ABSTRACT

Between the apex and the base there is now in most countries an intermediate level of tourism organization which is described in many instances as ‘regional’. The term should be treated with caution as it applies to spatial scales that are quite different. The regions in major European countries are roughly of the same order of magnitude while in the USA regions are much larger. The Rocky Mountain regional tourism organization, for instance, covers Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota – an area as large as France, Belgium, Germany and Austria combined. In practice European regions equate to ‘countries’, within US states, for example, the Gold West country of Montana. In operational terms states in the USA are comparable to nations elsewhere in many ways. They have created an intermediate level of organization, at least in part for the same practical reasons as have the European countries (to be discussed below).