Rural tourism development: case of a negotiating process in Slovenia

Abstract

Rural tourism development is a negotiated process involving a number of social actors: individuals, groups and organisations who interact to reach their own ends through negotiations with other social actors. This paper examines the rural development process in Pišece, Slovenia, by studying tourism through an actor-oriented approach to clarify the social realities of rural tourism development. Its purpose was to increase understanding of the socio-political dimensions of the rural tourism development at the community level by contributing to the current methods used to investigate, describe and understand rural tourism. The study of family clans, formal and informal leaders, eluded to those individuals labelled as social gatekeepers in the local community who were able to control, enhance or deter rural development, in this case deter sustainable tourism development.