Local Stakeholders’ Participation in (Sustainable) Tourism Development: The Case of the South Kynouria Municipality, Greece

Abstract

The attempt to integrate tourism in rural areas is founded on the understanding that tourism can contribute to their viability. The establishment of the conditions for tourism development requires the mobilisation of the totality of the resources available in an area through networks which highlight the local offering and create synergies based on local planning with a view to sustainability. The current paper explores the participation of stakeholders in tourism development in a Greek municipality, based on a series of in-depth interviews with local actors. The findings point to the lack of sound local development design processes aiming at integrated actions for the utilisation of local resources, of entrepreneurial spirit and of networking and collaboration of the concerned stakeholders who are not involved in public affairs, i.e. of critical for sustainable tourism development factors.