EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Industrial tourism provides great opportunities for cities and enterprises

Industrial tourism provides great opportunities for cities and enterprises

Introduction

The report 'Industrial Tourism: Opportunities for City & Enterprise', published by the European Institute for Comparative Urban Research (Euricur), explores the development of industrial tourism in cities. According to the report, industrial tourism offers great possibilities for both cities and private enterprises. Especially for those cities with a large industrial base or history, industrial tourism might form an attractive way of strengthening the economic structure and image of the city. The report presents some interesting new knowledge in the field of industrial tourism and makes some recommendations for municipalities, private companies and other stakeholders.

Proposition

Under what circumstances can industrial tourism make a strategic contribution to the competitiveness of city and enterprise?

Description

According to the authors of the report, many cities have the assets to develop industrial tourism. However, only few manage to capitalise on them. This research therefore offers an overview of successful examples of industrial tourism, so that other cities and enterprises can learn from these cases.

The report also looks into the question under what circumstances industrial tourism can make a strategic contribution to the competitiveness of city and enterprise. This question was answered on the basis of an international comparative study including six different cases:

Wolfsburg (Volkswagen)
Cologne
Pays de la Loire
Turin
Shanghai
Rotterdam

Background information

The results of this study on industrial tourism were presented at the 2nd European conference on industrial tourism, which took place in the city of Toledo in November 2008.

Conclusions

According to the report, there is a substantial and possibly growing demand for industrial tourism. Many groups can be targeted and reached with industrial tourism. The report finds that especially special providing 'package visits' may attract large numbers of tourists to industrial sites. Effective industrial tourism strategies may result in great benefits in terms of additional income for cities. However, the researchers state that the development of industrial tourism requires organising capacity, including the ability to create and stimulate partnerships between different sectors.

Contact info

Euricur
Rotterdam
Phone: +31 - 10 40 81 186
Fax: +31 - 10 40 89 153
info@euricur.nl
Leo van den Berg (Director of Euricur), tel. +31 - 10 40 81 186

Publication date

//2008

Researcher

Leo van den Berg, Alexander Otgaar, Christian Berger & Rachel Xiang Feng

Links

For more information about the report on industrial tourism, please visit the Euricur website

Download chapter 1, 2 & 9 of the report 'Industrial Tourism: Opportunities for City and Enterprise' (PDF, Eng, 520 kB)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment > Urban economy

Keywords

Specific sectors

Institutional characteristics
Academic/Research