Tourism Development in Europe: Tourism - A Tool for Sustainable Development in Transition Economies

This publication contains the proceedings of two UNWTO conferences on Tourism: a Tool for Sustainable Development in Transitional Economies, held in Belgrade on 20 and 21 June 2005, and Impact of European Union Enlargement on Tourism Development in Europe, held in Vilnius on 1 and 2 March 2006. While Europe is the region that receives the largest number of international tourists and registers the highest amount of receipts from international tourism, there is a great difference between traditional destinations with a long history of tourism development and the countries that gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. 25 countries in Europe are transitional economies defined as those evolving from a centrally planned economy towards a market economy; some countries already undertook major reforms in their political and economic spheres while others are still addressing structural issues inherited from the past. The enlargement of the European Union represents a further step toward the European integration. Tourism contributes positively to this process and at the same time its success depends on the development and modernization of several other economic and social sectors. This publication brings together the rich contributions made by the participants of these conferences.