| Résumé: |
This master thesis aims to comprehend the adaptation of an operative tourism activity into a new administrative level from a geographical perspective. The case of study is located in the South of France, where the consolidation of the newborn metropolis of Aix-Marseille-Provence is officially taking place since January 2016. This political choice is still adjusting to a functional territory where tourism is an established economical activity. To that effect, tourism, as other economic sectors, is being redefined at the metropolitan scale. However the merging of Aix-Marseille-Provence as a destination is a complex process that needs to be explored.
This paper approaches the tourism synergies at the metropolitan scale from three points of view: (1) the tourism influence on the metropolis, (2) the metropolitan benefits for the tourism activity, (3) the main actors and collaboration trends. The results highlight the divergent tourism conditions of the territory that structure the activity without a clear strategy. On one hand the metropolis owns a well-developed interurban network inherent to its urban power, which supports tourism arrivals. On the other hand the destination is confronted to strong polarization and a lack of interurban ties, which limit the tourism stay.
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