What, and who, is social tourism? The roles of the public, private and voluntary sector in social tourism provision in Flanders, Belgium.

Abstract

Abstract In many social tourism systems, private-sector partners play a large role in social tourism provision. This begs the question: how exactly does one classify social tourism initiatives? Which conditions do providers need to meet to be classed as 'social tourism', and can profit-seeking private enterprises also be classed under this label if these conditions are met? This chapter explores these questions by examining the case study of Flanders. A conclusion of focus groups conducted in Flanders was that a definition of social tourism based on the nature of the provider is not helpful: in practice, actors in the public, private and voluntary sectors are social tourism providers. A high level of consensus was reached for the statement: 'social tourism is something you do, not something you are'.