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on Tourism Economics |
| By: | Vincent Linderhof; Stijn Reinhard |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the impact of Rural Development Program (RDP) measures focusing on tourism have on the growth of tourism and on the economy in rural areas. We first explored tourism in NUT2 regions in the EU with a spatial data analyses and then we applied spatial econometric analyses on tourism where we take into account the RDP spending on the measures that encourage tourism. For the spatial regression analyses, we use the indicators of the CMEF framework. The data were collected from Eurostat. The spending on the RDP measure 313 encouragement of tourism is not uniformly distributed over the NUTS 2 regions in the EU. The spatial analyses of tourism measured by the number of nights spent by non-residents showed the presence of spatial dependencies in tourism. Based on the spatial dependency tests of the classical regression model, a spatial error model is estimated. The number of bed places positively affected the total number of night spent by non-residents. RDP spending on encouraging tourism did not have a significant impact on tourism. JEL codes: C21, L83, O18 Keywords: Rural Development Program, spatial data analyses, spatial econometrics, tourism |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p932&r=tur |
| By: | Boar Nicolae; Kosinszki Sorin |
| Abstract: | TOURISM COOPERATION PROJECTS IN THE CROSS BORDER ROMANIAN-UKRAINIAN MARAMURES. VECTORS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT? BOAR Nicolae, KOSINSZKI Sorin 'Babes-Bolyai' University Cluj Napoca, Faculty of Geography, Sighetu Marmatiei Academic Extension ROMANIA Abstract The tourism cross border cooperation is an integrated model of this type of cooperation, as it is situated at a common point of several cross border fields of activity determined by social and economic phenomena, environmental processes, and territorial planning strategies but also by cultural manifestations. The tourism field of activity, within regional or local cross border relations, is the strongest binding element, where it can materialize very well due to the smaller extent of the area. While stating this, we bear in mind the fact that the tourism influence is complex at an economic, social but also cultural level – the affinity based on mutual heritage from the border areas. The tourism cross border cooperation field, involves mainly the productive use of the common tourism resources, the harmonization of transport and access infrastructure, but mostly accommodation, as well as a common policy concerning the organising of cultural events. The nowadays project regions overlap, in most cases, the ancient historical regions, which prove their functional aspect once more, also from the complex perspective that development projects imply. In the case of the Maramures Land, or Historical Maramures (which comprises as a cross border ethnographical and historical entity, a territory from the Maramures County – Romania and also from The Transcarpathia Region – Ukraine) the opportunity for gradual development of cross border tourism with Ukraine is granted mostly by the partnership for development projects, with funding from the financing authority of The Neighbourhood Programme Romania - Ukraine 2004-2006, PHARE Cross Border Cooperation, through the Romanian Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing starting with January 2007. This financing instrument evolved during 2009 into a new programme – ENPI (European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument). The importance of the financing funds for the cross border tourism cooperation, but not only that, is thus becoming overwhelming, taking into consideration the large amounts of money that needs to be used from establishing proper transport and accommodation infrastructure in a cross border area to the implementation of integrated cross border tourism marketing or maintaining quality cultural relations through specific events. The cross border partnerships for tourism development projects have insured, through the funds of the above mentioned PHARE CBC Programme, substantial tourism prospective research and integrated marketing for the Maramures (RO) - Transcarpathia (UA) region. Key-words: projects, Maramures, Romania, Transcarpathia, Ukraine, cross border cooperation, tourism, PHARE, ENPI CBC, sustainable development. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p636&r=tur |
| By: | João Romão; Bart Neuts; Peter Nijkamp; Eveline van Leeuwen |
| Abstract: | The tourism sector is evolving into an advanced industrial sector. Modern tourism presupposes an attractive portfolio of tourist services for a varied set of visitors. Meanwhile, tourism destinations have turned into multifaceted tourist complexes comprising a broad package of amenities that satisfy the needs of a heterogeneous group of clients. Such tourist complexes may be regarded as export-oriented multi-product companies, characterized by spatial and functional market segmentation and by monopolistic competition reflected in product differentiation. This paper argues that tourism becomes a diversified globally-oriented export industry which has to serve a multiplicity of clients. The previous observations prompt intriguing questions on the heterogeneity, motivations, satisfaction and loyalty of tourists. The present work aims to offer a causal path model that depicts the multidimensional attraction force of a particular international tourism centre, viz. Amsterdam, from the perspective of a varied supply of tourism services. After presenting the design of a conceptual model, the empirical implications of offering a multi-product package to a heterogeneous group of visitors are modelled using a structural equations model (SEM). The primary goal of this study was to assess the impact of several factors on the loyalty (measured by the possibility of a return visit or a recommendation to visit to others) to the destination of Amsterdam. The main factors analysed in our study were personal characteristics of tourists, their motivations to visit the city and the satisfaction with the destination. The various findings are interpreted, while policy implications are also outlined. One of the most important findings was that the relationships identified between the levels of satisfaction of tourists and the loyalty to Amsterdam as a tourist destination shows that tourists who achieve higher levels of satisfaction with intangible aspects of the city tend to be more loyal than those who achieve more satisfaction with the tangible aspects of Amsterdam. Another significantly positive effect on loyalty was found for tourists in the lower income categories, tourists with a higher level of education and non-European tourists. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p147&r=tur |
| By: | Eva Psatha; Alex Deffner |
| Abstract: | Defining quality of life (qol) at personal or societal level is a difficult process which largely depends on the selected determining factors. Among the various parameters having been proposed as qol determinants, leisure and culture issues have only recently found their place, as they had long been neglected. In the ¡developed¢ societies leisure time is acknowledged to be an integral part of a well-balanced management of personal time and a significant determinant for a person¢s well-being. The ¡right¢ to leisure is considered to be a measure for the societal quality, in the terms of personal freedom, participation in social life and creativity. A special dimension of the relationship connecting leisure, culture and qol which is also highlighted in the literature, concerns the ongoing development of consumption patterns regarding the ¡exploitation¢ of leisure options. The issue of leisure time acting as a qol determinant emerges mostly as a matter of quality rather than a matter of quantity. Thus, amplifying the ¡discretionary¢ time for all is not always sufficient for upgrading the collective qol. Cultural resources, leisure options and opportunities for improving of this type of time are needed. From this point of view, urban infrastructure concerning leisure activities and culture, constitute a significant determinant for the collective quality of life in a city. At the same time, cultural and leisure urban resources act as a powerful attraction for visitors, enhancing –or even driving- tourism development. Thereby, cultural and urban resources reinforce the tourist profile and competitiveness of cities. One could argue that this procedure also leads to an improvement of qol for citizens at a secondary level, but the relationship between tourism development and qoul is not always straightforward. Although tourism attraction acts as a driving force of a city¢s economic development, it has also been denounced as a carrier of several problems, including environmental degradation and social disturbance. Thus, while some cities pursue tourism development through the promotion of their cultural and leisure resources, others face with skepticism the effects of tourism in everyday urban life. Thus, the relationship between tourism, culture and leisure from the perspective of qoul is complex, and this paper aims at highlighting and analysing the issues arising from this relationship. Keywords: quality of urban life, tourism development, leisure, cultural resources JEL Classification Z10 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p901&r=tur |
| By: | Electra Pitoska |
| Abstract: | Tourism comprises a self- contained phenomenon synonymous to consumption and spare time and its growth, due to the development of technology and the improvement of the standards of living, has taken global dimensions. As a result tourism has developed to a pure industry, leading the economy and society in local, regional, national and global level to important changes. Based to the quality and the value of the natural and cultural heritage, as well as to the growth of the level of the given services, tourism is directed to the boom of alternative types of tourism and especially agro-ecotourism, which went through an enormous rise and demand. The change of the consumer’s behavior and the tourist’s consideration of the environment has led organizations taking actions in the sector, to the adoption of high level of standards in all aspects of the generative procedure. The main reason for this continual improvement of the service level and the quality of the given services, as well as the clamp-down for the protection of the environment, was the reason that sustainable tourist growth became a stratigical aim. The quality and the practices that ensure sustainability are a continuous procedure which is accomplished with the implementation of quality systems, aiming to achieve the Total Quality. Companies with comply with the specific standards receive quality marks, which conform to this kind of favour that will remain to the consumer’s consciousness. In that perspective, the aim of the research was to examine whether agro-ecotourist enterprises are certified for the given services, for the protection for the consumers/ tourists, as well as for the protection of the environment. The research was carried out in the last four months of 2011 in three regions which are to three deferent countries. The regions are in the Trans- border area in Northern Greece, South Albania and South F.Y.R.O. Macedonia. Through the use of questionnaires and personal interviews, data was gathered and analyzed with the use of SPSS. Through statistical analysis, we detect that the majority of the organizations do not apply any certification system for the services that offer. However, most of the entrepreneurs were disposed to learn them and apply them to their companies. Key words: Tourism enterprises, quality systems, consumer’s protection, Trans border areas. JEL codes: R10, R11 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p221&r=tur |
| By: | Marija Maksin; Sasa Milijic; Nikola Krunic |
| Abstract: | After the establishment of the new legislative framework on planning and construction, territorial organization of the Republic of Serbia and regional development, as well as adoption of the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia 2010-2020 (SPRS), the strategic spatial plans at regional level have been elaborated. Over the last few years, the total of 10 regional spatial plans (RSP) have been either adopted or in final stage of elaboration, five of them for peripheral rural regions of Serbia. The paper analyzes concepts and models used in planning the sustainable territorial development of peripheral, rural and mountain regions in Serbia. It refers to several key questions of sustainable territorial development of peripheral regions: accessibility, urban-rural development, rural settlement network and depopulation of peripheral mountain areas, tourism development, sustainable natural resources utilization and potentials for trans-border cooperation. One of the models discussed is for rural settlement network. Aging of rural population and depopulation of peripheral mountain regions hinders the preservation of micro rural centers, in particular the provision of public and commercial services. Emerging model is of mobile services, now developed dominantly for social and medical services, which can be expanded to almost all services, or combined with the revitalization of micro rural centers, namely those within urban centers’ gravity zone, main transport corridors or tourism destinations. Potentially most attractive tourism assets are located at peripheral regions of Serbia. Spatial pattern of assets allows for dispersed development of tourist nodes, gateways and paths. The question is how much of dispersion or concentration in the spatial pattern of tourism infrastructure and supply is acceptable and sustainable. The benefits and constraints for implementing some of proposed models are discussed. Short critical overview on constrains of regional development and implementation of regional spatial plans related to undeveloped regional level of governance, as well as to weak vertical and horizontal coordination of other levels of governance has been indicated. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the challenges and possibilities of regional spatial planning to contribute sustainable regional territorial development of peripheral and rural regions. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p721&r=tur |
| By: | Antonio Russo |
| Abstract: | This paper reflects on a “cultural industry model†with important potential for local development, which is the network of independent cultural producers of Brazilian slums. The landscape of favelas is unique: plagued by poverty and crime, they have come to encapsulate the worst aspects of chaotic urban growth in Latin American cities, and are consequently reified as spaces violating the “social norms†of sustainable urban development. Maybe more in Rio de Janeiro than in any other Brazilian or Latin-American cities, favelas are nevertheless important components of an urban cultural landscape of outstanding value, but just as difficult to conceptualise. They are also a unique form of informal urbanisation, and – as pointed out by a critical current of political scientists – they have affirmed as spaces of social emancipation and resistance. Recognising the social value of Rio’s favelas brings us to explore the way in which they have been developing as spaces of creative expression, according to a peculiar model anchored on freeware and hacker culture, and receiving the support of the federal government’s cultural policy. This model made a remarkable change in the way they came to be “legitimised†by the metropolitan society above the criminalising discourses of mainstream commercial media. The free cultural products of favelas promote community pride, recognition and visibility, and ultimately inclusion, but also job creation in its peculiar consumption filiere, especially when the potential as “tourist brand†is taken into account. For this reason, short-circuiting a “creative†creative industry development policy, UNESCO’s landscape protection strategy, and the (increasingly ambitious) Rio de Janeiro agenda of tourism development and place marketing, has become of paramount importance for making a giant step out of the poverty issue, and in this sense Rio could serve as a template for the whole Latin American continent, to say the least. Key words: Creative production, hackerism, slums, urban development, tourism, branding JEL codes: Z10, Z13, R30 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p365&r=tur |
| By: | Faroek Lazrak; Piet Rietveld; Jan Rouwendal |
| Abstract: | Cultural heritage is generally considered to be an important amenity that makes a city more attractive to residents as well as tourists. Although heritage is basically something that remains from the past, and is therefore predetermined, its quantity and quality is affected by urban policy. Currently many cities invest in heritage. This paper contributes to the analysis of the role of cultural heritage in urban economies by investigating the impact of a national program that subsidizes investment in cultural heritage on the value of real estate in the proximity. We use detailed information about the size of the investments (and associated subsidies) on specific properties to study its impact on house prices in the neighbourhood in which it is located. Using a rich data set with transaction prices extending over a period of 25 years, we consider the development of house prices in small geographical areas and relate them to the presence and size of investments in cultural heritage. Keywords: Cultural heritage, listed building, valuation methods, stated preference methods, hedonic prices, spatial statistics, fixed effect model, historic buildings JEL codes: C210; R200 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p1163&r=tur |
| By: | Eleni Gavra; Anastasia Bourlidou; Klairi Gkioufi |
| Abstract: | Turkey constitutes a country privileged with ekistics and cultural heritage of crucial interest that is linked to ancient civilizations. Over the past decades, the turkish government has been formatting and developing a protective institutional framework, concerning the preservation of its historical environment. However, the country has endured many political and economical alterations that have influenced the qualitative character of the monumental architecture, as well as the regional development of historical communities. Ôhis paper deals with the Greek’s cultural heritage in Turkey today, targeting on the enhancement of strategic solutions that concern the symbiosis of the dualism of greek origin ekistics heritage and tourism development in the turkish territories. The methodology approach is achieved through bibliography and in situ research and analysis that have taken place during a scientific research program concerning the Greek’s cultural presence in Asia Minor (17th- 20th centuries). In addition to that, a thorough examination is followed in the evaluation of the existing turkish and international institutional framework, regarding the protection of the Greek’s ekistics and monumental heritage in Turkey. In this context, a series of strategic measures is proposed in order to preserve and enhance the cultural value and aesthetics of the Greek’s heritage in Turkey today. The governmental administration and international legislation, the elimination of bureaucratic issues, the promotion of strategic planning on both urban and architectural level, as well as the encouragement of the interstate relations between Turkey and Greece, are some of the potential solutions highly underlined in this paper. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p454&r=tur |
| By: | Rafael Santos; Jorge Silva |
| Abstract: | All over the world there are several countries where airships are being used for military and civilian purposes. The rebirth of this mean of transportation, capable of easily overcoming some deficiencies of the conventional ones, brings medium and long term economic benefits. In addition, they offer different services at lower costs, and they also may stimulate new commercial and industrial activities and even new transactional routes. The background of airship technology comes from the XVIII century. Since then, all those years were of scientific and empirical knowledge. Now, they form the basis for a sustainable future in emerging technologies, making the return of airships possible. This revived interest in airship technology brings a multitude of technical concepts resulting from interdisciplinary research. Consequently, the state of art of airships presents new research which paves the way for the reappearance of renewed horizons with regards to the use of airships. Companies are focused on the research, development and testing of new airship concepts and designs too. Nowadays, airships are being studied for commercial transport in different parts of the globe, from Canada, Brazil, Peru, to Australia. India, for example, has studies about the connection to remote areas with poor surface infrastructure which only can be reached by air or walking. This way, it’s expected that airships will become a competitive mean of transport to link areas served by deficient transport infrastructures. Taking the principles of sustainable development of air transport, airships are the most environment-friendly vehicles with lower fuel consumption and with higher endurance. Therefore, as a result, they are paving the way for new markets. This work examines these technological improvements and the economic feasibility of the use of airships in certain market niches. Mainly, this work makes use of a study concerning the viability of the use of airships within Portuguese Tourism and Urban Logistic activity sectors. This paper is organized as follows: firstly, state of the art reviews about airships technological characteristics: operational constraints, operation scenarios, and international and national legislation. Secondly, improvement of two case studies within the Portuguese territory (touristic flights and urban logistic activity): operational parameters evaluation and operating cost estimation. And thirdly, some insights and challenges of research that is still in progress. KeyWords: Airships, Technical and Economic Feasibility, Market Niches, Tourism, Urban Logistics. JEL Codes: L93, O18, R11 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p679&r=tur |
| By: | Alejandro GarcÃa-Pozo; Andrés J. Marchante-Mera; José Luis Sánchez-Ollero; José López-Rubio; Carlos G. Benavides-Chicón |
| Abstract: | In this paper, the diversity of job characteristics and wage gaps in the Spanish hotel industry due to different employer size have been studied. A labour market in which wages depend on employer size means the characteristics of the same job differs between firms. In the hotel industry the data indicate significant differences in the nature of the job according to the size of the establishment. This topic has been analysed for many economic sectors but, as far as we know, not for the hotel industry. Using data from the research project “Mismatch in education, productivity and wages in the Andalusian tourism sectorâ€, the first aim was to establish whether there was a similar positive relationship between employer size and wages in the hotel industry. The second aim was to account for wage premia earned by workers employed by larger hotels taking into account the specific characteristics of each establishment. The results have shown that even after controlling for the workers’ observable characteristics and the other determinants of our wage equation, a substantial wage differential remained between large and small establishments. To achieve these aims four hypotheses on productivity, labour quality, working conditions and internal labour markets was tested. Based on adding the productivity measure, the results show that this variable accounts for 17.8% of the establishment-size wage premium. Similar results were obtained when adding our own measures of working conditions. However, the size-wage relationship remains almost unaffected when controlling for labour quality and internal labour market variables. It is also possible that large establishments pay higher wages simply because they employ workers with more unobserved abilities. To take into account the workers’ unobserved heterogeneity, we need to specify a model that allows for the potential self-selection by workers of hotels of various sizes, and this is a task that cannot be achieved with the available data. However, bearing in mind that different explanatory hypotheses of wage differences between different size hotels have different implications for the management of human resources, identifying the sources of the wage-establishment size effect is a relevant question for future research. Key words: Hotel industry, employer size, segmented labour markets, wage gaps, productivity and working conditions. JEL codes: J31, L83, R23. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p285&r=tur |
| By: | Jacek Sołtys |
| Abstract: | The areas located outside metropolitan areas and also outside areas activated through other big cities are called peripheries. There are big differences between the levels of development of metropolitan and peripheral areas in Poland. There are also great differences in opportunities to development including the location of new investment. Peripheral areas are characterized by features such as: high unemployment, relatively impoverished populations, low productivity, low territorial accessibility, small development potential. Lack of development factors is the cause of low development level. Peripheral areas are differential. The author analyses this differentiation, including location of development factors in peripheral areas of northern Poland. Touristic values are such factor, but tourism is mainly seasonal. The tourist season is short, 2-4 months. The development of this tourism increases the income of people and business, but the increase of permanent work-places is small. The lack of robust businesses that are able to start constant and stable development is one of the main weakness of peripheral areas. Bed transport accessibility is the other weakness of peripheral areas. As one of the factors of socio-economic development considered by author is the spatial structure, including settlement network. In some areas lack of appropriately big node could be the weakness of such network. The analysis of case study area is conducted on the basis of the features of poviats (counties), which are described by following indicators: employees in the industry sector and market service sector per 1000 population of working age, number of entities in national economy between 10-49 and more than 49 workers per 1000 population of working age, investment outlays in enterprises per capita in the years 2008-2010, gross value of fixed assets in enterprises per capita, average monthly gross wages and salaries, unemployment rate, participation of the urban population, population of the biggest settlement node. The author researches correlation between features presented above. In the next part of the paper the author performs a typology of poviats. In the last part of the paper regional policy of stimulating growth is proposed. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p1061&r=tur |
| By: | Burgess, Diane; Finney, Graham; Matthews, Dave; Patton, Myles |
| Abstract: | Landscapes represent the dynamic interaction of natural and cultural processes acting on the environment. Increasingly human impacts are dominating the natural processes resulting in landscape change and habitat loss. Due to the public good nature of landscapes, no market price exists to indicate their economic value and consequently impacts to the landscape are excluded from decision making processes. To include landscape change within the decision making process, valuation studies have been undertaken; primarily stated preference methods. In common with the valuation of many public goods, Choice Experiments (CE), have dominated the landscape valuation literature. However, CE makes the implicit assumption that the value of the good can be captured by the attributes of the the good. In CE a landscape would be described in terms of its features i.e. trees, field boundries. Drawing from psychology/cognitive research, we explore whether the spatial configuration of those landscape features has an impact on preferences. The findings of two surveys indicate that spatial configuration does have an impact on landscape preferences and therefore potentially on economic values. This would indicate that unless CE can incorporate spatial configuration, they may not be an appropriate method for valuing landscapes. |
| Keywords: | Landscapes, Stated Preference methods, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q24, Q51, Q57, |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc12:134984&r=tur |
| By: | Aliza Fleischer |
| Abstract: | Aesthetic view is one of the ecosystem services of the Mediterranean Sea which can be estimated using price differences in the hotel market. Hotels situated on the Mediterranean Sea charge higher prices for a room with a sea view than for a room without it. The value of this view in 10 major Mediterranean regions was estimated in this paper using a hedonic price method. Data on 2,819 hotel rooms in high season and 2,406 rooms in the low season were collected from Booking.com and fixed effects regression was used to estimate the model coefficients. Hotel room prices were found to be higher by about 10% for a room with a view than for one with no view specification. No significant difference was found between regions or season. These findings lend support to the fact that the view of the Mediterranean is equally valued in all regions. Keywords: Sea view, Mediterranean, Hedonic prices, Fixed effects regression JEL Q51 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p144&r=tur |
| By: | Antonio Russo; Ian Smith |
| Abstract: | This paper reflects on human mobility ranges and their regional impacts. We first introduce an interpretative framework that situates place populations within a continuum of transiences and intensities: according to this, short- and long-term mobilities, generally associated with a binary of work-related migration and tourism, can be revisioned as a spectrum of fluid situations by which the permanence of people into places results from an articulated range of factors of attraction or place characteristics, and dynamically modifies this context. Indeed we postulate that different attraction factors attract different flows that could be characterised in this way as “regional audiencesâ€; the fact that the same factors could be attractive to different audiences means that regions have to “tune†to an accommodate different users and uses, and as foreseen by Martinotti (1992) in his “four populations†urbanisation model, the success in doing that is a fundamental aspect of sustainable development We then use results from the ESPON 2013 Program (ATTREG project) to classify regions according to the populations that they were able to attract in the 2001-2008 period, and reflect upon the complex process of embedding different “audiences†into places in terms of attraction strategies and issues of resiliency. Our findings challenge the conventional wisdom that migrants are attracted by economic buoyancy and tight labour markets for highly skilled workers, and cast an interesting light about the synergetic effects of different population groups. We show for instance that “tourist regionsâ€, or regions that are particularly endowed for (and have been able to) attracting short-term mobilities, have had a good score in attracting longer-term forms of mobility, but only until economic conditions were favourable and some upper threshold have been reached; whereas regions with lower attractiveness scores have been better able to face the direct effects of the global crisis. Key words: Migration, attraction, territorial capital, tourism JEL codes: J61, R58 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p362&r=tur |
| By: | Jana Kourilova; Rene Wokoun; Milan Damborsky; Nikola Krejcova |
| Abstract: | The competitiveness of EU regions This paper results from the project financed by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GA ÈR). The project was carried out by the research team consisting of both The Centre of Regional and Administrative Studies and The Regional Studies Department´s members in 2009 -2011. The introductory part of the paper is focused on the theoretical background with a special emphasis on the concept definition and determination of factors of the regional competitiveness. The concept of competitiveness is relatively new in the economics and the economic geography. In fact, there are no general definitions, the concept is mostly related to a specific issue. Micro-oriented definitions consider the competitiveness as a success in selling products or services on open markets. The macro-economic view is much more variable. It is often associated with an economic development of a sustainable character. The social and environmental aspect is also closely observed as well as the impact of the regional economic growth on other regions, in the sense of whether or not the economic growth is realized at the expense of other regions. The following part of the paper, based on the methodology and index defined for this purpose, assesses the competitiveness of EU regions on the NUTS II level. The regional competitiveness index was compiled on the basis of available Eurostat data. Next part of the paper presents the key factors of the regional competitiveness. Factors are classified as universal and specific. Concerning universal factors, regions with a high level of competitiveness mostly have an important economic centre; these are often metropolitan regions of member states (London, Stockholm, Paris, Prague) with a significant share of services and existence of both public and private decision-making headquarters. In non-metropolitan regions with a high level of competitiveness, there is an economic centre- city with a share of services, R&D and innovation sector. Competitive regions (or their centres) are mostly well connected with the transport infrastructure, especially TEN-T, national highways and international airports. Such regions are important air, rail, road or water transport junctions. One of the key aspects of the regional competitiveness is the concentration of scientific, R&D and innovative institutions often linked to tertiary educational institutions. In general, the educational structure with a high proportion of tertiary or higher secondary educated population (corresponding to the Czech system of secondary education with the school-leaving examination-maturita) is another aspect of a competitive region. The institutional conditions also determine the regional competitiveness and development. Specific factors of the regional competitiveness are the tourism potential, natural sources and the technical infrastructure. Keywords: region, competitiveness, factors, European Union, NUTS II JEL code: R11 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p788&r=tur |
| By: | ziye na; Yifeng Yao |
| Abstract: | The ¡°Economic Zone on the West Shore of the Taiwan Strait¡± (WSTS) is a concept proposed by government of Fujian Province in 2004 and got the approval by the Chinese national government in 2009, and its development plan was officially published in March 2011. It is a region that cross the administrative boundaries ¨C it is composed by the whole Fujian Province, 3 municipalities of Zhejiang Province, 4 municipalities of Jiangxi Province and 4 municipalities of Guangdong Province. This region gets its name because it is the part of mainland China that is nearest to Taiwan, and the region basically share the same culture and dialect with Taiwan. The main functions were designed to be ¡°the pioneer stage of Taiwan-Mainland China cooperation, the places that serve as new gateways, the places that undertake the advanced manufacturing industries from/as Taiwan, and the new natural and cultural tourist center of China¡±. Actually if considering the economies of Yangtze River delta to its north, the Pearl River Delta to its south and Taiwan to its east (its west sides are mountains), this region seems to be the economic lowlands of southeast coast of China. Relatively, its infrastructure, technology and talents present comparative disadvantages. Due to the development of transportation and information technology, the physical vicinity does not seem to be an advantage, thus ¡°the pioneer stage of Taiwan-Mainland China cooperation and the area to undertake the moving out industries of Taiwan¡± in the development strategies seem inconvincible. The paper aims to rethink the comparative advantages of WSTS within the ¡°territory cohesion¡± scheme ¨C territory efficiency, territory quality and territory identity. The dimensions of ¡°economic geography, economic performance, resource efficiency, internal and external accessibility, environment, access to knowledge, presence of ¡®social capital¡¯; landscape and cultural heritage¡±, and also the policies that aim to attract the investors/inhabitants will be considered all over the main cities of the southeast coast of China. Through these reconsiderations, the comparative advantages and the position of this region in the city network of southeast China could be clear and its development strategies could be concluded. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p1019&r=tur |
| By: | Joanna Kude³ko; Zbigniew Mogi³a; Aleksandra Poproch |
| Abstract: | In April 2007 UEFA's Executive Committee announced that the 2012 European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2012, will be hosted by Poland and Ukraine between 8 June and 1 July 2012. The UEFA’s decision gave rise to expectations that the organization of such a prestigious international sports event would be a great opportunity to improve the tourist and investment attractiveness of the host regions. It was primarily expected that Euro 2012 tournament will speed up building and modernization of communication, sports and touristic infrastructures which –in turn- will spur economic development of the Polish host regions. The main aim of this paper is to present the quantitative impact of public investments and tourist expenditures associated with Euro 2012 on the development of the four Polish host regions- dolno¶l±skie, mazowieckie, pomorskie and wielkopolskie. The analysis is carried out on the basis of the two main baseline scenarios: 1) Non-Euro 2012 scenario assuming that all the investment associated with the tournament would have been undertaken in any case with a 4 year delay due to the fact that most of them is financed form the EU funds which must be implemented until 2015; 2) Euro 2012 scenario assuming that the tournament has accelerated public investments up to 4 years in comparison to the non-Championship scenario. Moreover, within the Euro 2012-scenario two sub-scenarios regarding the potential number of tourists are constructed. The analysis is conducted using the regional HERMIN models and concentrates on such macroeconomic indicators as GDP per capita, employment and investment. The research period is 2008 (beginning of investment)-2020 in order to derive both short-term (demand) and long-term (supply) effects. The results are compared and confronted with the analogues effects for other European regions in order to formulate general conclusions on the role of such events in the regional development. Keywords: Euro 2012 in Poland, development of the regions, counter-factual macroeconomic simulations. JEL codes: R11 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p752&r=tur |
| By: | Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Cohard; Javier Alfonso; Antonio Vázquez-Barquero |
| Abstract: | TERRITORIAL COOPERATION WITH NON-EU REGIONS Territorial Cooperation (TC) has been possible because there is a trajectory of many years of work invested by the local actors, participants who have become the architects of TC through the city or region involved. Transcontinental cooperation as studied by the European Union TERCO project is providing important lessons for understanding TC. The purpose of the presentation is to analyze the Andalusian-North of Morocco territorial cooperation during the last twenty years. Twinning cities, bilateral cooperation agreements and networks have structured participation in projects with varying degrees of impact on the economic, social, urban and environmental conditions. The initiatives have always been local and with a bottom-up approach. The management capacity of key organizations working in a descentralized way and their background on local development governance have made available the implementation of local iniciatives. The projects with the best results are those that are carried out jointly and adapt to Moroccan needs in agreement with its territorial development strategy which was previously defined. Special institutional and cultural mechanisms of developing in both sides of Mediterranean Sea were very helpful. The institutional weaknesses and the complexity of decision-making mechanism in Andalusia and Morocco can make relations difficult and therefore territorial cooperation weak. Territorial Cooperation needs to be flexible enough to respond to changes in the socio-economic environment. The case study of Andalusia-North of Morocco shows that local economic development (e.g. technological innovation or international trade) are important. These issues are usually approached through public-private coordination organizations, such as development agencies. As shown by some other case studies of the TERCO project the results of the participation of such agencies are still modest. Special attention should be given to TC with Morocco due to geo-strategic relations both with Spain and Europe. Not only are there sporadic problems of a bilateral strategic nature between Spain (EU) and Morocco at the Central Government level which can affect decentralized TC, but also, problems with illegal migration (an EU concern), and difficulties in acquiring visas to travel for the cooperating agents, could very well jeopardize TC initiatives. Key words: Territorial Cooperation, Local Development, Governance. JEL codes: O15, O43, R58. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p837&r=tur |
| By: | Kirsi Mukkala; Hannu Tervo |
| Abstract: | The role of airports has become increasingly important with globalization. To have a regional airport is an especially important asset for retaining companies in the region as well as attracting new economic activity to the region. A well-developed transport infrastructure can be seen as a facilitator that allows the economic potential of a region to be realized. The provision of transportation does not, however, automatically lead to economic growth. It may also be the other way round: economic development leads to the better transport infrastructure and accessibility, stressing demand side elements. This paper aims to shed further light on the relationship between regional airports and economic performance. We ask whether accessibility is a key factor to economic success, or rather a consequence of it. In order to test the relative importance of various effects, the Granger non-causality method in a panel framework is applied. The Granger method exploits the fact that in time series there is temporal ordering, and the belief that effects cannot occur before causes. The empirical analysis is based on European level annual data from 86 regions and 13 countries on air traffic and regional economic performance in the period 1991-2010. The results revealed that for at least some regions (and possible all), there is statistical evidence of Granger causality from air traffic to regional growth but these processes are not uniform in all regions. The categorization of the regions into three groups of equal size according to their peripherality showed significant causality in peripheral regions and indicative causality in intermediate regions, while in core regions no significant causality was found. Hence, peripherality indeed matters: the more remote the region is the more important for it is to have efficient air connections. The evidence of the opposite direction of causality - from regional development to air traffic - was only partial and homogenous. Keywords: air traffic, regional growth, Granger causality |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p642&r=tur |