dossier sur le tourisme et le développement durable

Tourist flows
increase of visitor rate, nevertheless) can be included here, as can Libya and Algeria, which are
well below their potential. Their share of visitor rate in the Mediterranean remains about 1%.
There are many reasons for the persistence of this imbalance. Time is needed to build up an
image and a tourist industry and to develop consumer loyalty. The long-term development of
tourism in the countries of the North-West Mediterranean explains the predominant position that
they currently enjoy in this sector of activity. Besides this, their proximity to the main European
markets is an essential aspect that will continue to be effective when there is a stabilising or an
increase in air fees. It gives them a considerable advantage for short stays that are in full
development. However, the economic growth of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe,
and the tourist demand that it brings with it, is currently modifying this fact, as the countries of
the North-East Mediterranean (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus)
are in a better position to meet this demand.
Although it is difficult to calculate, mature destinations of the northwest countries are in
competition with the developing destinations. Indeed, the destinations in the northwest are the
only ones that offer complex products (festivals, urban tourism, etc.) and they continue to
develop simple seaside tourism that directly competes with the destinations of the South and
East Mediterranean.
The reasons for the success of some of the countries of the South and East are due to the
enhancement of their competitive assets (Egypt with the Nile, the Pyramids and the Red Sea),
clever commercial policies (Tunisia with its cheap coastal tourism), or priority given to tourism in
the countries’ policies (investment policy in Turkey). Political stability would, however, seem to
be the determining parameter: the effects of war in the countries of the former Yugoslavia are
still present and the problems in the Near-East prevent fast development of tourism in this
region.
The uneven distribution among coastal regions and the countries as a whole
There is also an uneven distribution of tourists in coastal regions, compared to the countries as
a whole. Coastal regions are defined by Plan Bleu as NUTS 3 level in the countries of the
European Union (provinces in Spain and Italy, “departements” in France, “nomes” in Greece)
and the equivalent level in the countries of the South and East (provinces, gouvernorats,
willayas, mohafazats, etc.).
Very little homogeneous data is available to make comparisons in the Mediterranean.
Assessments (Plan Bleu 1995) evaluated the visitors to the Mediterranean coastal regions in
1990 at about 135 million tourists, both international and national, i.e. 53% overall, while the
Mediterranean coastal regions represent only 13% of the surface area of the Mediterranean
countries. However, tourism is not concentrated in the coastal regions in all of the countries. In
Egypt and Morocco, the Mediterranean coastal regions are limited to domestic tourism, which is
a recent development. International tourism is concentrated in the Valley of the Nile and along
the Red Sea in Egypt, on the Atlantic coast and in the inland cities in Morocco. The proportion
of coastal tourism in the Mediterranean is thus very varied depending on the countries and was
estimated in 2000 by Plan Bleu at between 10% for Bosnia and 95% in Tunisia (Annex,
Table 14).
1.5. Mediterranean tourism remains very seasonal
The seasonal nature of tourism in the Mediterranean remains high. Often more than 70% or
even 80% of tourist stays are concentrated from May to September, i.e. over five months. This
seasonal aspect causes peak effects with repercussions in many fields of activity: employment,
transport, facilities, draining of and pressure on the natural resources and the environment, to
cite just the more noticeable repercussions. Most of the impact on the environment is multiplied
because of this seasonal aspect: more accommodation has to be built than would be the case if
the tourists came throughout the year, collective facilities and transport equipment (water supply
and waste collection, etc.) have to be over-sized.
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