Rural Tourism And Recreation

This book reviews the theory and practice of tourism and recreation in rural areas in Europe. Including numerous case studies , 9 chapters cover: the changing nature of recreation and tourism provision in rural areas; the emergence of sustainability in the development debate; the different levels of policy influencing recreation and tourism development, and emphasizing the connectedness between local and global processes; the role and influence of the local community in recreation and tourism; changing patterns of tourism consumption; the changing nature of tourism supply; and the processes relating to the convergence of supply and demand.

Forces of economic, social, cultural, environmental, and political change are working to re-define rural spaces the world over and broad global transformations in consumption and transportation patterns have re-shaped leisure behaviour and travel. This book of cases about rural tourism development in Canada demonstrates the different ways that tourism has been positioned as a local response to political and economic shifts in a nation that is itself undergoing rapid change, both continentally and globally.

Recent years have witnessed a change from the passive, low key use of rural areas for recreation to the explosion of tourism as a highly active and dominant agent of change and control in the countryside and associated rural communities. This book considers the effects of rural recreation and tourism with special reference to: * the economics of rural restructuring * public sector rural policies * imaging and reimaging * the social dynamics of rural change * sustainability of tourism and recreation in rural areas Contemporary reflections of each of these issues are brought together by Richard Butler, C. Michael Hall and John Jenkins from experts in Australasia, North America and Europe. The book provides a critical evaluation of the enthusiasm and promotion given to this growth industry by government and private bodies, and examines opportunities and challenges associated with the development and management of tourism in a rural environment.

Rural regions are experiencing fundamental challenges to their ways of life and social fabric, as traditional land-based occupations are in decline and younger and better-educated rural residents migrate to cities for greater work, social and cultural opportunities. Rural tourism offers a possible solution to the problems associated with lost economic opportunities and population decline that accompany the waning of agriculture. Many governments and regional authorities have embraced rural tourism as an opportunity to bring new money into rural regions, stimulating growth, providing employment opportunities and thus beginning to halt rural decline. However, the possibilities of rural tourism to promote rural regeneration have been criticised for being over-stated and unrealistic. Rural tourism has frequently been found to under-deliver in terms of expected economic benefits and job creation, and may sometimes exacerbate local hierarchies and inequalities. This edited collection questions the contribution tourism can and does make to rural regions. Drawing on a range of geographically diverse, research-driven case studies, the book is thematically organised to explore a variety of issues relevant to rural tourism, from the perspectives of local communities, businesses, government/policy makers and the tourists themselves.

This book describes, analyses, celebrates and interrogates the rise of rural tourism in the developed world over the last thirty years, while explaining its need to enter a new, second generation of development if it is to remain sustainable in all senses of that word. Contributors include 29 leading researchers, practitioners and commentators from ten countries around the world. Subjects covered include the ongoing evolution of rural tourism as a genre; its numerous niche markets, and market trends; community involvement, and its impacts on rural landscape conservation and society. Special attention is paid to product development in rural tourism, including food and beverage tourism, avitourism and landscape appreciation. Management Issues are also dealt with, as is the impact of internet booking systems on both commercial performance and regional and national rural tourism governance. There is a review of trends in academic research in rural tourism with an analysis of 1848 refereed and published research papers since 2000. This book is a worthy successor to Bramwell & Lane’s pioneering 1994 publication, Rural Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

This Handbook brings together experts from around the world to reflect critically on the relationship between tourism and rural community development. It first orients the reader in the important conceptual and epistemological foundations of the topic, before moving to consider key concepts and the most significant and salient theoretical and methodological developments in the field.