Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
European Tourism
Melanie Smith and Derek Hall
Introduction
European project all over again, he would have
started with culture. One of the former French
Ministers of Culture, Jacques Lang, also stated
that the future development of Europeanism
would be dependent on building a Europe of
culture after having attempted to build an eco-
nomic and political Europe (Council of Europe,
1994). This chapter therefore focuses to a great
extent on this issue, starting with a discussion in
relation to the East Central European accession
countries (the Visegrad 5), for whom political,
social and cultural changes in recent years have
been significant.
This chapter analyses the current situation of
the EU from an economic, social and cultural
perspective, focusing on the implications of
enlargement for tourism and tourism educa-
tion. Some emphasis is placed on the concepts
of citizenship and identity, as these are hot
issues in the field of contemporary European
Studies. The dream of a united Europe has
existed for many decades, but it has become
recognized increasingly that it is only realistic to
promote 'unity in diversity' - that is, celebrating
a common European heritage at the same time
as cultural diversity. Europe is far from being
homogeneous, and the imposition of seemingly
anodyne EU regulations and values can pro-
voke some member countries and regions to
seek protectionist directions (e.g. the French
with their language, the British with their cur-
rency). At times, the European project seems to
have been more about division than unification,
especially for many of the regions struggling for
autonomy from or within the nation state (e.g.
Catalonia, the Basque provinces). In some cases,
governments and electorates have rejected
European initiatives, such as the euro and more
recently, the Constitution. However, many rela-
tively successful attempts have been made to
unite Europe politically and economically, yet
many readers will be familiar with Jean Monnet's
declaration that if he had the chance to start the
From Transition to Accession
For some of the newer members of the EU,
accession represents an extension of an already
ongoing process of transition or political and
social change. This process has particularly
affected the accession countries of East Central
Europe - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland,
Slovakia, Slovenia. Having gained accession to
the EU in May 2004, these countries have been
adapting to their new circumstances after grap-
pling with almost 15 years of post-communist
transition. In the case of Slovenia, independence
was gained from Yugoslavia in June 1991, and
following a 10-day war, the country quickly
gained recognition as an autonomous nation.
Such a re-emergence to independence is not
