dc.description.abstract | Technological and economic transformation of the past few decades resulted in a significant
re-evaluation of the factors affecting the location of economic activity. General trend in these
changes is the declining importance of the so-called “hard factors”, “cost factors” (such as
transport costs, labour costs and the amount of taxes), as opposed to the so-called “soft
factors”; special emphasis among these factors is placed on human capital. An important
aspect of the human factor in the process of innovative economy development, is the quality
of life in the area. The high quality of life in a given place encourages people with high creative
potential to live in this place. According to Richard Florida’s theories, people do not migrate
to find work, but work follows people. Therefore, the so-called “good climate for people”
is one of the most important factors for growth in the regions. Qualities, such as cultural
heritage, clean air, high level of safety, and the atmosphere of openness and tolerance, are the
factors that are increasingly important for the choice of residence. Moreover, there are also
features of attractive tourist sites. According to the above statements, it seems that touristic
regions in economically developed countries, in addition to large cities, are one of the more
desirable places to live for creative people, which is a potential source of innovation for local
and regional economies.
Assuming that the abovementioned correlations exist, this paper attempts to assess the
attractiveness of tourist regions of France. The size and the structure of accommodation was
chosen as the indicator of tourist attractiveness. | en |