Tourism as a tool of sustainable regional development and the importance of clusters in Latvia: the example of Sigulda and Ventspils

Abstract

The goal of this research is to evaluate the role of tourism in sustainable regional development in Latvia. The authors have focused on the identification and mapping of spatial structures in Latvia, choosing the most popular tourist destinations Sigulda and Ventspils cities as textbook examples of such territories. The concept of clusters has been chosen as the most appropriate theory for tourism as a tool of urban development and evaluating the spatial structure of tourism. The result of the research was the identification of a tourism cluster and mapped city influence zone in Sigulda and Ventspils, where spatial processes have developed differently. This research has not only confirmed the advantage of a cluster -the ability to attract new business innovations despite the existing competition in the area -but it has also showed the different character of urban development and integration with surrounding counties in accordance with sustainability principles.

Spatial autocorrelation analysis of tourist arrivals using municipal data: A Serbian example

“…Despite that fact, the draft of the new Strategy from 2016 to 2025 concludes that former four tourism clusters are still relevant for the next planning period. Klepers and Rozite (2009) emphasize that sometimes it is not rational to organize tourism efforts in a single local administrative territory in isolation from contiguous territories. In line with the above discussion, it is important to acknowledge global as well as local spatial patterns of important tourism flow indicators when evaluating the adequacy of tourism development plans.…”

“…Serbia, likewise other developing countries, embrace tourism to jumpstart its socio-economic development and to uphold sustainable regional development. In the more recent studies, spatial statistical techniques were used more extensively to analyze tourism development inequality and tourism flow patterns in various countries (see Klepers, Rozite, 2009;Chhetri, et al, 2013;Yang, Wong, 2013;Kang, et al, 2014;Xing-zhu, Qun, 2014).…”

Tourism Clusters and Innovation Security: Dialectics in the Western Border Regions of Russia

“…In many regions around the globe, tourism is one of the major economy sectors featuring high entrepreneurial activity (Klepers & Rozite, 2009). The high density of business entities, their active involvement in interfirm interactions and cooperation contribute to the process of collective learning, the establishment of a creative environment.…”

A GIS-based analysis of tourist distribution in Montenegro

“…The application of GIS is very important in visualizing spatial data through mapping (Basiron, Ahmad, & Masron, 2014). Since diverse spatial patterns coexist in form of clusters of popular and unpopular places, spatial inequality in tourism sector has been observed in different countries (Chhetri, Arrowsmith, Chhetri, & Corcoran 2013;Kang, Kim, & Nicholls, 2014;Klepers & Rozite, 2009;Xing-zhu & Qun, 2014;Yang & Wong, 2013;Yang, Ya Dong, Wang, & Guo, 2013;Zhang, Xu, & Zhuang 2011). Goh, Li, and Li (2014) compared the spatial distribution of foreign and domestic tourists within and among China's three economic regions.…”