The Role of Tourism in Cross-Border Region Formation in the Baltic Region

Abstract

Today, with the rise in confrontation between Russian and the EU, the role of tourism as a peaceful form of cooperation is of special interest. People-to-people cooperation emerging in the process of service provision could shift the interactions towards a more positive way. This paper focuses on tourism flows between regions of different countries in the Baltic region. Sometimes such flows result in the region formation. The aim of this study is to examine the trend of cross-border region formation in the Baltic and to highlight the role of tourism in this process. Data and information were collected during the author’s visits to the Baltic region countries, and a study of Lithuania-Russia and Poland-Russia cross-border programme documents was conducted for the critical analysis of the situation. The results show that the regional formation is at various levels of development in different parts of the Baltic region. Following an in-depth multi-dimensional analysis of research results, the recommendations for national and regional authorities for strengthening the interregional cooperation were developed. They may be useful in developing strategies for the development of border regions (often remote from the center municipalities) as well as tourism and recreation, considering possible interactions with the subjects of neighboring countries for the purposeful establishment of cross-border tourist and recreational regions.