Tourism and Regional Development: New Pathways

Tourist visits used to be a rather exceptional activity in the past, which could at best be afforded only once a year during the holiday season. However, nowadays, more people than ever before make leisure trips, making this an era of mass tourism. This drastic change in spatial behaviour is not only caused by economic prosperity, but the scale of this phenomenon means that it is able to generate economic growth, and tourism has become a key factor in regional development policy. One of the main challenges of current regional policy is to market the attractiveness of their area, thereby increasing tourist visits and subsequent revenue. In particular, regions are attempting this through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which offer direct information on interesting places, and efficient methods for organising and booking trips. This book examines the interconnections between tourism, ICT and regional development. Bringing together a range of European case studies illustrating various ICT and policy innovations, it not only critiques what is currently being done by regions in terms of tourism development, but in terms of how much more is possible in future, and how this sector is likely to continue to grow and be of increasing importance.