Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 18.1 The rural tourism planning and management process.
Source: Sharpley and Sharpley 1997, p. 116.
2
evaluation of demand, including allowance for
minority groups and minority activities;
is often rendered more difficult by the fragmented
nature of management, with various different
'managers' having responsibilities for different
aspects of recreation in the countryside. Farmers,
landowners, gamekeepers, conservationists,
planners, sporting administrators, community
organisations, local authorities, site owners and
commercial interests all play a part in managing
rural recreation. Hence, the formulation and
operation of systematic plans can be extremely
complex. However, it is this complexity that has
attracted the attention of geographers, who have
contributed both to studies of existing plans and
plan formulation.
3
formation of partnerships between interest
groups wishing to share the same resources
(in order to avoid polarisation of interests);
4
development of an understanding of public
interests and facilitation of access to resources
to a wide section of the public through
provision and dissemination of information
(see Box 18.1).
Increasingly, it is being acknowledged that there is
an interdependence between recreational use of
rural areas and the physical and socio-cultural
attributes of those areas (Dernoi 1991; Kariel and
Kariel 1982). The attributes represent a resource
base for tourism and recreation, but maintenance
of the attributes is supported by the presence of
recreationists. Therefore management has to strike
a balance between satisfying the needs of
recreationists and those of local rural communities,
and preserving the inherent qualities of the rural
environment (Butler 1991). Attaining this balance
RESEARCH BY GEOGRAPHERS ON
RURAL RECREATION
A multiplicity of problems associated with the
management of rural recreation has attracted
geographers' attention, forming the basis for a
growing volume of research since the 1960s, when
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