Tourism mobility in regional integration schemes: a case of political deregulation?

Abstract

Tourism mobility has been discussed in certain contexts in the relevant literature but has received limited treatment in the context of regional integration schemes. The purpose of this paper is to establish to what extent such schemes support or facilitate the deregulation of tourism mobility. Tourism, migration and mobility are interrelated concepts and in order to understand the factors that influence tourism mobility, they need to be considered in unison. Using examples of both micro-regional and regional integration schemes from across the globe, the analysis demonstrates that tourism mobility has been partially positively affected by regional integration schemes but barriers to mobility persist even in the most advanced types of regional integration schemes. In addition, the approach of each regional integration scheme to the free movement of people ultimately conditions the deregulation of tourist mobility for intra- and inter-regional tourists. The paper also highlights the importance of regional consciousness in improving cross-border relations in regional integration schemes and the potential contribution tourism could make in the development of a regional identity. Finally, it is concluded that regional integration schemes simultaneously remove and increase the barrier effect of borders and are often creating temporary, asymmetrical and uni-directional mobilities.