Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from tourism. The WTO (2003) notes that
Europe is losing its market share as the world's
largest receiving region. Although this trend
began before 1999, one reason for its continu-
ation is that euro-zone countries have suffered
considerable price increases in recent years,
which has had a negative impact on tourism.
As well as the relatively low value of the US
dollar (and thus other currencies pegged
against it), and the continued overall vigorous
growth of the Pacific rim, a further factor is that
many established European destinations have
reached saturation point. The role of the acces-
sion countries in creating unique and innova-
tive products - an argument voiced at least a
decade and a half ago (Hall, 1991) - may
therefore be pivotal to the continued growth of
tourism in Europe, especially as prices are still
relatively competitive. Although infrastructural
limitations and service quality problems con-
tinue to constrain otherwise healthy tourism
growth rates, the apparent popularity of
up-market hotels has increased considerably in
the eight CEE accession countries. One expla-
nation put forward is that just because travel-
lers fly with budget airlines, they do not
necessarily stay in budget accommodation, but
indeed may spend the money saved on travel
to upgrade their accommodation quality (EU
Business, 2005). The impact of budget airlines
on many of the new accession countries has
clearly been significant in assisting an almost
exponential growth in the number of arrivals
at several airports, the impacts of which are
being
skiing tourism - where accession countries
can compete in terms of novelty value and
relatively low cost; and
●
health and spa tourism - a long tradition
for many countries, especially in ECE.
●
The development and promotion of more
intangible aspects of culture and heritage (e.g.
relating to indigenous communities and ethnic
minorities) is also a potential growth sector, but
the political implications of such decisions often
still need to be addressed.
Indeed, in social and cultural terms, the
creation of a unified Europe has been more
problematic than political or economic integra-
tion. The restructuring of Europe after 1989
has been a complex process. Clearly, the com-
prehensive reorientation of political econo-
mies, coupled, in the case of the Baltic States,
Czech and Slovak republics and Slovenia,
with a new-found independence, is bringing
long-term benefits that are being further
enhanced by EU accession, despite short-term
tensions in some cases. Indeed, some of the
more intangible aspects of identity still need to
be addressed. A decade and a half ago, many
countries were keen to extricate themselves
from particular political blocs and structures
and to create their own sense of nationhood. In
some cases, this has exacerbated nationalism
and problems for ethnic minorities and migrant
workers in such countries. In others, it has led
to a degree of uncertainty and anxiety amongst
(particularly older) citizens, who have been
unsure how to embrace fully a sense of demo-
cracy and to perceive benefits deriving from a
capitalist economy. Uncertainty of identity has
sometimes created confusion about how to
deal with legacies from the past and displaced
symbols of hegemony and oppression. Even
thecreationofauniquedestinationimagein
terms of marketing and promotion has been a
challenging process for some countries that
were under-developed (or, somewhat para-
doxically, over-urbanized), and which con-
veyed a negative image, or more commonly,
no specific image at all (at least to potential
international
extended
to
secondary
regions
and
towns.
Rural tourism in particular is seen as being
a potentially lucrative sector for the CEE8. In
the Mediterranean, Malta and Cyprus have
been seeking to diversify into village tourism for
some time, to gain added value from combining
elements of the natural, rural environment and
cultural heritage. Indeed, cultural tourism con-
tinues to be a growth market in accession coun-
tries, even as the post-transition fascination with
communist heritage wanes. Many countries are
turning
their
attention
towards
even
more
visitors
steeped
in
Cold
War
lucrative markets, such as:
perceptions).
Culturally, there have always been dilem-
mas within the European context about how
far
business tourism - only really a possiblity
for destinations with good access, infra-
structure and quality facilities and services;
●
to
celebrate
and
promote
a
common
