Tourism as an engine for sustainable development in the Euroregion. Insights from the Tatra Euroregion

Abstract

The significance of tourism in the development of regions has become of interest to academics in recent decades and its contribution is evident. The rapid tourism development is creating pressure on the destination’s competitiveness, as well as on its sustainable development. The Tatra Euroregion has been connecting two nationalities for decades via joint activities that develop the region by strengthening tourism. However, little attention is given to developing the Euroregion by way of tourism. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify whether the development of tourism in this Euroregion will be sustainable in the future, which can be fulfilled by answering two research questions, RQ1: What is the current state of tourism development in the Tatra Euroregion? and RQ2: Is the further development of tourism in the Tatra Euroregion subject to the principle of sustainability? We will answer the questions by analysing statistical data and documents that describe the cooperation activities within the Euroregion. The paper contributes to the analysis of cross-border cooperation within the Euroregion, as well as to research in the field of regional development with sustainable tourism, which is determined by the life cycle of the destination.