Preface

**Section 4**

Investments

*by Daniel F. Meyer*

**II**

Rural Tourism and Regional Development **79**

**Chapter 6 81**

**Chapter 7 103**

Rural Development and Rural Tourism: The Impact of Infrastructure

An Assessment of the Impact of the Tourism Sector on Regional Economic Development in Gauteng Province, South Africa

*by António Almeida and Luiz Pinto Machado*

Limited land and resources, along with the overexploitation of tourism and multiple other factors, make peripheral and ultra-peripheral territories relevant cases for studying governance and sustainable development.

In the specific case of island regions (ultra-peripheral territories), tourism regularly assumes itself as one of the main, if not the most critical, regional economic drivers. Alternatively, in peripheral territories like the borderlands, it is evident that these regional synergies have reached unprecedented levels in the last few years, not only due to their potential for territorial integration but also recognizing their role in supranational processes (i.e., infrastructure construction and planning activities on European territories). Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) practices have increased in Europe and worldwide, generating a global network of relationships between people to create mutually beneficial scenarios.

Contextually, the study of these typologies of territories—islands and borderlands—is essential to plan the future of our regions, businesses, and societies. Therefore, it is critical to analyze the territorial subjacent processes behavior based on the new challenges as an example of sustainable development and growth.

This book includes contributions from renowned academicians and technicians working in the field of sustainable tourism in rural and peripheral areas. The content contained herein provides the reader with a deep understanding, from several perspectives, of the dynamics, challenges, and opportunities of tourism in these specific territories.

*Peripheral Territories, Tourism, and Regional Development* is a significant scientific contribution to this specific field.

> **Rui Alexandre Castanho** WSB University, Dabrowa Górnicza, Poland

> > **Rossana Santos** University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal

**Gualter Couto** University of Azores, Ponta Delgada, Portugal

**1**

Section 1

Peripheral Territories,

Tourism, and Regional

Development: A Brief

Overview
