Tourism Geography of the MENA Region: Potential, Challenges and Risks: Editorial

Hopfinger Hans () and Scharfenort Nadine ()
Additional contact information
Hopfinger Hans: Catholic University Eichstaett-IngolstadtChair of Cultural Geography85072EichstaettGermany
Scharfenort Nadine: Trier University 54296TrierGermany

Zeitschrift für Tourismuswissenschaft, 2020, vol. 12, issue 2, 131-157

Abstract: The countries of the MENA region cover an area with a diverse geography and a diverse tourist capital. The natural and cultural assets of the region appeal to different target groups, but have not yet been fully exploited, are not usable or have been irrevocably destroyed by unrest, uprisings, and wars. In many countries in the region, structural problems in tourism policy and the economy aggravate the situation. As a result, international tourist arrivals and income from tourist expenditures have developed differently in the various countries of the region.Using selected examples, this special issue provides a deeper but necessarily selective insight into the many facets of tourism in the countries of the MENA region and highlights at least some of the broad spectrum of phenomena associated with tourism geography. This editorial provides a framework to position the selected case studies within broader aspects of tourism development in the MENA region. It assesses the spatial differentiation of tourism supply and demand and looks at the political situation, especially since the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ and the related challenges for the tourism industry.The current effects of the so-called coronavirus crisis are not considered, as the special issue was conceived before the crisis began.

Keywords: Tourism potential; tourism development; MENA region; Middle East & North-Africa; international tourism arrivals and receipts; macro-economic effects of tourism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1515/tw-2020-0018 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bpj:touwis:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:131-157:n:8

DOI: 10.1515/tw-2020-0018

Access Statistics for this article

Zeitschrift für Tourismuswissenschaft is currently edited by Andreas Kagermeier

More articles in Zeitschrift für Tourismuswissenschaft from De Gruyter
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Peter Golla ().