Čelan, T. J. (2021). Tourism as a disconnecting element of the EU funded Hungary–Croatia Cross-border Co-operation. Modern Geográfia, 16(1), 23–35. https://doi.org/10.15170/MG.2021.16.01.02
This paper analyses the strategic role of tourism within the Hungary–Croatia (IPA) Cross-border Co-operation Programme 2007–2013 (hereinafter HU-HR (IPA) CBC Programme), as well as in the Interreg V-A Hungary–Croatia Co-operation Programme 2014–2020 (hereinafter Interreg V-A HU-HR CBC Programme). HU-HR (IPA) CBC Programme applied a new two-step development approach to tourism, with no similar case in other CBC programmes. First, it prescribed the preparation of the Regional Tourism Product Plan (RTPP) within a special project (Varjú, et al., 2013) and only after the RTPP was elaborated, could the open call for tourism proposals be launched at the end of 2011 (Čelan, 2015). Interreg V-A HU-HR CBC Programme has continued with usage of RTPP as the obligatory strategic guidelines. The main goal of this research is to review the impact of tourism on the border area and to conclude whether it has become a real connecting element, or the developments were only scattered and limited. The author will analyse publicly available Programme level documents and reports, furthermore, examine the methodology introduced in the planning of tourism actions in the Programme. As of results, more than 36% of contracted EU funds in the Programme supported 38 tourism projects, which proved to be beyond the expectations of planners in HU-HR (IPA) CBC Programme. The share of tourism in the Interreg V-A HU-HR CBC Programme 2014–2020 increased, where 46% of the total funds allocated to the Programme went to 34 tourism projects. The approach in the decision making and selection of projects will be studied. The tensions arose among the local and regional stakeholders, due to the lack of funds and as of their strong interest mainly for the infrastructural tourism projects. The author will try to prove the hypothesis that the tourism is not a real connecting feature of the EU funded Cross-border Co-operation and the border area. He presumes that a tourism disconnection is a combined consequence of geographical border handicap and not properly planned and implemented Cross-border Programmes, having also relatively small amounts available for joint Hungarian–Croatian developments.
Keywords: cross-border co-operation, European Union, Hungarian–Croatian border area, tourism, disconnection, unbalanced development