Sustainability of cooperation along the border - case study and analysis of a Slovenian-Hungarian tourism initiative

Abstract

Examining the consumer behaviour of 21st century tourists, it can be concluded that visitors are no longer interested in individual services but in complex experiences. As a result, geography-based, destination logic has become essential to creating the right experience offer. Collaborations organized according to regional logic have a decades-long tradition in tourism, culminating in TDM logic. In our study, we present a cross-border tourism initiative implemented in the cooperation of Hungarian and Slovenian partners. This initiative was built around fairy tales and implemented through theme parks and events. However, the sustainability issues of the established fairytale parks and the cooperation pose a challenge to the partners from the very beginning.

Based on the literature overview, problems related to thematic routes and theme parks do not necessarily occur in their planning and design phase, rather during the operation and maintenance. Finance and management are the two critical areas in this respect. In the case of financial sustainability, a typical problem is that the thematic route is created with the help of a tender source(s), which does not provide the necessary background for financial sustainability. Collecting membership fees or setting up a fee-based service would be a solution to this problem, but for some time, continuous tender activity and the active involvement of the public sector could also bridge the difficulties. In the case of management sustainability, in addition to the active cooperation between service providers and partners, continuous information sharing and the provision of necessary human resources mean crucial challenges. While the former is more a matter of determination and social capital, the latter challenge is much more related to financial sustainability.

Our study begins with a review of the literature, outlining the transformation of tourism consumer habits, the challenges of tourism cooperation, especially that of theme parks, and problems related to their maintenance. We also briefly present the area covered by the project. Our study was based on empirical research on the supply side, conducted with structured interviews among project partners. We also relied on results of a questionnaire survey, which was conducted in the summer and early autumn of 2019 in the area of the fairytale parks. Based on the above interviews and relevant sources in the literature, our study formulates suggestions that are essential for the sustainability of a cross-border tourism cooperation. These suggestions include continuity and communication, encouragement and organization, economic sustainability and tangible marketable product.