Local Authorities’ Involvement in Fostering Hungarian-Romanian Cross-Border Cooperation in Tourism

Abstract

Tourism can act as an important sector which captures both the attention of public authorities and the interest of people. It is also a main “target” for cross-border cooperation programs, aiming at fostering the role played by local and regional communities in addressing sustainable local development. This paper presents, both theoretically and by using a survey-based research conducted among public administration’s representatives and experts involved in tourism sector, across the Hungarian-Romanian border, some relevant issues concerning the interest and level of involvement of public authorities in cross-border cooperation actions conducted in tourism.

Internationalization of Tourism Destinations: Networking systems management

“…Competitiveness between destinations implies local policies that encourage new ways of acting, undertaking, innovating, leading and organizing the labor market. Under these conditions, destinations emerge as successful strategic units that effectively contribute to the economic development of the regions (Badulescu, et al, 2016;Blasco et al, 2014a;Bholin et al, 2016;Volgger & Pechlaner, 2015). The issue of internationalization of destinations, from the point of view of territory, highlights the ability of regions to attract "talents" and their institutional articulation (Badulescu et al, 2016;De Noni et al, 2014;Makkonen & Williams, 2016).…”

A New Measure of the Quality of Tourism Product

“…The tourism experience depends on the type and combination of activities experienced. As well as, the selected activities are adequate to the profile, tastes, motivations and age of the tourists, among others (Badulescu, et al, 2016). The differentiation of products is an added value in the experience of unforgettable tourism experiences, because it is different from everything that people have ever lived.…”

“…Innovation in tourism products from endogenous resources adds value and competitive capacity to destinations (Bohlin et al, 2016;Sanz-Ibáñez & Clavé, 2016). It is also this strategy that emphasizes the differentiating characteristics of the territories and contributes to increase their attractiveness (Badulescu et al, 2016;Booyens & Rogerson, 2015De Noni et al, 2014;Rovira, 2016). It is also worth mentioning that 'having a good climate' (item 5) and 'variety of landscape observation points' (item 23) were also considered by the respondents as attractive assets, around which the Portuguese tourism products should be structured.…”

“…Undoubtedly, the tourist profile is changing. Tourists are increasingly demanding and selective and are becoming progressively captivated by endogenous and authentic attractions that portray the uniqueness of destinations (Badulescu, Hoffman, Badulescu & Simut, 2016). The new context of international tourism stresses that tourism products evolve towards the tourism experience, which arises from the activation of cultural and natural resources of a certain region (Bernabé & Hernández, 2016).…”

“…In this sense, it's important to create a consistent tourism supply based on a solid product strategy that highlights the differentiating characteristics of products as well as other conditions for attractiveness (Badulescu et al, 2016;Booyens & Rogerson, 2015De Noni, Orsi & Zanderighi, 2014;Rovira, 2016). In synthesis, these are the premises that promote meaningful tourism experiences in a given region.…”