Carnegie Research Seminar

25^th October 2011 at 2.00pm, Cavendish Hall room G04

Promoting sustainability from above: Reflections on the influence of the European Union on tourism governance for sustainable development.

Dr Constantia Anastasiadou, Lecturer in Tourism and Postgraduate Programme Leader, School of Marketing, Tourism and Languages, Edinburgh Napier University.

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Abstract

Debates on sustainable tourism development are ubiquitous but one of the more neglected aspects of sustainability is that of governance for sustainable development. Previous research has questioned the impact of national sustainable development strategies on tourism governance (Dinica, 2009), so the policies and initiatives that supranational organisations undertake could be vital for the adoption and the diffusion of sustainable practices.

Sustainable development is a fundamental European Union (EU) objective and an overarching concept that underlines all EU policies, strategies and actions (Ferry, et al, 2008). With its emphasis on the establishment of partnerships and multi-level governance, the EU Cohesion Policy has compelled European regions to pursue sustainable development (EC, 2009). 

This paper appraises the conceptualisation of tourism sustainability in relevant EU Communications and considers the impact of EU’s Cohesion Policy on tourism governance at national and local levels. It concludes that Cohesion policy initiatives have supported the adoption of sustainable practices and have affected governance structures for tourism but critical discrepancies exist between Member States (MS) that require further action.

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