Cooperation between Russia and the EU in the field of innovative development of tourism: the case of the Lithuania - Poland - Russia cross-border cooperation programme

Abstract

To study the key instruments of international cooperation between Russia and the European Union aimed at stimulating innovative development of tourism co-financed by the EU and Russia. The author describes specific projects implemented in the framework of the Lithuania-Poland-Russia cross-border cooperation programme for 2009-2013 in the field of tourism. Special attention is paid to analysing tourism innovations that have emerged as a result of the projects aimed at cooperation and tourism development in the border regions of Russia and the EU countries. A number of projects have been implemented under the supervision and with the participation of the author. The article focuses on the role of innovative types of tourism in the regional development of territories in the case of the Kaliningrad region. The current approaches to defining tourism innovations in Russian and international studies are not comprehensive and do not reflect the essence of innovative processes. Innovative development is often reduced to the introduction of new information technologies, i. e. informatization replaces innovative development. However, it is important to take into account other innovative tools: for instance, interactive network museums in developing innovative tourist attraction objects, e-marketing in introducing innovations in tourist product promotion, programmes of private- public partnership in the field of public regulation and tourism stimulation, etc. These technologies contribute to the transition fr om a certain economic agent, the industry as a whole, or a tourist destination to a fundamentally new level in terms of tourist product presentation and increase of competitiveness. The sources for innovations in tourism are both the providers and consumers of tourist services. In those regions wh ere tourism is considered an economic priority, local authorities and even super-governmental organisations, such as the European Commission (through different co-financing programmes), can also become innovators.