ESPON seminar, Espoo, 14/ Hallgeir Aalbu Spatially relevant aspects of tourism

The team EuroFutures, Stockholm (lead partner) Centre for Regional and Tourism Research, Bornholm UN World Tourism Organisation, Madrid Universidad de les Illes Baleares, Mallorca Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Vienna Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Resarch, Oslo

A preparatory study Provide an overview over what tourism is and how can it be defined Describe and analyse the size of tourism at regional level Develop a proposal for a future research project

Europe is the no. 1 region in the world European countries received 441 mill. international visitors in 2005 = 55% of all Intra-European travel is 88% of this Half is for holidays, half is for business Almost 2/3 of all tourists visit EU15 countries International tourism = 40% of all tourism Some trends: –More frequent but shorter trips –More urban tourism –Air transport is increasing after deregulation –New destinations in Eastern Europe

Data availability UNWTO has data for countries only: –International travel –Expenditure Eurostat has data at sub-national level for –Accommodation capacity (data are not fully comparative) –Guest flows (reported from accommodation providers) There are no statistics for –Domestic travel –Second homes and private accommodation –One-day trips

Tourism Penetration Index: NUTS 0, 2003 Tourist expenditure per capita Number of tourists per 1000 population Number of beds per km2

Number of beds in hotels per 1000 inhabitants. NUTS 2, 2003

Number of beds in hotels per 1000 inhabitants. NUTS 3, 2003

Tourism Function Index: NUTS 3, 2003, area- based

Health warning! Official data are not comparable

Project proposal ESPON 2013 (1) The relevance of tourism Travels and flows –Who is travelling where, for how long, and why –How people move Economic effects and employment –Demand side (tourist expenditures and consumption) –Supply side (accommodation, transportation, facilities, attractions) –Job creation and economic development (employment structure, business structure) Environmental and social effects –Physical environment –Natural environment –Social environment

Project proposal ESPON 2013 (2) Tasks Harmonise data to increase comparability –Recalculate official figures –Use additional national data Address future challenges for touristic regions Develop recommendations for planning and policy –Transportation and infrastructure –Attraction and visitor management –Sustainable environment