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In a declining periphery, tourism is often considered as a vehicle for regional development due to the positive economic impacts of the industry. However, tourism is not automatically the best saviour for all peripheral areas, because it can also cause some negative impacts. Therefore, sustainable planning is needed to balance the benefits and costs of tourism. The aim of this review is to discuss how to develop the tourism industry in order to create positive regional development in the peripheral areas in the Nordic context. The paper presents two approaches to the tourism planning and regional development nexus: the tourism-centred and regional development-centred. However, the structure of the regional economy and the tourism resources of the area set limitations for the application of these basic approaches in practice. In this respect, the proposed spatio-functional model would be an option to increase the positive regional development at the local level in a sustainable way. The model emphasizes a functional collaboration between industries in the core-periphery framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 1990s, the south-eastern part of North-Brabant (also known as the Greater Eindhoven region) in the Netherlands has enjoyed a major turn in its economic position and outlook. From a more or less traditional industrial region in decline, it has become a “cradle of innovation” with a key position in the wider “knowledge-based” economy. This paper sheds light on this transformation by referring to the recent literature on territoriality and relationality, and how it has informed post-Marshallian accounts of clustering. In particular, we discuss the context and scope for regional strategy-making in light of selectivities stemming from state and firm activities. The success of the Eindhoven region cannot be understood without seeing how it was structurally privileged by agents and processes largely external to the region. Part of its success, however, can be attributed to strategic action undertaken within the region itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article reviews perceptions of regional problems in Australia and opposing views of regional policy. It argues that regional conditions vary widely and that much of non-metropolitan Australia is not in decline, casting doubt on the existence of a divide and on arguments that the divide can, and should, be addressed by government. The article also argues that views on policy reflect perceptions of the nature and causes of regional problems, and of the capacity and desirability of government being involved in shaping regional outcomes. Current regional policy approaches, characterized by ‘pragmatic incrementalism’, are outlined and explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]