Geographic Aspects of World Tourism Regions According to the Concept of World Tourism Organization

Abstract

This work elaborates the existing spatial organization of World Tourism Organization (WTO) from the geographical point of view, and tries to explain the logic of the scope of particular spatial units. The first part of the work elaborates the history and conditions of the origin of the existing WTO official spatial organization and explains the basic differences between the WTO and geographical approach. The largest part of the work includes geographical analysis of particular regions and subregions according to the WTO, and includes some suggestions of the most appropriate solutions besides the critical approach. In the concluding part the author plead for appreciation of the WTO spatial organization by geographers in spite of the logic and the circumstances of the original formation and many exceptions from the common geographical regions. The author considers that understanding of the spatial organization of World Tourism Organization is essential for the qualified use and understanding of the various data and analysis published by the WTO as the basic data source in world tourism.