Promoting integrated rural tourism: Comparative perspectives on institutional networking in France and Ireland

This paper investigates the roles of horizontal and vertical networking in promoting integrated rural tourism (IRT) through a comparative study of the West Region of Ireland and the Auvergne region of France. New regional and local partnerships and territorial structures have been established in both countries during recent decades but control of tourism policy remains centralized to a greater or lesser extent, resulting in feelings of limited representation among smaller scale producers who are at the centre of the integrated tourism model studied in SPRITE (Supporting and Promoting Integrated Tourism in Europe's Lagging Rural Regions). Differences between the regions include greater executive power at regional and local scales in France, which is conducive to more extensive horizontal networking, and more successful vertical networking for promotion and marketing in Ireland. Lessons may be learned from both for the more effective promotion of IRT.