ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the potential for pursuing a culture economy approach to the promotion of rural tourism as part of a broader rural development strategy. It also focuses on the entrepreneurs and the controllers of resources for tourism who are most closely engaged in the development of tourism infrastructure and products and their marketing, and whose support is central to the successful adoption of a culture economy approach. The chapter examines the extent to which a culture economy pathway is in place in a lagging rural region with an established history of tourism and to assess the degree to which the future of tourism development. It discusses the concept of 'culture economy' and the criteria on which integrated tourism was measured. The chapter describes the experience in the West Region of Ireland, which has a long history of tourism based on landscape and culture.
