Kırsal Turizme Bütünleşik Yaklaşım: Avrupa Birliği Örneği
Integrated Approach to Rural Tourism: Case of European Union

Summary/Abstract: Tourism is a significant sector for the European Union (EU) in terms of its economic and social dimensions. Lisbon Treaty which is the recent treaty of the EU and entered into force in 2009 strengthened the impact of the EU on tourism domain with its new legal basis. The Treaty empowered the EU with the task and competence of completing the activities of the member states in the tourism sector by enhancing the competitiveness of the sector. The Treaty also put the aim of strengthening the place of the EU in the world as a tourism destination. Rural tourism stands as an opportunity particularly for new EU members and candidate countries in the EU’s tourism policies. In this scope, the EU’s new financial support mechanism, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, supports rural tourism development. Thus, considering that Turkey is a candidate country to the EU, rural tourism policy which is especially encouraged in the candidate countries by the EU is an issue needed to be researched. In this paper, the EU’s integrated approach to rural tourism as a means of rural development and financial assistance instruments supporting this policy will be studied and the potential impact of this policy for the EU and for Turkey as a candidate country will be discussed.

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