An Analysis of the 'Natursteig Sieg'. Structures, Resources and Future Potential as a Sustainable Rural Tourism Region

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Tourism - Miscellaneous, grade: Gut, International University of Applied Sciences, language: English, abstract: The analysis of the structures, resources and future potential of the 'Natursteig Sieg', a rural region in North-Rhine- Westphalia, is the aim of this thesis. Today's tourism industry can be considered as an economically important asset. Particularly in rather structurally weak rural areas, tourism can significantly contribute to secure employment and to generate beneficial income. Rural regions in Germany have a high touristic potential. A tourists increasing demand to relax within a natural environment, away from urbanized areas, offers versatile possibilities to sustainably develop rural tourism. The focus is laid on future perspectives and sustainable development, which is extensively investigated with the help of academic frameworks. The main research was conducted in form of qualitative expert interviews with 7 respective industry stakeholders and participating project partners of the 'Natursteig Sieg'. It is found that there are several strategic management issues in terms of communication, transparency and marketing which can and should be solved in the long run, in order to guarantee an effective course of action. However, the region as such has indeed a high future potential of being a successful, economically valuable and sustainable rural tourism destination.