Barriers to Stakeholder Involvement in Sustainable Rural Tourism Development—Experiences from Southeast Europe

Alice Wanner and Ulrike Pröbstl-Haider
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Alice Wanner: Institute of Landscape Development, Recreation and Conservation Planning, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Ulrike Pröbstl-Haider: Institute of Landscape Development, Recreation and Conservation Planning, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, 1180 Vienna, Austria

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Participative planning approaches are vital to sustainable development in rural areas. However, stakeholder involvement also faces many barriers. In this Danube region case study, barriers to stakeholder involvement across eight rural regions are investigated. With the standardized conditions provided through an ERDF and IPA funded EU project, special attention could be paid to socio-cultural barriers, specifically concerning perception of sustainability and conflicts of interest. The effects of these barriers to the planning process are seen in the comparison of awareness concerning overall goals, indicators and the regional self-assessments. The implications for planning and management in rural tourism areas find that the perception of sustainability varies greatly, perceived deficiencies increase awareness and that crucial indicators need to be understood by stakeholders beginning a participative planning approach.

Keywords: rural tourism; stakeholder involvement; participative planning; rural areas in the Danube area; sustainable rural development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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