REGIONAL TOURISM: STRUCTURE, PRINCIPLES, DEVELOPMENT ISSUES
The concept of «regional tourism» became widespread in tourism industry in the 1990s, when the traditional practice of travelling to one country was expanded with the trips to several neighbouring states and concurrently with the national tourist area there appeared so called regional tourist areas. Regional tourism makes for the integration of neighbouring states, creating new tourist, economic and even political alliances. Tourism regeonalization is extremely beneficial for the development of tourism industry of the region’s countries, enabling them to attract bigger numbers of travelers and promoting the sustainable development of tourist industry in their territories.
There are various forms of regional tourist travels. The most common among them are the following:
1) Tourist triangle, when within one trip tourists visit three countries. For example, most travels to Central Asian region include the combined tours: Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan- Tajikistan, including a visit to Penjikent, or Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan- Kyrgyzstan, including the visit to Lake Issyk-Kul.
2) Ring travels, when tourists are offered to visit several neighbouring countries of the region starting and finishing the tour in the same country. For example, while travelling to Central Asian region the Taiwan tourists chose mainly Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-Turkmenistan-Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhsatn-Uzbekistan route.
3) Transnational tours, when travel starts in one country and finishes in the third, fourth or fifth country, after crossing the territories of these countries. Thus among such tours we can reckon the itinerary which starts in Armenia, continues in Georgia and completes in Azerbaijan. A grand transnational tour along the Silk Road is the travel which starts in Armenia, proceeds through the territory of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan and completes in China.
4) Radial tours, when foreign tourists stay in one country and make one-, two- or three-day trips to the neighbouring countries.
The process of «region-building» in tourism industry has particularly intensified in the Age of Globalization. This is connected in the first place with the new modern means of communication and transportation. Though in all cases the end-product – tourist region – is the same, the mode and procedures of its formation (creation) vary: from tourist associations to different kinds of economic and political treaties. It is generally agreed that creation of tourist regions is particularly beneficial for small countries which cannot compete with more developed tourist countries. The countries with poorly developed tourist infrastructure benefit by such integration most.
Concept of a region in tourist context is much broader than a traditional geographical one. From the standpoint of tourism there exist three main types of region:
1) Functional region, which consolidates the localities on the principle of community of geographical, historical or cultural realities. The concept of such a region is based on tourist practice of regional tourist product creation and joint activities aimed at attracting foreign tourists to the region. For instance, within the framework of functional tourist region there are several countries around Uzbekistan: Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region of China.
2) Formal region, which consolidates the states that pursuing certain aims and tasks, at their own choosing, consolidate on certain basis. Formal regions can be represented by geopolitical regions where tourist collaboration is conditioned by geopolitical interests of the states and external political situation.
3) Imaginary region, which is formed for certain purpose. Such a region typically does not have exact boundary and can vary depending on specific marketing goals.
Rich historic and cultural heritage of the region’s countries reflect the century-old history of the region, which first of all is connected with the history of the Great Silk Road, stretching from antique Rome to the ancient Japanese capital – Nary. Therefore this vast area is offered to potential tourists as Silk Road region. Since late 1980s – early 1990s the brand of the Great Silk road is actively employed both in political rhetoric of the region’s countries, and in advertising and commercial activity of tourist companies. By now it has become a global brand exploited in political as well as commercial purposes.
A vivid example of the brand utilization in creation of imaginary region is “The Great Silk Road” tourist project initiated by WTOON (United Nations World Tourist Organisation) in 1993. Special logo of “The Great Silk Road” WTOON tourist project is actively used by both state organizations and private companies of tourism industry of the region’s countries. A number of joint marketing initiatives of the region’s tourist companies and countries have been actualized in this respect so far. Among these initiatives we can mention the project of consolidation of tourist companies’ efforts – Silk Road Destinations.
“The Great Silk Road” tourist project is a transcontinental concept of creation of the region’s tourist image which demands cooperation and active collaboration between the countries of this region. Image of the tourist region is one of the most important elements which are attractive to tourists, which impel visits and thus activate the entire tourist system.
As is well known, today in the world’s tourist market not only tourist companies but tourists countries and even regions compete with each other. The Great Silk Road as a tourist product competes today with the travels to Africa, Latin America, countries of the Asian-Pacific region, and some others. Under tough competitive activity the counties and their tourist companies have to seek for new ways of effective promotion of their tourist product. From experience it is known that one of the operative ways in this respect is consolidation of the efforts of several companies or several countries. Under joint regional projects the tour operating companies set such goals as intensification of promotion in the markets of developed countries of region’s tourist product, expansion of scope of services by means of maximizing the efficiency of marketing activities along with concurrent marketing costs reduction, development of joint promotional printed materials and enhancing their effectiveness, reduction of expenditures on
participation in international travel fairs and more active involvement in international tourist events, mutual promotion of each other to potential partners. But the main objective of joint activities is to create and develop a purely new tourist product – multinational tours throughout the region.
These are the evident benefits that tour operating companies of the Silk Road countries are guided by when they participate in regional tourist projects and when they organize various joint stands at the international travel fairs. Such joint stands have been organized since 2001 and they arouse great interest of the tourist industry professionals from different countries.
The concept of consolidation of marketing and advertising efforts aimed at promotion in the world’s tourist market of a joint tourist product - regional tours- calls for further development. An illustrative example is creation of – Silk Road Travel Association. This association could consolidate all the participants of the region’s tourist market: national tourism administrations, tour operating companies, tourist agencies, hotels, airline companies, transport organizations and the like, as well as to accomplish a number of tasks aimed at strengthening and promotion of tourist image of the region in the world’s tourist market.
The activity of Silk Road Travel Association can be based on the experience of such regional associations as Pacific Asia Travel Association, African Travel and Tourism Association, Latin American Travel Association.
Alongside with other charter functions this regional association could undertake the following:
- for the purpose of attracting to the region bigger numbers of tourists – to organize in developed countries joint promotion events;
- for the purpose of intensifying the promotion in the markets of developed countries of the Silk Road countries’ tourist product – to initiate the creation in developed countries of integrated tourist information centres “Silk Road Travel Information Centres”;
- for the purpose of creating the basis for business contacts between the tourist companies of the region – to consider the issue of arranging on an annual basis of integrated travel fair under the title ”Tourism on the Great Silk Road”;
- for the purpose of intensifying marketing and advertising activity aimed at promotion of regional tours – to arrange publication of tourism magazine “Travelling on the Great Silk Road”;
- for the purpose of increasing the awareness of tourism professional staff responsible for the formation of tourist flows to the region’s countries – to issue Internet newspaper “Silk Road News Caravan” which can serve as regional tourism industry news bulletin, informing on construction of hotels and new roads, new air flights, visa system innovations, customs rules, etc.;
- for the purpose of stimulation of investments to the region’s tourism industry – to promote holding of Tourism Industry Investment Forums in the countries of the region;
- for the purpose of supporting the sustainable economic cooperation between the region’s countries in the tourism sphere – to encourage new initiatives of joint activities aimed at realization of the region’s potential for enhancing the internal inter-state cooperation in the field of tourism.
The idea of setting up of Silk Road Travel Association, which makes for consolidation of efforts to develop tourism in the region will certainly get encouragement from WTOON, which has elaborated and is successfully accomplishing the long-term tourist project “The Great Silk Road”. Nineteen countries, a lot of organizations and individuals have been involved in realization of this project.