Tourism as a vehicle for regional development in peripheral areas – myth or reality? A longitudinal case study of Swedish regions

Abstract

In the contemporary so-called 'competition state era', many rural and peripheral regions are in decline. Tourism is increasingly viewed as being able to alleviate and rejuvenate regions that are facing economic difficulties. The European Union has launched several programmes with the goal of stimulating growth and employment in peripheral areas. These programmes are often used to support tourism development projects. In this paper, a longitudinal analysis of spatial changes in Swedish tourism is conducted. The analysis is based on statistics regarding overnight stays in Swedish commercial accommodation facilities. The aim is to investigate if tourism and tourism policy contribute to the reduction in disparities between regions. Although there are exceptions, the main findings indicate that the potential for creating sustainable rural tourism growth through tourism policy seems to be much less than the popular discourse suggests. ARTICLE HISTORY

A New Measure of the Quality of Tourism Product

“…Within this context, emphasis is given to tourism products and services management. in that placing tourists in the centre of the initial development stage of products and tourism markets in the final stage of this process, aiming to increase exportation earnings (Blasco, Guia & Prats, 2014;Bohlin, Brandt & Elbe, 2016). To Booyens and Rogerson (2016), it is also necessary to combine local and non-local, tangible and intangible resources, such as: knowledge (tacit, technical and scientific), technology, professional experience and other personal and professional skills, fundamental for the innovation of products and services.…”

“…Creative tourism stimulates variety and product differentiation by reinventing them and adding them value (Bohlin et al, 2016;Sanz-Ibáñez & Clavé, 2016). Products and services competitiveness depend on their innovation and quality levels and on their capacity to reflect the destinations' identity.…”

“…Innovative tourism products are often associated with authenticity. In this spectrum, innovation means circumscribing the focus on what is unique and authentic in the local culture, as well as on the means to present these experiences to visitors (Bohlin et al, 2016;Sanz-Ibáñez & Clavé, 2016). Creating, better said co-creating, promotes knowledge transfer between local stakeholders and communities, thus increasing mutual skills to deal with competition, access to new niche markets and therefore leading to tourist's loyalty (Booyens & Rogerson, 2015).…”

“…In summary, the consulted authors defend that the tourism product must have quality to be internationally attractive and competitive. For such it needs: (i) cultural and natural diversity; (ii) external promotion and internal cohesion; (ii) accessible transport network; (iv) being inserted in a network that assures political support as well as the fundamental natural resources for its sustainability (Bernabé & Hernández, 2016;Bohlin et al, 2016;Ferdinand & Williams, 2013;Getz & Page, 2016;Rovira, 2016;Timothy, Saarinen & Viken, 2016;Wieckowski & Cerić, 2013).…”

Tourism as a Factor of Regional Development: The Case of Eastern Slovakia

“…Identifying the role of tourism demand is essential for evaluating tourism importance in regional development (Bohlin, Brandt, Elbe, 2016). The contribution of tourism in regional development can be evaluated by performances of accommodation facilities ( Table 2).…”