Tourism in the Mediterranean : a comparative study : Spain, Greece, Turkey, Malta

Abstract

This report presents a profile on tourism within selected countries in the Mediterranean region. It identifies the performance as well as the environment and policies that influenced tourism development of these countries in the nineties and before. The countries in discussion are Malta, Spain, Greece and Turkey. Priority is given to the Mediterranean area of the larger countries. In the case of Spain, discussions are focused mainly on the mainland coast including Costa Brava, Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca and the Balearics, since these are the regions which form part of the Mediterranean Sea and where tourism plays an extremely important part of the region's economic development. The western and southern parts of Turkey account for the main tourist arrivals in the country. As for Greece, it is mainly the islands in general which will be given more importance because tourism figures have features more prominently here than on the mainland. Chapter one deals with a rather general historical background of tourism in the Mediterranean. Here the Mediterranean features as a vital part of international tourism. It also includes physical attractions which have influenced travel patterns to this region for decades. Special reference is given to each separate country's historical tourism development as I feel it is very important to have a background knowledge of past tourism patterns and policies, if one is to understand what is going on today. Chapter two follows with a discussion on the impacts of tourism on the economy. Two important aspects, regionalisation and seasonality are also incorporated within this chapter as these often present obstacles in calculating the aggregate economic benefits for most Mediterranean countries over a period of time. Public and private investment successes or failures are included reflecting the rather unbalanced system regarding investment projects among the countries in discussion. Bigger issues, ie, international relations, the role of government in promoting tourism, and the relationship between tourism and politics, are tackled in the third chapter. Despite increasing political tension in Europe and particularly in the Mediterranean itself, tourism has hardly ever been perceived from a political perspective. The link between tourism and politics might be regarded by some as far-fetched and unrealistic. However statistics do prove that certain arguments can be applied. This need not necessarily mean for example that tourism in Malta in the eighties experienced a loss in arrivals for a certain period solely because of political tension at the time. However I feel it is possible to present certain arguments which tie politics to tourism trends, no matter how questionable or debatable these arguments might seem. Finally in chapter Four, the environment is given much importance as most of it is being sacrificed to make way for a volatile tourist industry.