Tourism development and sustainability issues in Central and South-Eastern Europe

In the limited number of analyses undertaken on tourism development and post-socialist processes of restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), most attention has been paid to the more advanced societies of Central Europe. By contrast, Europe's less developed and relatively unstable south-eastern corner, where tourism development issues may take on a different complexion, has been relatively neglected. Within this context, tourism's role in post-socialist restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe is examined, reflecting on issues of mass tourism and niche segregation. Rural tourism is examined as a vehicle for sustainable development in South-eastern Europe, and some of the paradoxes facing issues of sustainability in tourism development are examined in relation to recent development processes. With a dynamic mix of mass and niche markets to target, the potential of rural tourism development in South-eastern Europe continues to be constrained by regional instability. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.