Natural Resources in Function of Sustainable and Competitive Tourism Development of the EU Countries

Natural resources are the base of tourism development and competitive position in the tourism market of many tourist destinations. At the same time, the issue of their use in the function of tourism development is very complex and must be based on the idea of sustainability. The paper examines the importance of natural resources for the competitiveness of tourism in the European Union (EU). The aim of this paper is to consider the relationship of natural resources and tourism competitiveness in the EU countries, as well as to identify countries of good practice, but also countries that require improvement of natural tourism attractions ​​and their activation in function of competitive and sustainable tourism development. In accordance with the defined aim of the research, correlation and cluster analysis are applied in the paper. The results of the research can benefit the creators of tourism development policy, because they enable the selection of indicators of availability and attractiveness of natural resources that can be improved, as well as countries in which special attention should be paid to more successful tourism valorization of natural resources.