Development Of Cross-border Tourism Research Articles

Positive Outcomes of Cross-Border Tourism Development Cooperation: A Case of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

Positive Outcomes of Cross-Border Tourism Development Cooperation: A Case of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

Cross-border tourism in Indonesia: trends, opportunities, challenges, and research agenda

The discourse on cross-border tourism (C-BT) has become an interesting topic for researchers in the last few decades. Indonesia, as an archipelagic country, has very promising C-BT potential. However, there is not much literature on C-BT in Indonesia. Therefore, this study aims to describe qualitatively the development of tourism research in Indonesia related to C-BT. In addition, this study also seeks to identify articles, chapter books, and conference papers related to C-BT in Indonesia and then analyze them to produce a systematic literature review and draw theoretical implications. The method used in this study is a systematic literature review on C-BT in Indonesia. The databases used in this research are Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The data collection in this study using PoP software, organizing data using Mendeley software, and analyzing data using NVIVO software. The study results show that research trends on cross-border tourism in Indonesia have increased in the last decade. In addition, opportunities for developing cross-border tourism in Indonesia are still open. On the other hand, the challenges faced by Indonesia in the development of cross-border tourism are dominated by governance that has not been maximized, which includes unresolved legal issues, lack of management of natural resources, communication, criminal & drug Smuggling, lack of border control, regulation, physical border arrangement, and lack of promotions and marketing.

To Utilize Structural Equation Modelling to Investigate the Impact of Cross-border Tourism on Regional Cooperation: The Mediating Effect of Community Support

Tourism plays an important role in encouraging cooperation and peace between the partitioned countries. The current study aims to investigate the influence of cross-border tourism on bilateral trade and cooperation between India and Myanmar. Further, the paper identifies the role of community support as a mediator between exogenous and endogenous variables. An onsite questionnaire is distributed among the residents of Indian border areas close to the neighboring border of Myanmar. The SEM is employed to reject the null hypotheses and test the proposed model empirically. The findings reveal that all the proposed hypotheses are supported. The cross-border cooperation is positively influenced by cross-border tourism development and trade between India and Myanmar. Moreover, community support mediates the relationship between cross-border tourism, bilateral trade, and cooperation. An important consideration from this paper is that tourism supported by border communities can act as a catalyst for promoting cooperation among hostile countries. India and Myanmar being close neighbors, have huge scope to support each other through different cross-border programs, projects, and bilateral trade. The study provides valuable insights for both countries to adopt tourism initiatives as a tool to ameliorate their relationships and develop the economic conditions of border communities.

UNLOCKING THE TOURISM POTENTIAL OF BORDERING REGIONS: A CASE STUDY OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN FOČA (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA) AND PLUŽINE (MONTENEGRO)

Revitalizing border areas, which in the scientific discourse are most often considered peripheral, deprived, and less developed, is the focus of contemporary geographical research. Borders, acting as demarcation lines or points of convergence, possess a dual role, offering both positive and negative contexts. This duality adds complexity to the observation, diagnosis, and action required to stimulate economic activities. Tourism emerges as an alternative solution predominantly acknowledged by local communities, which would make it easier to achieve the inclusion of geographically isolated areas in regional development policies, ultimately achieving harmonization of economic growth at the national level. The paper deals with the analysis of the state and possibilities of the development of crossborder tourism in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian-Montenegro border sector, namely in the area of the municipalities of Foča, home to Bosnia and Herzegovina's oldest national park, and Plužine, housing the Piva Nature Park. Based on a qualitative methodology (questionnaires conducted among different tourism stakeholders), the research aims to determine whether tourism as the basis of crossborder cooperation can be considered an alternative for overcoming the marginalization of the observed areas, taking into account that these are demographically and economically weakened municipalities in the context of contemporary circumstances belonging countries and what are its future perspectives. The respondents are representatives of local stakeholders who possess valuable insights and knowledge about the unique social, cultural, economic, and ecological factors in their area. The research results can serve as a significant insight into the plans and priorities of tourism development.

Development of Cross-Border Tourism in Accordance with the Principles of Sustainable Development on the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan Border

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are two leading countries of Central Asia, mutually beneficially cooperating in the field of cross-border tourism. In this study, the tourism potential of the border areas was determined on the basis of tourism infrastructure and settlement density data. The geographic coverage of the study included nine regions located within the limits of the Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border. We proposed the application of a rating assessment of the estimated tourism resource potential of Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border regions, which provides the basis for comparative analysis of tourism development and promising opportunities for the large territory. The method allows one to achieve an understanding of the availability and volume of tourist and recreational resources in order to assess the tourism potential in the Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border area in the framework of sustainable development. The study results generally allow the availability level of border region tourism resources to be determined and areas with more favorable and attractive conditions for cross-border tourism development to be identified.

The border as a resource – new places for tourism development. Evidence from two Carpathian tripoints

Background: The development of cross-border tourism and local resources based on the border has grooving the importance in last decencies. One of the most important tourist attractions on Polish borders are tripoints. This article seeks to discuss changes made, by reference to two border tripoints situated on the junction of Polish, Czech and Slovak borders in the Beskids Mountains and on the junction of Polish, Slovak and Ukraine borders in the Bieszczady Mountains. Material and methods: Analysis of historical, legal and statistical materials as well as cartographic analysis and fieldwork were conducted. Informal discussions and formal in-depth interviews were undertaken with tourists in each of the researched tripoints: informal interviews/discussions with 45 tourists in the tripoint between Poland, Slovakia and Czechia and informal interviews/discussions with 40 tourists in the tripoint between Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine. Results: The tourists reaching tripoints in the Carpathians argued that the places have a great potential for tourism development. They underline great symbolic meanings, possibility to visit three countries in a short time and the importance of the point which is interesting and give an opportunity to take a nice photo. The presented research also exemplifies the concept of a new tourist space beyond traditional tourist destinations. This ensured the status of the tripoint as a resource, a “discovery”, and a curiosity. Conclusions: The border tripoints give great opportunities for the development of tourism. Openness and permeability of borders can determine development on both sides of tourism related to the presence of the border, and offer an opportunity for cross-border attractions to be set up. Tripoints as emerging tourist attractions have appeared in new marketing materials and have the potential to serve as unique border attractions.

GEOGRAPHY OF NATURAL AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION OF THE BORDER AREAS OF NORTHERN KAZAKHSTAN AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

This study presents the natural and recreational prerequisites for the formation and development of the cross-border tourism industry in the Kazakh-Russian border region in the context of modern integration processes. The purpose of the research is to identify the main natural and recreational resources in the border regions of Northern Kazakhstan, among which the border regions are Kostanay, Pavlodar and North Kazakhstan regions, and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation bordering on them. The scientific significance of the article is determined by the fact that it analyzes the natural and recreational resources of 10 regions of the Kazakh-Russian borderland as a basis for the formation and development of joint tourist destinations. The main research method is a spatial analysis of the location of natural and recreational resources of border areas using modern software, as a result of which maps of natural and recreational resources in the study area were compiled. In the course of the study, it was revealed that the Pavlodar and North Kazakhstan regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Altai Krai, Novosibirsk and Omsk regions of the Russian Federation have the greatest potential for the development of cross-border tourism.

CLUSTER APPROACH IN CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM CASE OF THE CENTRAL ASIAN SECTION OF SILK ROAD

Modern social and economic science pays little attention to the development of tourism based on new approaches to its management and organization. As a result, the most important sector of the economy develops in practice on the basis of not always effective traditional models. The research problem of the development of a new approach to the organization of tourism products with cross-border nature is developed in this article. The purpose was to develop a methodological toolkit for the development of cross-border tourism based on the cluster approach. To achieve this goal, the study design was based on the study of tourism features that affect the planning and clustering process. The highlighted stages of clustering in the form of identifying tourism objects, designing clusters, forming cluster structures form the basis of a new socio-economic model of the tourism industry. To design a regional cross-border tourism cluster, a method is substantiated and applied to correlate all indicators of cluster tourism development to the number of cultural and historical objects. The selected 19 indicators of development are combined into 6 groups, which make it possible to comprehensively assess the cluster organization of tourism in the region. The approbation of the indicators was carried out on the example of all five countries of the Central Asian section of the Silk Road. Model calculations of the developed set of analytical cluster indicators made it possible to combine the identified objects in each region into homogeneous clusters. In this case, Ward’smethod was used, and the square of the Euclidean distance was used as the objective function and criterion of similarity and difference. The proposed cluster maps make it possible to activate and increase the competitiveness of the tourism product as a whole and give impetus to socio-economic development in each country of the Central Asian region. Key words: tourism, tourism competitiveness, social and economic development of the region, the Silk Road, tourism cluster, cluster design.

Resource potential assessment for the tourism cooperation on border territory of Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan) regions

The openness of border areas under the influence of the integration process taking place in the world community as a result of socio-economic transformations in the countries facilitates cooperation in the development of cross-border tourism between neighboring countries. There are great opportunities for the joint development of cross-border tourism between the Almaty region of Kazakhstan and the IssykKul region of the Kyrgyz Republic. This paper aims to investigate the evaluation of the potential of crossborder tourism cooperation between the southern part of Almaty and the northern part of the Issyk-Kul region. The methodological basis of the research presented in this article is comprised of information from periodicals, reference sources and data from the Federal State Statistics Service of relevant countries. The research was carried out using the comparative geographical, cartographic, statistical methods. The results show that there are a lot of tourist facilities near the border between the two regions, roads between the two regions are highly developed, strategic projects for joint tourism development are being implemented between the two regions, both regions have great potential for tourism development, a comparatively large number of tourists flow to these two regions every year, and these two regions have the advantage of geographical location to receive millions of Chinese tourists. From the above results, we easily assess that there is great potential for cooperation in cross-border tourism between the two regions.

Opportunities for the development of cross-border tourism in South-East Europe: The case of Kosovo-Albania border.

This paper examines the regional and institutional opportunities for cross-border cooperation, networking and tourism development at the Kosovo- Albania border, which is one of the internal borders of the Albanian ethnic territory. Completion of the study confirms the hypothesis that closure of states within the classical boundaries causes obstacles, not only for the development of cross-border tourism, especially when viewed from the perspective of sustainable tourism development in this region. While, on the other hand, cross border cooperation enables exchanges of experiences, Ideas between communities, etc., and all this reflects on the economic prosperity of these areas. In the process of developing the countries of southern Europe, particular importance has been paid to settlements and infrastructure away from border areas, while border regions have remained underdeveloped and without prospects. Development has been challenged in many border areas, including all Balkan states, while these areas were abolished as a result of the population's departure. The idea in this case study, aims to "create" the unique tourist zone "Green Albania" between the two countries, with its unique natural characteristics, leading to economic, cultural and national integration, as well as preservation and advancing the natural and cultural values of the cross-border territory.

Expanding transboundary tourist space – The growing significance of the Augustów Canal

Background: The Belarusian-Polish borderland has great tourism potential but in the same time suffers from many restrictions, especially geopolitical ones. An overall facilitation of foreigners’ trips into Belarus has facilitated the development of cross-border tourism and local resources could be used by tourists. One of the most important tourist attractions is the Augustów Canal. This article seeks to discuss changes made to one border crossing between Poland and Belarus whose location may be considered exceptional, given that it is on the Augustów Canal. Material and methods: Analysis of historical, legal and statistical materials; cartographic analysis and fieldwork. Results: Eased restrictions on crossing the border (i.e. 5 years of gradual, stepwise introduction of visafree regimes and zones by the Belarusian authorities) have combined with the emergence of new possibilities to travel along the Canal by bicycle or on foot to increase numbers of foreign tourists (including Poles) who take advantage of the visa-free opportunities. Conclusions: Opportunities for the development of tourism (especially of a transboundary nature) are influenced by the simultaneous “internationalisation” and “touristification” of border crossings in Belarus’s western borderland area, which serve as a tourist destination of global significance (the Augustów Canal) and/or traffic at the individual-visitor level. The factor of overriding importance encouraging steady enlargement of tourist space and its utilisation either side of the border is the so-called “Brześć-Grodno Space”, as a visa-free continuous corridor for tourism established in the period since November 2019. This allows for visits into western Belarus, in particular in a south-north direction. The Augustów (Augustovsky) Canal and its Rudawka-Lesnaya border crossing are expected to play a particular part in this process.

Establishing transboundary tourist space in the Baltic Sea region

Background: The Baltic Sea region has been an area of intense political, economic and cultural contacts since the early Middle Ages. However, it severely suffered both during the Second World War and in its aftermath through to 1989. Since the mid-1990s, initiatives, programs and organisations promoting cooperation in this region have been put in place, and, in line with the expansion of the European Union, there have been far more opportunities (both organisational and financial) for cross-border cooperation, including in a transboundary context. Material and methods: The main sources of data for quantitative analysis have been official reports of Interreg Programme projects in the Baltic Sea region, as given effect to in the period between 2007 and 2013. In turn, qualitative analysis has drawn on descriptions of selected projects, mainly in reports and on relevant websites. Results: This article acquaints the reader with issues underpinning cross-border cooperation in the transboundary context of the Baltic Sea region, focusing on key aspects relating to the establishment of transboundary tourist space. Several examples of EU co-financed cross-border cooperation in tourism are also presented in greater detail. Conclusions: The process of establishing transboundary tourist space across the Baltic Sea is seen to depend greatly on co-financing by the European Union. Such EU-backed projects serving the development of cross-border tourism in the transboundary context of the Baltic Sea region can be assigned to four groups entailing: (1) the integration of transport, (2) tourism management, (3) the generation of tourist products, and (4) the development of a regional identity. However, it is typical of these projects for cooperation in the development of tourist attractions and products to be led by entities from the more developed part of the region, which therefore receive more funding than partners’ beneficiaries from the Baltic’s less-developed part. Preliminary analysis thus suggests that EU projects may not necessarily help to even out differences, i.e. reduce disparities, between the “Old” and “New” EU, even if they may be significant in helping to combine potential.

Ukrainian-belarusian cooperation in the sphere of cross-border tourism

The work deals with specificities of Ukrainian/Belarusian cross-border cooperation. The article reveals the main theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of cross-border tourism between Ukraine and Belarus. To begin with, legislative and regulatory frameworks that permitted functioning of Ukraine and Belarus within the Euro-Region Bug have been described, and key literature sources related to topicality and efficiency of cross-border tourism development were analyzed. The goal of this paper is an exposure of tendencies at the market of Ukrainian- Belarusian transboundary tourism that envisages the analysis of statistical indexes of the Ukrainian- Belarusian tourist streams. Major focus was thus given to disclosure of trends in Ukrainian-Belarusian cross-border tourism, which presupposed the analysis of statistical data related to tourism flows. The figures of the last-decade Ukrainian and Belarusian outbound and inbound tourism are presented and discussed. Methodology of work consisted in systematization and synthesis of statistical data in relation to the indexes of tourist streams between Ukraine and Belarus. Their structure and dynamics are analyzed. The scientific novelty of work is an analysis of tendencies of transboundary tourist streams of Ukraine-Belarus at the international tourist market. Practical meaningfulness of research consists in possibility of introduction of the got results in development of regional strategies and programs of development of tourism. Processes and dynamics of transboundary collaboration of Ukraine and Belarus are investigational in industry of tourism. Basic attention is spared to the analysis of dynamics of tourist streams between Ukraine and Belarus for 12 years (2006-2017). The indexes of outbound and entrance tourism of Ukraine and Belarus are analyzed, modern tendencies at the market of tourist services within the framework of transboundary collaboration. Basic obstacles, prospects and advantages of transboundary collaboration, are certain between Ukraine and Belarus in industry of tourism. As was established, tourism flows from Ukraine to Belarus underwent significant changes in the 12 years was quite stable in the range of 1.3-1.5 million people. The greatest departure intensity was observed since 2011 with average annual gain by 200-300 thousand people and reached a maximum in 2013 of 1,738,907 people. Instead, the Belarus-to-Ukraine direction is specific for instability throughout the whole period of observations. It was 2,1–3,4 million Belarusians who annually visited Ukraine in 2006–2008. In particular, organized tourism shared 5% out of the whole flow in 2006. Beginning from 2008, this share declined to 1 % and stayed unchanged through the next five years. Insignificant decrease in tourist arrivals to Ukraine was in 2009-2010. The next 3 years witness some growth of tourist flows at a rate of 300-400 thousand people annually on the average. Since all present-day trends observed in the market of cross-border tourism services are connected with realization of programs for cross-border cooperation, the effect of such programs (in particular, those to support implementation and development of recreation/tourism infrastructure in Volyn region in Ukraine and the Brest region in Belarus) was assessed. It was established that both regions possess considerable natural, historic-cultural and architectural potentials that are well worth the efforts to develop tourism infrastructure and realize cross-border routes. Perspective directions of cross-border tourism development were outlined to be as follows: educational tourism with accentuation on monuments of history, archaeology, culture and ethnography; religious tourism; event tourism; green rural tourism; ecotourism; treatment/health-improving tourism.

Tourist Clusters as a Factor in Activating Cross-Border Spatial Development

Tourism is one of the factors of local economic development and cross-border cooperation on EU borders, reducing the risk of economic recession in those areas. The purpose of the article is to reveal trends in the development of cross-border tourism on the Polish-Belarusian border and to verify the following research issues: 1) whether the economic sanctions introduced by EU countries on Russia after 2014 reduced cross-border traffic on the Polish-Belarusian section of the EU border; 2) to what extent the tourist potential of the Polish-Belarusian region corresponds to the demand in the modern European market; 3) how the new visa-free travel mechanisms activate tourist markets; 4) to what extent tourism stimulates the development of new forms of urban growth in the cultural landscapes of the cross-border region. The process of shaping tourism clusters as a form of the spatial organisation of tourism development in cross-border regions was analysed using analytical and synthetic methods. The research area covers the eastern border of Poland on the section of its border with Belarus. The primary research and empirical materials were obtained from the Central Statistical Office of Poland and the Statistical Committee of Belarus on tourism on the eastern border of Poland in the years 2015–2018. An investigation of the subject literature and source documents, as well as field observations and statistical analyses, were carried out. Particular attention was paid to the creation of a visa-free regime region in the special tourist zones of “Brest” and “Grodno” in the border regions of Belarus.

Sustainability Challenges and Drivers of Cross-Border Greenway Tourism in Rural Areas

This article provides a practical example of the development of cross-border tourism and its link to achieving sustainable development goals. Greenways (GWs) are successful and recognized initiatives in Western Europe, but have recently also shown development trends in Eastern Europe, notably, in the Baltic Sea Region and Russia. These initiatives improve the quality of life and provide opportunities for sustainable economic activities for the local communities, especially in rural areas, adding value to their natural, cultural, historical and human heritage. The authors studied examples of best practice in scientific literature and practice, encouraging the development of cross-border tourism and GWs in Europe and Russia, in order to further adapt it to other continents. Analyzing the environmental, economic, social and institutional factors in the region and their role in sustainable development, the need for institutional regulation that would allow the development of a wider development of GWs is identified. Research results reveal sustainable development dilemmas of positive socioeconomic effects of GWs and negative environmental effects of increased flows of tourists. Focus groups and expert interviews allowed us to assess the level of various factors contributing to sustainable development and clarify the directions of the future research.

Useful funds, disappointing framework: tourism stakeholder experiences of INTERREG

ABSTRACT Cross-border tourism cooperation is a fruitful form of engagement between borderland destinations, helping them boost their profile and minimise problems arising from operating near a border. European cross-border tourism cooperation is often supported by a European Union project funding arm known as INTERREG. Our study explores the perceptions and experiences of stakeholders involved in three INTERREG projects between tourism destinations in the Scandinavian borderland region of Jämtland-Trøndelag. The aim of the study is to understand why tourism actors in the region decide to apply for INTERREG funds, what their perceptions are towards the project framework, and how their experiences of INTERREG influence their assessment of the programme as a tool for successful cross-border cooperation in tourism. Emerging from a qualitative approach based on in-depth semi-structured interviews, we reveal that the stakeholders involved in the projects see INTERREG as a valuable source of funding in an otherwise under-funded border region, but that they experience a number of problems within the INTERREG framework. The omnipresence of short-term, supranational funded projects is perceived as detrimental to the establishment of sustainable cross-border tourism development within the study region. We recommend that tourism practitioners be more cautious when thinking of (re)applying for INTERREG funding.

Tourism management in border destinations: regional aspects of sustainable development of protected natural areas

Mountain regions are natural boundaries and, in most cases, they are characterized by a fragmentation of ethnic composition and are places of contact between countries. Currently, national parks and reserves have been created in the border mountain areas. Touching within the state border, they require special attention for their sustainable development. In Central Asia, one of these regions is the Altai. In these areas, some specially protected natural territories were created as part of the World Heritage reserve, to preserve the nature, culture, traditions, and archeology of the four states. Studies of this area have revealed possible options for the development of cross-border tourism. This requires a coordinated policy on tourism management in cross-border destinations and the development of cross-border tourism. The results of the study made it possible to carry out functional zoning of the cross-border territory, develop a network of tourist routes and make recommendations on the creation of border crossings, as well as on the development of tourist infrastructure.

Searching Key Macro-Factors for Cooperation in Cross-Border Tourism: Institutional Matrix vs. PEST Concept

Purpose: This study presents the concepts of identification and operationalization of key success factors of cross-border cooperation and their interpretation from the perspective of economics and management sciences. Design/Methodology/Approach: The contribution is based on the three-stage research process, a qualitative assessment of the macro-environment factors. Concepts of the institutional matrix and the PEST method were used in the analysis. Findings: Four key elements of the macro environment were identified: state policy, focused on the development of cross-border tourism; tax policy; infrastructure; and the power of the economy. These factors, besides being elements of the institutional matrix for the cross-border tourism sector (economic perspective), they are also of key importance for cooperation success in the strategic context at the level of enterprise (management sciences perspective). Practical Implications: The identified factors should be taken into account in designing public policies and strategies of enterprises. Originality/Value: New knowledge of relevance from an economic and management sciences’ perspective. The added value of this text is to direct the scientific discussion concerning reality to a two-dimensional plane of analysis, leading to joint conclusions.

Оценка степени сформированности трансграничных туристско-рекреационных регионов на карельском участке российско-финляндской границы

Despite that fact that cross-border tourism and recreation in the Baltic Sea Region have been extensively studied, there are still areas, which require further research. The aim of this article is to identify regions having active cross-border tourism and recreation in the adjacent territories of Finland and the Republic of Karelia. The authors propose to use an indicator characterizing the volume of incoming tourist flows. The number of tourists is not only indicative of the development of cross-border tourism and recreation; it is also one of the main criteria for determining the degree of the formation of cross-border regions. Using the statistics for Finland, the authors analyzed the geography of tourism in Finland’s border areas and identified the degree of intensity of cross-border tourism exchange between the neighbouring administrative units of the two countries. The article also examines other tendencies indicative of the formation and development of cross-border tourism and recreation regions along the Russian-Finnish border. The authors identified three cross-border tourism and recreation regions of different development levels: South Karelia, Middle Karelia and North Karelia. South Karelia is a mesoregion with the average annual tourist exchange of about 100 thousand people, which is the average level of tourism development. The total volume of cross-border tourist flows from and to other cross-border tourist and recreation regions is about 30 thousand people per year. Middle Karelia microregion ranks second and is followed by the North Karelian microregion. The authors conclude that these two microregions are at the initial stage of their formation and, therefore, can be regarded as parts of one microregion — Russian-Finnish Northern microregion.

Natural and cultural heritage as a resource for the development of cross-border tourism in the adjacent territories of Russia, Estonia and Latvia

Natural and cultural heritage as a resource for the development of cross-border tourism in the adjacent territories of Russia, Estonia and Latvia