Master’s Thesis Tourism innovation as a driver for rural development in Europe. Case studies from Germany. Tourismus Innovation als Schlüsselfaktor für die Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums. Fallstudien aus Deutschland. A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in World Heritage Studies by Elena Bubeeva 3438836 Date of submission: 17.07.2017 Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Britta Rudolff Visiting Professor at the Chair of Cultural Heritage Management at the Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus, Germany Dr. Dariya Afanasyeva Chair of Environmental Planning at the Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus, Germany ‘If innovation is the spark, then knowledge is the fuel that drives tourism’ Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary-General Photo credits: unwto.org To my dearest grandfather, Candidate of Sciences in Agriculture, who instilled me with passion for knowledge and constant curiosity for this big world from the early childhood Посвящается моему дорогому дедушке, к.б.н. тому, кто привил жажду к знаниям с раннего детства Statement of Authentication I hereby declare that I have written the present thesis independently, without assistance from external parties and without use of other resources than those indicated. The ideas taken directly or indirectly from external sources (including electronic sources) are duly acknowledged in the text. The material, either in full or in part, has not been previously submitted for grading at this or any other academic institution. Place, Date Signature Verfassererklärung Hiermit erkläre ich, dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbständig, ohne fremde Hilfe und ohne Benutzung anderer als der angegebenen Hilfsmittel angefertigt habe. Die aus fremden Quellen (einschließlich elektronischer Quellen) direkt oder indirekt übernommenen Gedanken sind ausnahmslos als solche kenntlich gemacht. Die Arbeit ist in gleicher oder ähnlicher Form oder auszugsweise im Rahmen einer anderen Prüfung noch nicht vorgelegt worden. Ort, Datum Unterschrift der Verfasserin/des Verfassers Abstract Tourism has been identified as a leading economic activity in the European Union with substantial impact on socio-cultural-economic development, including employment generation, community pride, and identity building. With the launching of the political framework ‘Europe, the world’s No. 1 tourist destination’ (European Commission Communication, 2010), the tourism sector gained doubling recognition and is now thought to act as a powerful tool for promotion of the European identity and mutual tolerance. However, as a highly competitive industry with increasingly selective visitors and modern technologies, tourism must constantly innovate to meet rapidly changing demands and supply new visitor experiences. And if bigger European cities encounter constant workforce flow, adequate financing and creativity boom, the rural areas are left in greater necessity for tourism innovation. Thus, by recognizing the sustaining nature of tourism innovation as a socio-cultural-economic benefit generator for European historic towns and remote rural areas the author aims to identify the recommended innovative actions that could positively contribute to the peripheral development primarily in Europe. The case studies selected for this research are the regions of Saarland and the Upper Lusatia and Lower Silesia in Germany. Sharing the similar historical paths and geographical context at a border triangle, the areas of interest demonstrate two different models of rural economic diversification, where the concept of innovation in tourism is mainly perceived through the transformed services/products and marketing activities. Natural, cultural, and culinary assets were identified as the main tourism domains to proceed with for further comparison of the case studies selected, and hence developed into separate subchapters. A number of factors that hinder tourism innovation in the rural context were outlined. As an ultimate outcome, the general and practical recommendations are given to be applied in rural areas at a wider European context. Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude to my Thesis supervisors, especially to Dr. Dariya Afanasyeva from the Chair of Environmental Planning at the Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus. She consistently allowed this research to be my own work, however, she always steered me in the right direction whenever I was in a quandary. I am grateful for her constructive feedbacks, engagement, and time contributed to this paper. I would also like to thank the experts outside of academia for their practical knowledge and valuable insights that helped to form an overall perspective on the research topic examined. In particular, Thomas Feil from dwif-Consulting, Sabrina Deutsch from Tourismus Zentrale Saarland, Michaela Franz from Wirtschaftsförderung Amt Bautzen, Ines Kunzendorf from Sorbischer Kulturtourismus e.V., and Rajmund Papiernik from Niederschlesische Touristische Organisation. The words of appreciation go to my Russian colleagues, Luydmila Buzina and Anna Titova for the time we spent over the phone discussing all the traps and pitfalls related to the Thesis structure and methodology. I specially thank my loved ones, in particular my mother and grandfather who supported me throughout the entire research period being 7, 473 km away. I am also grateful to all my friends for their support, especially to Arina Osnitskaya and Alexander Mulroy who kept me harmonious and optimistic in my toughest days. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................... 1 LIST OF MAPS ......................................................................................................................... 2 LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... 2 LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... 2 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Research Problem, Question and Objective ......................................................................... 4 1.2 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 5 2. THEORETICAL APPROACH .............................................................................................. 6 2.1 Conceptualizing tourism innovation .................................................................................... 6 2.2 Tourism innovation and the state ....................................................................................... 10 2.3 Tourism and rural development ......................................................................................... 12 2.4 Developing tourism products ............................................................................................. 14 2.5 Marketing strategies ........................................................................................................... 17 3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................... 19 3.1 Overview of Methodology ................................................................................................. 19 3.2 Methods for Data Collection .............................................................................................. 20 3.3 Case Study Selection .......................................................................................................... 21 3.4 Development of Comparison Criteria ................................................................................ 22 4. CASE STUDY SAARLAND ............................................................................................... 24 4.1 Location and geography of Saarland ................................................................................ 24 4.2 Government and historical background ............................................................................. 26 4.3 Economy and regional cooperation .................................................................................... 27 4.4 Tourism in Saarland ........................................................................................................... 31 4.4.1 Tourist product development in Saarland ....................................................................... 32 4.4.2 Examples of tourist product development in Saarland .................................................... 34 4.4.3 Natural tourist attractions ................................................................................................ 39 4.4.4 Culinary highlights .......................................................................................................... 41 4.4.5 Cultural heritage assets .................................................................................................... 43 4.5 Marketing activities in Saarland ......................................................................................... 44 4.6 Concluding remarks ........................................................................................................... 49 5. CASE STUDY UPPER LUSATIA AND LOWER SILESIA ............................................. 50 5.1 Location and geography of Upper Lusatia and