Factors influencing the tourism competitiveness of former socialist countries

Abstract

Tourism in the former socialist countries can be best characterised as a rollercoaster ride since the regime change around 1989-1990. After the changes they lost their appeal for the ‘Western’ tourists and also a large share of visitors from the socialist countries as it became possible to travel to countries beyond the ‘friendly’ countries. The social tourism schemes operating in these countries have been abandoned or changed. The EU accession has helped to revive tourism and roughly at the same time the introduction of low cost airlines opened new markets for the former socialist countries. The introduction of the Euro has impacted on the tourism of some of these countries as they have temporarily become cheaper or more expensive than other (neighbouring) countries. This paper will focus on the factors that have had an impact on the competitiveness of Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.

Keywords

• Competitive position
• Competitive potential
• Destination competitiveness
• Influencing factors