Supporting and promoting integrated tourism in europe's lagging rural regions

Deliverables

An evaluative synthesis integrated the results of the empirical, analytical and operational research and related them to the projects conceptual framework, and to end-user and policy needs. This involved no new research but required a careful and focussed interpretation of SPRITEs results. It provided firm conclusions on the role of integrated tourism in the development of lagging rural regions; the integrative processes involved; its potential for permeating local and regional economies, societies and cultures; and its economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts on localities. It also yielded concrete recommendations for the effective and sustainable development of integrated tourism in regionally-specific contexts, and made an important contribution to the policy objective. A report was written for each country which provide valuable resources to institutions and practitioners at national and regional levels with practical professional interests in developing better integrated tourism in Europes lagging rural regions. UK: The evaluation demonstrates that Cumbria has more integrated institutional, socio-cultural and economic networks and a more established tourism identity than the England/Wales border region, where lack of regional integration has curtailed the collective bargaining power for local actors. The scale and success of the promotion of Cumbria is in contrast to the Welsh border region which, despite many socio-cultural attractions, is not so well known in domestic or overseas markets. A gradual process of increased dialogue between business associations and the public sector could result in growth of mutual trust and partnership, with benefits in policy coherence, transparency and accountability. A sustained investment in the local human resource base is certainly the long-term answer to many of the problems identified. ES: The experience of Alta Ribagorça and the Aitana Valleys suggests that balancing the many factors involved in integrated tourism can be difficult to achieve, but activities that help this process should be largely welcomed in rural areas, although local communities may not always feel the same way. The lack of co-ordination between the various actors represents a weakness which has led to ambiguity on land use and the seasonality of tourism, a deficiency in initiatives for businesses, and the necessity for a clear model of integrated development. IE: Most actor groups were supportive of IT though institutions were less involved than other actors in both regions. Tourism is highly embedded in the natural, social, cultural and economic environments and generally complements the local economy. Rural tourism policy is determined centrally but local involvement and empowerment was promoted by government re-organisation and the adoption of new partnership governance structures during the 1990s. GR: Local actors recognised the important role that tourism plays in the development of both regions. The economic benefits are most commonly mentioned, but local communities considered that these benefits have not been equally distributed. Other benefits include local socio-cultural development, the promotion of local traditional products and an improvement in basic services. Improved planning and leadership in rural and tourism development policy are necessary to enhance integration. One factor hindering integration in both areas is the limited financial capital, thus a better allocation of economic resources is required. FR: Both study regions are rural with an average scale tourism activity and both areas are RNP, which are considered to be laboratories for sustainable development. Tourism is diffuse and undeveloped and actors are very diverse and need different types of support and incentive. Development in this sector will require improvement in the competencies of business owners/managers, facilitating access to funding, improving networking, and the regulation of quality schemes. Complementarity of activities exists with regard to natural resources but is not systematically supported, even between institutions. Most actors complain about the lack of a common policy framework for tourism, too much overlap in the activities undertaken by different institutions, and insufficient cooperation between and within sectors, territorial levels, and actor groups. CZ: Tourism has become the most important economic activity in both regions since the 1990s. The contribution to local incomes is based on the attractiveness of place or individual cultural or natural resources. The main difference between the areas lies in the importance and spatial distribution of cultural resources and their contribution to the regional image. Both regions are of interest to several institutions with different scales and modes of operation; there is no single umbrella organisation responsible for setting policy and planning frameworks for tourism development.

The Decision Support System (DSS) has assisted in the identification of strategies and policies for the successful development of integrated tourism which makes optimal and sustainable use of the resource, activity, product and community structures in Europe�s lagging rural regions. The development stage consisted of describing possible forces that can influence the strategies and expectations of tourism actors in the future, including: hypothetical events relating to the current socio-economic environment, the context of these events and hypothetical decision-making logic that governs the interactions amongst the actors and the local resources. The operationalisation stage consisted of providing decision-support to the actors involved by simulating decision-making logic in the face of different hypothetical events, then by analysing the scenarios with experts and local stakeholders in order to obtain their suggestions and policy recommendations for the development of integrated tourism By varying the hypothetical event, the actors� decision-making logic, and the value of some parameters, fifteen scenarios were built: two base scenarios and thirteen alternative scenarios. The base scenarios described the variation in the perceptions, the planned actions, and the policy expectations of the stakeholders in the face of the general event and in the face of a region-specific event. The alternative scenarios described the possible future changes amongst the policy expectations of the stakeholders that were generated by the application of hypothetical decision-making logic. Analysis of the stakeholders� expectations in the face of a given event provides the opportunity to identify possible future policy networks that might be generated within each study area. Analysis of the perceptions, the resources, and the functions of the members of these networks provides the opportunity to estimate their capacity to operationalise their expectations, and to identify possible future changes within current partnerships and possible future alliances and conflicts amongst the actors. The general event was formulated as a strong increase in the number of tourists that come to the study area for its natural and cultural resources whilst the regional event varied with each study area. About 90% of the surveyed actors said that an increase in the number of tourists that come to the study area for its natural and cultural resources would be a very important or quite an important future change. For most of the other actors, this event would be not a particularly important change. However, the proportion varied with the role of the actor and with each study area. In the face of the general event, about 80% of the surveyed actors said they would like to see future tourism policy supporting the event (supporters), while most of the other actors wanted to see the number of tourists just maintained (moderators). But this proportion also varied with the role of the actor, and with each study area. Due to the very weak structure of the supporters� network, the general event might enable and reinforce networking among tourism actors; the embeddedness of local skills and raw materials; and the empowerment of local actors in connection with tourism activities. There is no consensus among the supporters on how to develop tourism and variations in their preferences might be both the basis for alliances amongst actors, and a cause of conflict whenever limited funds constrain policy development. General alternatives scenarios were based on a negotiation model and a regulation model. The computer-based DSS was designed for use in rural regions to predict the opportunities and constraints inherent in integrated tourism development, combining a series of policy options on general and region-specific events into a single integrated package. It is intended to provide policy makers with information on integrated tourism management and development in a readily accessible form and to facilitate the integration of future research findings. The value of the DSS can be further explored in by using it as a decision-support tool in integrated tourism development, helping to create a language that would allow actor-groups to build models without intermediaries. However, to arrive at accurate decisions and policies, the DSS needs to match the understood actionable information in the shape of other strata of inputs. Many of the methods used are dependent on structured numerical data and do not directly take into account textual unstructured data; hence the decision analysis provided by these systems requires time demanding coding procedures. Attempts to build a complete and comprehensive decision analysis system will eventually require the incorporation of text-based approaches and more qualitative methodologies to offer broader decision-analysis solutions.

The development of IT requires an understanding of the external environment faced by economic actors. This study set out to examine the dynamics of institutional structures, including: actors perceptions of links between tourism and place, and of resource, product and activity potential for IT; institutional interests, requirements, experiences and limitations; interactions with other relevant actors, the role of partnerships and communication, and the effectiveness of institutional roles and resource use; the effectiveness of rural, regional and tourism policy. It became apparent that the considerable diversity and complexity in the institutional frameworks and the potential loss of respondents with divergent opinions were areas of concern and therefore a Modified Delphi Evaluation was adopted, consisting of face-to-face interviews with around 20 institutional representatives for each sub-region. Interviews were based on semi-structured questionnaire methods which provided ample opportunities for the respondents to express their views. The institutions were involved in one or more of five primary functions: policy, planning, regulation (including certification), provision of funding, implementation of projects. Other pertinent functions (e.g. related to human and social resource development) were also recorded. The main thrust of the analysis was qualitative. The country reports provide wide-ranging information on institutional structures; analyse perceptions of links between tourism and place, and of resource, product and activity potential for integrated tourism; analyse institutional interests and experiences; assess institutions interaction with other actors, the role of partnerships and communication, and the effectiveness of institutional effort; and evaluate the effectiveness of rural, regional and tourism policy. The reports also identify institutional good practice against the background of the opportunities and constraints facing integrated tourism, and assess the structural patterns which best allow integrated tourism to become an effective contributor to rural and regional development. UK: Sectoral agencies responsible for economic development or specific aspects of tourism were surveyed in both regions. The interconnections of sustainable development (economy, natural environment, cultural and social spheres) are present in rural tourism policies, where agriculture is contributing to the rural economy alongside tourism and other rural enterprises. Respondents reported an increase in the importance of tourism in the local economy arising from the decline of other sectors. It was felt that integrated tourism dovetails well with the objectives of rural development. ES: In both study regions, the regional and national government provide money for tourism development, but their actions are addressed predominantly to promotion in the national and international context. IE: Irish tourism is administered by a wide range of institutions, many of which are exogenous to the regions. Changes in national tourism governance structures were a cause of uncertainty at the time of the interviews. The need for a cohesive regional tourism strategy and networking that would incorporate issues relating to tourism promotion, physical planning and environmental protection was identified in both regions. GR: Twelve institutional surveys were conducted in the each study region, all involving public institutions that are part of the larger administrative structure of the country. The findings indicate that interviewed institutions are primarily responsible for regional development and implementation of regional projects. This top-down approach leaves space for informal cooperative networks. Institutions are not actively involved in policy formulation, which is the responsibility of central development agencies that decide the actions and deliver appropriate funds. Institutions acting locally manage these funds and select the projects to be funded. FR: Institutions interviewed ranged from national to local scale, with many in policy, planning, funding, advising. Concerted actions exist at regional level but tight networking is rare and limited. In France, institutions are in charge of promotion at the departmental, regional and national scales. Public-private relationships are not balanced and while many structures for partnership exist, institutions expressed a wish for greater attention to be given to private competence and needs. Relationships between sectoral and territorial institutions are complex and sometimes conflicting. Stronger and clearer policies for rural tourism are necessary at all levels. CZ: The sustainability of tourism lies, according to the institutions, in balancing two aspects: keeping the genius loci of the area untouched and simultaneously promoting the area to visitors.

This study used a new methodology based on the seven dimensions of the SPRITE culture economy conceptual framework, i.e the importance of networks, relationships and partnerships; the question of the appropriateness of scale in relation to local structures; the links with endogenous forms of rural development; the connections with sustainability; the necessity for embeddedness in localised socio-cultural contexts; the issue of complementarity among resources and activities; and the association with local empowerment, control and decision-making. It measures changes in the value of tourism and compares the views of each actor group surveyed about changes in tourism value, using actors perceptions of change as the unit of measurement for changes in tourism value. Between 1992 and 2002 the study areas experienced an increase in tourism value of 51.7% of the theoretical maximum score, with smaller changes in regional and national value-added than in value among the different actor groups and the dimensions of tourism integration. Institutions, host communities and gatekeepers were the most positive. Examples of highest value-added tourism are those which included different actor groups, drew upon existing processes and resources, and linked to wider networks whilst emphasising the value and distinctiveness of local culture and resources. By theme, the key changes which affected the value of integrated tourism are: infrastructure and facilities; policy, regulation and funding; structures; external events; and promotion, image and quality. Actor groups which judged tourism value to have the highest increase were institutions and host communities, followed by gatekeepers, tourists, resource controllers and businesses. Scores showed considerable unanimity among the groups across the study areas in terms of the perceived degree of value added and it is encouraging that tourists and host community members were so positive about changes in tourism value and integrative processes. Businesses were the most critical of tourism policy and organisations, and resource controllers were the most removed from tourism processes. However, the aspects of tourism value where the actor groups saw progress do differ. While the six groups had similar overall scores for tourism value added, they highlighted very different criteria. Tourists, businesses and institutions appreciated the level of growth in scale and, like gatekeepers and resource controllers, recognised the empowering value of an expanding tourism sector. Businesses and host communities also identified empowerment as one of the major benefits and saw greater sustainability as a key change, but tourists, gatekeepers, resource controllers and host communities identified sustainability as an area of least improvement and seemed less aware of advances in institutional policy and business practice. For host communities and tourists, complementarity was the major benefit of recent developments, whereas it failed to register with gatekeepers, businesses, resource controllers and institutions. Institutions who have to operate networking did not see its improvement as a key gain, and tourists noticed it least. Embeddedness and endogeneity were highlighted by resource controllers and gatekeepers whilst tourists, businesses and institutions had noticed limited change. Resource controllers and institutions had the widest range of scores. These were diverse groups in terms of their specific functions, which may explain this. The host community group was the most uniform its judgments, seeing benefits on all the nodes and awarding a higher score where they saw the least improvement in value than any other group's worst scoring node. Only empowerment did not appear as both an area of most and least improvement all six groups saw it as a major gain. All the nodes were selected by at least one group as an area of maximum gain and all except empowerment as the site of least gain. Behind a superficial similarity lies considerable variation in views on how tourism had improved between 1992 and 2002. Complementarity had the least increase in value, followed by networking. Embeddedness, endogeneity, scale and sustainability had similar value increases, and empowerment was the principal area of improvement. Host communities recorded the most negative points, across five of the six countries and seven of the 12 study areas and on four of the seven nodes, but we should not exaggerate the ability of tourism to cause problems on the ground. Scale was viewed favourably by institutions, businesses and tourists alike. There was strong support for growing endogeneity and networking from resource controllers, and for the way tourism empowers communities from tourists and institutions particularly. Tourism has benefited the study areas, but some areas, aspects and actors more than others, and hence further improvement is possible.

The survey of c. 100 tourists and 10 gatekeepers in each of the 12 study regions examined the interface between tourists and the economic, social, cultural, natural and community environments they encounter, and assessed all significant types of tourist. Gatekeepers were seen as enabling tourism rather than supplying services directly and were defined in terms of two primary functions: providing information and promoting and/or marketing the region to actual and potential tourists. Consultation Panels had an important role in identifying relevant types of tourism and gatekeepers, determining the precise form of questioning and advising on interview timings and venues. The basic survey method was questionnaire-based interviews combining structured and semi-structured questioning. This allowed theme-based qualitative assessment of underlying processes as well as quantitative identification of trends and relationships. Country reports provide wide-ranging information on tourists and gatekeepers; analyse their perceptions of links between tourism and place; identify tourists requirements, expectations and experiences; analyse their behaviour and motivation; assess their impact on destination areas; determine their views on the effectiveness of integrated tourism, and assess the effectiveness of rural, regional and tourism policy. They also highlight linkages between local resources, local activities and tourism; develop classifications of rural tourists; and suggest opportunities for further development of integrated tourism, including development of appropriate marketing channels and local participation. UK: Visitors to both the Welsh border and Cumbria were attracted by the landscape, friendly communities; lack of crime; traditional shops; peace and quiet and a sense of the place being well cared for. Gatekeepers promote tourism on the basis of place-specific resources - economic, social and cultural - by using and adding value to them to retain maximum benefits within the locality. Although both sets of actors place a great emphasis on their product, four kinds of challenges have been identified: co-operation and collaboration in information provision between gatekeepers and other actors across different scales and sectors; developing flexibility and meeting customer needs and demands on businesses and resource controllers; retaining local ownership and management of tourism. >ES: Development of tourism in the Aitana Valleys is still incipient, while Alta Ribagorça offers outstanding tourism resources managed at the local level, able to attract a high number of tourists all year around. Gatekeepers in the two areas had different profiles but shared important similarities in their views on integrated tourism. IE: In both regions tourism was small-scale but with many repeat visitors, reflecting embeddedness. Gatekeeper businesses were relatively small. Interaction with local people was highly valued and reported levels of satisfaction were generally higher in the West than in the North Midland Counties, where the quality and range of goods available locally was questioned. Deficits included an absence or low quality of certain tourist facilities/infrastructure in the NMC and in the more remote areas of the West. The need to conserve natural resources and the traditional way of life and friendliness of the people was recognised in both regions, reflecting awareness of sustainability issues. GR: Kalavryta attracts relatively young tourists for day trips or weekends, whereas Evrytania seems to attract older people who stay for more than a couple of days. Satisfaction from the tourism experience in Evrytania was reported to be high and tourists think of it as a unique destination. Gatekeepers in both areas were similar in terms of origin, structure and strategies. Marketing strategies and promotion in Evrytania have been more effective, perhaps because Kalavryta is rather isolated from administrative services. FR: In both regions the main reasons for visiting are discovery and relaxation and the natural landscape. Tourist satisfaction was high, both during and after the experience. Gatekeepers had a global perception of the tourists, which was consistent with the results of the tourist survey and felt that many aspects of tourism needed to be improved. CZ: Although environmental qualities are the main attraction for the `umava Mts they are no longer the deciding factor. One weakness of Èeská Kanada in comparison is that it only has a summer season. Tourists are mainly Czech families with children and pensioners, who enjoy their stay in an unspoilt environment. In both regions, most gatekeepers came into existence after 1989, some transformed from earlier organisations working on similar lines. The main difference between gatekeepers in the two regions is their view of the role of tourism in the local economy.

The surveys of c. 50 businesses and 20 resource controllers in each area aimed to investigate the role of businesses and resource controllers in the development of integrated tourism. Resource controllers were defined as individuals, groups and agencies with ownership and/or managerial control and/or the provision of resources and infrastructure for tourism. They also had the capacity to enable or constrain the development of integrated tourism. Businesses were defined as enterprises that sought to make profit from tourism activity. The survey analysed: tourism related incomes, employment creation, investment and support; links between tourism and place; motivation, involvement, skills and strategies; practices concerning commodification and valorisation of localities; the effectiveness of tourism�s integration with other activities, resources, products and communities; the effectiveness of rural, regional and tourism policy. Consultation Panels had an important role in identifying relevant types of businesses and resource controllers and in determining the precise form of questioning. Both surveys were theme-based and designed to facilitate qualitative assessment of underlying processes and quantitative identification of trends and relationships. The country reports allow inter-regional comparisons and provide wide-ranging information on businesses and resource controllers; analyse their perceptions of links between tourism and place, their motivation and involvement in tourism, and their commodification and valorisation of localities; determine their views on the effectiveness of integrated tourism and assess the effectiveness of rural, regional and tourism policy. UK: The enduring popularity of Cumbria�s Lake District means that businesses interviewed in Cumbria were longer established and larger scale than in the border counties. Businesses in both regions preferred to buy from local suppliers and use local services whenever possible. Resource controllers saw themselves as focused mainly on the local area and its inhabitants or resources, with the impact on provision for tourism as a secondary benefit. ES: Business managers and resource controllers provided an insight into the different development of IT in each area: Alta Ribagorça has an older tradition and a mature institutional framework, with a high degree of endogeneity. In the Aitana Valleys, tourism employs a very small number of people and accounts for a very low percentage local income. IE: Businesses were predominantly small in scale and family-owned, employing local staff and local inputs, reflecting endogeneity. Networking was evident among those dependent on tourism. In both regions, resource controllers felt that better co-ordination and networking structures were required to promote IT more effectively. GR: Emphasis was given to the profile, size and goals of enterprises in both study areas. Businesses in Evrytania are more integrated into the area�s tourism product through a wide range of activities, products and services whilst businesses in Kalavryta are starting to realise the importance of such practices. Resource controllers have important similarities in terms of origin, structure and function and increasingly acknowledge the need to manage their resources for sustainable tourism development. FR: Most businesses are small, recently established, and family owned. Opinions about the future of tourism are varied and tentative; businesses would like more promotion of the area and more cooperation between actors. Resource controllers are very diverse, like the resources themselves. In both areas neither businesses nor resource controllers are aware of local tourism policy and all wish for more initiatives and more cooperation in the development of integrated tourism. CZ: Both businesses and resource controllers were aware that the main attractions of these areas are the natural and cultural environments and the romantic atmosphere. In `umava Mts tourism is well developed and the National Park Authority dominates activities in the area. In Èeska Kanada tourism was considered as an important driving force for future development.

The host communities surveys of c. 50 members in each area examined the interface between tourism and local hosts, including: communities perceptions of links between tourism and place; their requirements, expectations and experiences of interaction with tourists; their motivation and behaviour; communication, decision-making and control-retention aspects of tourist-community linkages; their attitudes on commodification and valorisation of localities; their perceptions of tourism�s impacts, benefits and sustainability; methods for resolving tensions associated with tourism; effectiveness of rural, regional and tourism policy. The survey used questionnaire-based interviews, combining structured and semi-structured elements relating to specific local communities and allowing qualitative assessment of underlying processes as well as quantitative identification of trends and relationships. The three main themes were: control, i.e. the level of control that a community has over tourism resources; co-operation, i.e. the level of co-operation between host communities and tourists, host communities and agencies (external cooperation), and within host communities (internal co-operation) in the context of tourism; conflict , i.e.conflict between host communities and tourists, host communities and agencies (external conflict), and within host communities (internal conflict) in the context of tourism. The country reports provide wide-ranging information on communities and community actors; analyse their perceptions of links between tourism and place, their requirements, expectations and experiences of interaction with tourists, and their choices, motivation and behaviour; assess the communication, decision-making and control-retention aspects of tourist-community linkages, and attitudes towards commodification and valorisation of localities and social entrepreneurship; assess the impacts, benefits and sustainability of tourism, and community methods for resolving tensions; determine views on the effectiveness of integrated tourism; and assess effectiveness of rural, regional and tourism policy. UK: Host communities in both sub-regions are keen on tourism promotion based on place-specific resources natural, social and cultural - by using and adding value to them to retain maximum benefits within the locality. The most integrated aspects of local tourism are those which are embedded in place. ES: There are clear differences between the two study areas: in the Aitana Valleys, it is necessary to improve promotion and develop new tourism resources and activities; in Alta Ribagorça, tourism has already increased in a relatively unmanaged way and the only problem relating to sustainability is the possibility of mass tourism in some months of the year. Most respondents believed that tourism is very well integrated in local economic and social structures. Older residents in particular did not want their heritage to be lost for future generations. IE: Positive attitudes towards tourists, and appreciation of the importance of tourism in the local economy and an interest in the development of IT were evident, pointing to its embeddedness locally. In general, there was scope for further development of IT, but there was opposition to types of development that would involve excessive noise, alcohol abuse and amusement arcades. Concerns were expressed in relation to large-scale housing developments associated with tax incentive schemes, problems of access to land and water for walking and angling, and farming practices that were linked to water pollution. GR: Community networks in the two study sub-regions are quite different, but low levels of interaction between the community and tourism management were reported. In general, respondents considered that the current level of tourism is adequate or even too high for the existing infrastructure. The highest levels of tourism in both areas are concentrated in the ski resorts and the need for better regulation of tourism to avoid future environmental damage was recognised. Local resources are controlled and managed by local authorities and institutions and the level of local empowerment is quite low. FR: Almost all the interviewees had a positive regard for tourists, though sometimes this was conditional on tourism remaining diffuse. Tourism had benefited the population, mostly through commerce and services, and contributes to the preservation of local traditions. CZ: Both regions showed the strong historical influence of the former boundary with the West and the inner boundary created after the transfer of former German inhabitants from Sudetenland. Thus, the social roots of the host community played an important role. Economic differences between those involved in tourism and those who were not were not apparent during the research period, although this may develop in the future, dividing people into the rich and the poor.

The Analytical Syntheses of Survey Results aimed to draw together the investigative surveys of tourists, gatekeepers, businesses, resource controllers, host communities and institutions in each study area and link the findings to the overall conceptual framework. The methodology adopted a theme-based approach in order to highlight the key dimensions of integrated tourism and its role in regional development. In particular, this report makes detailed comparisons of the perceptions, motivation and behaviour of each actor group, assesses integrated tourism and promotional strategy in practice, analyses integration processes and the role of partnerships, evaluates economic, social and cultural impacts, and identifies good practice in integrated tourism development. It was essential to identify the actors surveyed in each study region before presenting the commonalities and differences in their opinions. As qualitative research, we also allowed for variation within each group. Wherever possible, actors from each group are discussed and compared in each subsection, thus identifying key characteristics with regard to the different themes and then comparing similarities and differences of opinion within and between actor groups. There are six separate country reports and a consolidated comparative analysis covering all 12 study regions. Despite many similarities, the SPRITE study regions exhibit several differences, particularly in respect of their local tourism actors. Visitors to these areas are mainly domestic in origin, except for the two Irish areas, the Aitana Valleys and Basse-Normandie. Visitors ages vary, but in general they are well educated, with a medium or high income. Gatekeepers in the regions differ in their scale of operation, their objectives and sources of funding. Businesses are often young, small, family-owned private structures that have provided their own start-up capital, and are predominantly in the accommodation and food sectors. Resource controllers are frequently small organisations operating for less than two decades; most have well trained and educated staff (except for the Aitana Valleys and Èeská Kanada). Host communities are characterised by an elderly population (except in the two Czech regions which have populations that are younger than the national average). The level of education of local residents is either generally favourable (UK, IE, FR) or less favourable (CZ, GR, ES). The predominant economic activities are in the tertiary sector, although industry predominates in the NMC and it also has an important role in Basse-Normandie. Most institutions are relatively young, state funded and active at different levels: local, regional and national. The natural landscape and associated activities seem to be the main motivation for tourists to visit, except for Basse-Normandie where historical and cultural values predominate. However, cultural resources and activities also play an important role in attracting visitors, and the character of the host community is another important factor (authentic, friendly people). Many regions lack an integral promotion strategy for tourism, due mainly to a lack of co-ordination and strong vertical networks. Efforts to overcome this deficiency have been made in some areas, but strategies tend to be fragmented and imagery weak and sometimes confusing. Although potentially all of the areas have a wide range of information available, word-of-mouth is the most important source of information for visitors. The presence and level of development of partnerships vary widely. Informal networks based on personal relationships are prevalent and considered to be efficient; many local actors view formal networks with scepticism. Horizontal networks seem better-developed and more widespread than vertical ones, which face a number of problems that inhibit their creation and development. Formal networks are limited, but good examples are present in Cumbria, the Aitana Valleys and Basse-Normandie. All of the study regions lack a comprehensive and integrated plan for tourism development. In most cases, co-ordination between the institutions in charge of the design and implementation of such plans is deficient and participation of other local actors is limited. The SPRITE investigative tasks gave tourism actors in these regions the opportunity to propose actions that will help to achieve IT, some common to all areas. The common proposals include: the need for better co-ordination amongst local actors; the promotion of local participation in the planning and implementation of tourism; the inclusion of new activities, resources and services into the tourism product; the development of tourism in areas that are currently isolated or underused; and the improvement of the quality of services offered. The development of better promotional strategies and the improvement of C & IT have also been suggested in a number of areas.

The aim of the Resources and Activities Audits was to make detailed assessments of resources, products and activities currently and potentially available to integrated tourism. The audit was presented in the form of a database of Integrated Tourism resources on two levels. The first level was descriptive, drawing mainly on material collected in the Resource and Activities Review and presented in economic, social and cultural, human and community resources, and environmental categories. The second level was more evaluative: a matrix of resource use productivity was developed around the ideas of endogeneity and complementarity; a matrix of sustainability was developed which included examples of issues surrounding appropriate scales of tourism development; finally, the matrix of rural development was structured around networks, embeddedness and empowerment. Examples of positive and negative evidence were provided to illustrate the concepts. The focus was on identifying examples of good practice in integrated tourism in each sub-region. In order to contribute to the analysis of potential future development of integrated tourism a final section of the audit was devoted to illustrating the resources which are not immediately recognised as part of the current tourism product, but which may have the capacity for integration into it, taking into account the views of all the actors from all the surveys in addition to the reflections and analysis of the researchers. The audits reveal the great diversity of resources currently being exploited for tourism in the study regions. Economic resources range in scale from numerous micro businesses to enterprises with over 1,000,000 customers. Quality indicators vary across the regions and consistent grading systems are often absent at regional or national level. Regarding socio-cultural resources, access tends to be throughout the year. The human/community resources consist mainly of local level partnerships and associations, often run by volunteers, but capable of securing funding from local, regional and European authorities. Local municipal structures are also important, and in several cases regional development agencies are becoming increasingly significant. Environmental resources include many landscape types, habitats, plant and animal species. Regarding endogeneity, several key issues emerge from a comparison of evaluations across the study regions: incomers can play a controversial role in relation to endogenous development; the question of authenticity arises when endogenous products are revived and modified in order to appeal to the visitor or export market; land ownership and access rights are crucial to tourism development. In terms of complementarity, three key types are found: use of community facilities by both visitors and locals; use of primary renewable resources for leisure; use of transport infrastructure for business and leisure. However, total complementarity between all sets of local activities is often difficult to achieve and there are still many challenges in planning an integrated approach. The sustainability of tourism and the resources that it depends on are also considered. In several of the study regions, there is potential to increase tourist numbers without damaging the environmental and socio-cultural resources as long as expansion is managed properly. Most institutions involved with tourism acknowledge the principles of sustainability, even though practical tools to implement these principles are often lacking. Finally, rural development objectives are addressed through networks, embeddedness and empowerment. The main findings here are: horizontal networks do exist in the sub-regions; vertical networks are often under-developed; inclusivity and empowerment remain hard to achieve; the contribution of networks to rural development objectives must take into account the local socio-cultural environment. The audits go on to consider the potential for future development of IT and identify under-utilised resources common to most of the sub-regions, the main barriers to development and the main factors on which future development depends. Finally, the overall recommendations are made: establish good governance; support strong, inclusive horizontal networks between communities and interest groups; support equitable vertical networks between local actors and exogenous interests and sources of capital; invest in capacity building and awareness-raising; make better use of existing cultural resources; use complementary specialist knowledge to add to existing knowledge; provide uninterrupted support to existing local initiatives; target marketing to increase visitor numbers and lengthen the season; develop specialist tourist routes that could operate equally well out of the traditional high season; invest in improving basic tourism infrastructure.

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