Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
often ignored, and they are certainly under-
researched. Tourism education definitely needs
to take account of such developments, espe-
cially as many of the newly regenerated areas
and attractions have a tourism focus, or at the
very least, provide the baseline for future tour-
ism development (e.g. infrastructure).
Of course, notwithstanding the need to
understand the broader context in which tourism
operates, students of tourism studies also need
to find jobs within this growing and diversifying
market. The standardization of qualifications
and the loss of visa restrictions may facilitate
employment mobility. In addition, there has
been a certain standardization of the tourism
curriculum thanks to the work of ATLAS and
its members (for example, see Richards and
Onderwater, 1998). It was generally accepted
that the core body of knowledge should consist
of the following elements:
distinguishing characteristics. Nevertheless, if it
is delivered within a local context with attention
to cultural specificities, such issues can be
resolved. This is perhaps particularly important
for accession countries, for whom the previous
'West is best' mantra is sometimes proving to be
less than satisfactory.
Tourism Attractions Management and
Development in the New EU
In terms of investment opportunities, attractions
development in the accession countries has
become something of a playground for external
developers. The dilemma facing many countries
has been between a rock and a hard place of
becoming victims of economic imperialism and
cultural standardization, versus stagnation, lack
of development opportunities, and lagging
behind competitors in the same market. Neither
situation is entirely satisfactory, so a certain
degree of political regulation is needed.
As stated by Rátz (2004) the main (initial)
attraction of the former socialist countries in the
new EU was 'an exciting experience on the
other side of the Iron Curtain'. Of course, in
recent years, this unique selling point has begun
to wane as cities in particular become increasingly
'cosmopolitan' as a result of new developments
and foreign investment and first-time 'curiosity'
visitor numbers decreasing. However, the
advent of low-budget airlines has had a signifi-
cant effect on many such destinations, extend-
ing and transforming the market, if not always
to the advantage of destinations' income and
image, both in terms of short-stay, relatively
low-per-capita spend and the social disruption
of the weekend break 'stag and hen' party rev-
ellers. Rural areas and some of the less accessi-
ble accession countries, such as the Baltic
States, have had to work a little bit harder at
establishing a brand for attracting Western
tourists. Conversely, others (e.g. Cyprus and
Malta) have had to rethink their tourism strate-
gies in the light of
over
-visitation. It is therefore
difficult to generalize about the experience of
new accession countries, though parallels can
perhaps be drawn when comparing like with
like
the meaning of tourism;
●
the tourism industry;
●
the
dimensions
and
measurement
of
●
tourism;
the significance and impact of tourism;
●
marketing of tourism services;
●
tourism planning and development; and
●
management of the tourist experience.
●
Within this generic framework, the impor-
tance of more 'intangible' aspects of research
have come to the fore in recent years, for exam-
ple, the measurement of socio-cultural impacts,
quality of life indicators, sensitive and ethical
issues in interpretation and representation. New
technology would be another prominent feature
of most curricula. Potential areas for module
development were also identified, many of
which have since been implemented across
European teaching institutions and have become
the focus of numerous conferences. These were:
globalization and localization;
●
the single market and integration;
●
the ethics of tourism;
●
cross-cultural issues in tourism and leisure;
and
●
sustainable development of tourism and
leisure.
●
The standardization of any curriculum is, of
course, not always desirable as it may serve to
stifle creativity or develop graduates with few
(e.g.
small
islands, cultural
cities,
rural
regions).
