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cooperative basis to establish a salak plantation tourism centre. Traditional
dances were performed at the centre and the guides were hired from the sur-
rounding villages. While at the time of the investigation the project had not
created a lot of additional income for the village, the villagers were hoping in
time to expand the facilities.
Rural heritage trails including food and wine tourism have increasingly
been the focus of rural development strategies. In rural Japan, the 'One
Village One Product' scheme has been promoted to brand a rural community
around a specific agricultural product which is advertised at train stations
and along the road ways (Telfer & Hashimoto, 2012). Hall (2012: 57) argues
that the 'key to maximising benefits of food and wine tourism in local
regional development is understanding the role of the intangible economy in
regional competitiveness'. The four intangibles are intellectual property of
place, brand, new networks and relationships and finally intellectual capital.
Hall goes on to argue that networks and cluster relationships are important
in developing intangible capital. Key factors in the development of successful
food tourism clusters and networks include:
• innovative clusters;
•
government financing and policies;
•
skills and knowledge levels (human capital);
•
technological capabilities (research and development activities);
•
transport, information and communication infrastructure;
•
availability and expertise of capital financing in the region;
•
strong tax and regulatory environment;
•
skilled migrants and their associated capital;
•
spatial proximity of network members (co-location tends to enhance net-
work development);
•
clarity of public governance (the clearer the roles of various government
agencies and departments in development, the greater the ease in success-
ful network development);
•
entrepreneurial and innovative champion(s); and
•
regular face-to-face meetings (to develop relationships and trust between
parties). (Hall, 2012: 58)
In the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada, efforts are now underway to
promote the rural areas beyond the well-known attraction of Niagara Falls
through the use of rural routes. The Niagara Wine Route links over 74 winer-
ies throughout the region. In addition to offering tours and tastings, many
of the wineries have moved into the area of wine tourism and offer special
events throughout the year as well as elaborate wine tasting venues (Telfer,
2000c, 2001a, 2001b; Telfer & Hashimoto, 2013b). The wineries have been
successful at not only attracting domestic tourists but also international
tourists (Hashimoto & Telfer, 1999; Telfer & Hashimoto, 2000). Part of the
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