Increasing competition between regions, cities and places for resources to support development is placing increasing emphasis on culture as a source of differentiation, inspiration and narrative. At the same time, widespread use of similar 'cultural economy' strategies poses problems of serial reproduction effects and the growth of identikit cultures. As the basis of competitive advantage shifts from natural to creative assets as a means of injecting dynamism into the local economy, local community and tourism, the creation of difference no longer resides solely in the development of fixed cultural assets or attractions. Creativity is often seen as a strategy for appealing to cultural consumers, as a means of attracting 'creative industries' and as a way of developing 'creative tourism'. However, implementing creative development strategies based on endogenous creative potential is more difficult. Creativity itself is a complex, footloose and intangible concept, which takes on many different meanings in different contexts. There are also potential problems in trying to tie specific forms of intellectual property to specific locations in order to attract mobile consumers. The analysis of the relationship between tourism and creativity can also offer potential insights into the role of tourists as stimuli for creativity, or the role of borderlands (both physical and cultural) as sites of creative development. This ATLAS conference will therefore explore the interfaces between tourism, development and creativity, particularly in the context of potential collaboration between the creative and tourism sectors.