Regional Perspectives on Global Tourism Trends

Abstract

In a context of high growth and rising tourism flows, the pursuit of new experience-oriented services and symbolic values has led to demand segmentation. The leading regions in Europe in terms of inbound tourism tend to be smaller areas with strong seaside or mountain destination appeal and marked natural, historical or cultural vocations, but also specific industrial structures and managerial strategies able to qualify the tourism offer in terms of services, infrastructure, and entrepreneurial capacity. It is possible to assess the relation between the performance of this sector and local development creating a map of tourism demand in European regions.