Cross-Border Politics and Development in the European Union with a Focus on Tourism

Authors: Marius Mayer, Wojciech Zbaraszewski, Dariusz Pieńkowski, Gabriel Gach and Johanna Gernert

Type of publication: Article peer review

Abstract
This chapter adopts a wider geographical scope to draw attention to the European “project” by analyzing cross-border policies and development of, and in, the European Union with a special focus on tourism. It begins with a general overview of the main objectives and challenges of cross-border cooperation in tourism, before going on to illustrate the goals and structure of cross-border policies in the European Union by emphasizing the role of tourism. At this point, a specific focus is placed on tourism policies in Eastern/Central Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain. In addition, the history and functions of the Schengen Agreement and its importance for cross-border tourism in Europe are outlined and several of the EU’s instruments and funding programs are discussed with emphasis on the INTERREG Community Initiative and the efforts of Euroregions. Both the opportunities and weaknesses for the development of cross-border destinations are examined. In summary, this chapter addresses the issue of the role that cross-border tourism plays among EU policies and programs, the resources that are invested in tourism projects, and their identifiable impacts.

Reference:
Mayer M., Zbaraszewski W., Pieńkowski D., Gach G., Gernert J. (2019) Cross-Border Politics and Development in the European Union with a Focus on Tourism. In: Cross-Border Tourism in Protected Areas. Geographies of Tourism and Global Change. Springer, Cham
DOI 10.1007/978-3-030-05961-3_3