Annals of the University of Oradea: Economic Science (Jul 2017)
CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION IMPACT ON REGIONAL TOURISM. THE CASE OF BIHOR COUNTY
Abstract
The present paper aims to investigate the cross-border cooperation impact on regional tourism based on the Bihor County case study. The first part of the paper analyses the literature regarding cross-border cooperation impact on regional tourism. In the second part, the paper provides a synthetic analysis of the Bihor County tourism in the context of North-West Region of Romania. Based on national territorial statistics, regional and local development strategies for 2014-2020, Bihor County Department of Statistics, Bihor Trade Office and Bihor Council data, other available dataset for tourism sector, the analysis shows that Bihor County has the highest tourism potential at regional level and the most diversified, covering large areas of the county. Also, Bihor County tourism is above the regional average at almost all tourism indicators. The third part of the paper documents about cross-border cooperation impact on Bihor county tourism. The location of Bihor County on the border with Hungary and the opportunity to benefit of funding from EU through Cross-border Cooperation Programmes are competitive advantages for Bihor County at regional level. Based on Oradea Regional Office for Borders Cooperation (BRECO) data, the paper presents the positive effects of cross-border cooperation on Bihor County tourism due to the 10 tourism projects implemented under the PHARE CBC Programme 2004-2006 and HU-RO CBC Programme 2007-2013 in Bihor-Hajdu-Bihar Euroregion and their impact on regional tourism.
