۱٫ Introduction

۲٫ The concept and semantic delimitation of cross-border cooperation

۳٫ Organisational model of tourism in the cross-border area

۴٫ Polish-Russian border

۵٫ Border traffic between Poland and Russia

۶٫ Polish-Russian cooperation in relation to tourism development

۷٫ Conclusions

References

The main aim of the paper is to analyse the system of cross-border tourism between Poland and Russia. In order to study the system, interviews and surveys were conducted; statistical data, legal documents and other sources were analysed and interpreted. A model of cross-border tourism was used in this article. The key stakeholders of tourism organisational system were specified and links among them were discussed. In relation to the development of cross-border tourism, five types of cross-border areas were distinguished (frontier zone, cross-border administrative area, Euroregions, eligible area of the European Neighbourhood Instrument, local border traffic). This article presents the functioning of the border, an analysis of border traffic in the years 2002- 2014 was performed and the causes of fluctuations in such traffic were given. Also the relation between border formalities and the volume of border traffic was discussed. Cross-border cooperation and the introduction of “small border traffic” were proven to increase significantly the volume of cross-border tourism.

Introduction

The development of tourism in the borderland of the two countries is significantly related to cross-border cooperation. The idea of cross-border cooperation was established in Western Europe in the 1950s, it stepped up when INTERREG, a community initiative, was launched in 1990 (Wassenberg & Reitel, 2015), becoming a tool for developing “Europe without borders”, with particular focus on the EU external border (Herrschel, 2011), (Bellini & Hilpert, 2013). Being in the process of integration, cross-border cooperation in Europe is a particular kind of international cooperation (Solarz, 2009) whose frames are specified in terms of territory, subject and object. The effects of cross-border cooperation depend on the efficiency of its organisational system.