Issues in appropriate rural tourism development for southern Ireland

Abstract

Rural society in Europe has been undergoing far-reaching change, and the balance between its various functions has become much less secure. For this reason, an effort must be made to promote rural development of a kind which maintains, or indeed in some cases actually restores, the equilibrium without which the Community cannot prosper (Bulletin of the EC, Supplement 4/88). This article provides a discussion of the concepts of appropriate rural development with reference to Southern Ireland. It aims to help countryside planners understand more fully the complexity of the subject area in order to expedite the above goals of the EC and translate sustainability concepts into action.