor distribution of tourism
development.
Despite the importance of tourism
and its potential to revitalize regions or sub-regions,
there is currently a lack of a common, consistent
and familiar approach for planning this resource
at a wider spatial level. Regional, sub-regional
structure plans and local plans in the European
Union are not specifically targeted at tourism
planning (although they may include some tourism
elements as part of wider planning strategies).
Moreover although there are some tourism plans
per se, these more often cover specific tourism
sectors such as marketing and management, or
planning of specific developments such as hotels,
individual attractions or resorts. Most tourism
developments also do not form part of a long-term
planning strategy covering a wider spatial perspective.
To maximise the benefits of tourism
at a wider spatial level there is a need to
plan tourism according to a systematic approach
which assesses the various potentials of an
area for sustainable tourism, mobilizes and
co-ordinates all relevant actors and beneficiaries,
and devises a long term integrated spatial strategy
for tourism development together with priority
actions. The RESTP is proposed as the vehicle
to achieve this.
Within a region or sub-region,
a RESTP is specifically needed to:
· ensure that tourism planning
is more effectively represented in the planning
of regions and sub-regions by integrating spatial
tourism policies with those on land use planning,
conservation, transport and cultural heritage
· provide a spatial planning strategy
for tourism to counter socio-economic imbalances,
for example by encouraging linkages with nearby
tourism 'honey pots' and creating new employment
opportunities in remoter areas
· diversify the tourism base notably
by identifying new forms of sustainable tourism
(such as eco/cultural tourism) and localities
where these can be promoted and developed
· improve, through the planning
of new tourism development, local environmental
conditions
· attract new visitors and increase
average length of stay through marketing initiatives
and carrying out on-the-ground actions in eco/cultural
tourism, and
· provide an implementation
framework to co-ordinate actors in both tourism
and related activities such as land use planning,
conservation, transport services and environmental
protection.
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