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ЭКОТРОПЫ КАК ЧАСТЬ РЕКРЕАЦИОН-
НОГО ТУРИЗМА В ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНОЙ
ЧАСТИ ЕВРОПЫ И МОДЕЛИ ТРАНСГРА-
НИЧНОЙ КООПЕРАЦИИ
ECO-PATHS AS PART OF RECREATION
TOURISM IN THE AREA OF SOUTHEAST
EUROPE AND MODELS OF TRANSBORDER
COOPERATION
Бьеляц Ж., Радованович М., Йовичич А.
Институт географии «Йован Цвииц» сербской ака-
демии наук и искусств, Сербия, Белград
Željko Bjeljac, Milan Radovanović,Ana Jovičić
Geographical Institute «Jovan Cvijic» Serbian Academy
of Sciences and Arts, Serbia, Belgrade
Starting from the world trends of tourism development where it has been noticed that the
motivation of a potential tourist for choosing the tourist destination goes to the individualization,
that is, to the fulfillment of the needs for recreation, adventure, fun, qualitative life, stay in the
countryside, etc., we could see that mountains represent a very important element in the scope of
the tourist demand. The natural and geographic characteristics of the Balkan Peninsula (relief,
climate, hydrography, flora and fauna) possess certain values that have its attractiveness and as
such represent the natural tourist values. In spite of that, the relief as tourist value represents the
basic areal part of physical-geographic environment with varied purpose. The aim of the paper is
to single out eco-paths according to the distribution and territorial arrangement and to point to
the models of trans-border cooperation in the border areas. The trans-border eco-paths in the
border area between Serbia and Bulgaria are also the part of European pedestrian transversals.
Eco-paths have to be developed parallel with rural eco tourism.
Key words: eco-paths, trans-border cooperation, recent touristic trends, Southeast Europe
Starting from the world trends of tourism development, where it has been noticed that the
motivation of a potential tourist for choosing the tourist destination goes to the individualization,
that is, to the fulfilment of the needs for recreation, adventure, fun, qualitative life, stay in the
countryside, etc., we could see that mountains represent a very important element in the scope of
the tourist demand. The aim of the paper is to single out eco-paths according to the distribution
and territorial arrangement and point to the models of trans-border cooperation in the border
areas. Eco-paths have to be developed parallel with rural eco tourism.
In the context of the global networking and cooperation, tourist areas close to the
borderline take part in tourist unity and cooperation of the similar natural regions and
anthropogenic assets. The meaning of the state borders for tourism, tourism development and
cooperation in border regions has gained more attention in recent years and many articles have
been published on this subject (Hartman 2006; Ioannides et al. 2006; Prokkola 2007). At the
regional level, similarity refers to sharing natural and cultural tourism resources between adjacent
border regions (Timothy, 1999), which increase the shared knowledge base between cross border
actors and therefore facilitate joint tourism development.
The natural and geographic characteristics of the Balkan Peninsula (relief, climate,
hydrography, flora and fauna) possess certain values that have their attractiveness and as such
represent the natural tourist values. In spite of that, the relief as tourist value represents the basic
areal part of physical-geographic environment with varied purposeIn spite of that, the relief as
tourist value represents the basic areal part of physical-geographic environment with varied
purpose (Bjeljac et al. 2003; Radovanović et al. 2003b).
Eco paths can be divided into: cycle lanes; alpine trails and hiking trails; paths that include
natural and anthropogenic values.
Cycle lanes can be divided into: mountain bike trails and recreational cycling paths that
have their European routes. Through the territory of the states of Southeast Europe, four
European cycling routes are undergoing (http://www.eurovelo.org/routes/). The routes 6 and 13
can be singled out as the most interesting for bilateral and border and state cooperation:
-Atlantic – Black Sea: Nantes – Constanta 4,448 km; as part of this route the Danube
cycling route is significant for the countries of SE Europe (Euro Velo 6) which, in accordance
with the Danube Strategy of the European Council of the EU from 2009 began the drafting of the
Common Comprehensive Strategy for the Danube Region Countries. The significant projects that
also refer to cross-border cooperation among the countries of SE Europe are The Danube Media
Network1; the Danube Competence Centre2, The Spatial Development of Interregional
Cooperation in the Danube Space, The Network of Protected Areas on the River Danube
(Danubeparks) http://www.dunavskastrategija.rs/).
-13 – Iron Curtain Trail: Barents Sea – Black Sea 10,400 km (Romania, Bulgaria) the
project Danube Bridge 2 (construction of a bridge on the Danube Calafat-Ruse) is singled out on
this route as one of the examples of the cross-border cooperation.
Pedestrian eco-paths are divided into alpine trails, hiking trails and the mountain
marathons. The most important element that affects cross-border cooperation is pedestrian eco-
paths, which are part of the European Ramblers Association (ERA), a network of long distance
hiking trails traversing Europe (http://www.traildino.com/trace/continents-europe/ countries-
european_trails). Pedestrian eco-paths that pass through the states of Southeast Europe are the
following:
-No. 3 Atlantic-Black Sea (Bulgaria) 6,950 km; N
-No.8 Irish Sea-Rhodope (Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey) 4,390 km.
While other countries in SE Europe are not directly on the routes of the European hiking
trails, some low mountain areas may also be part of the side routes. There are several IPA
projects involving cross-border cooperation in the area of the above mentioned routes, for
example, between Bulgaria and Macedonia; Bulgaria and Serbia.
Paths that include natural and anthropogenic values are referring to all previously
mentioned trails, but they are singled out because they include visit to protected areas (national
parks and special nature reservations, etc.), as well as elements of cultural heritage. As such, they
are especially interesting for the cross-border cooperation (the possibilities of using eco-paths for
cross-border tourism and educational programs). The trans-border eco-paths in the border area
between Serbia and Bulgaria are also part of the European pedestrian transversals, located on
Stara Planina Mt. (the Jerma River Canyon-Trnska eco-path).
Stara Planina has been designated a Friendship Park, as part of bilateral cooperation
between Serbia and Bulgaria. On the Rhodope Mountain between Bulgaria, Greece and
Macedonia (Southern Rhodope-Prespan Lake), there are also eco trails. In this group the
UNESCO Trans-Boundary Biosphere Reserve Danube-Drava-Mura can also be classified as part
of a cross-border cooperation, as an element of the cross-border cooperation between Serbia,
Croatia and Slovenia. The Fair on Kadibogaz (Serbian- Bulgarian border on Stara Planina,
Knjaževac-Belogradиik) stands as an important path for trans-border cooperation (economic,
cultural, tourism, etc.), and it includes a visit to the values of cultural and historical importance.
1 The aim, development and strengthening of the Danube Strategy as a compact economic, cultural and tourist area, and
the development
of adequate resources for the media connection between the states and cities of the Danube Region (includes all 8
countries of South Eastern Europe).
2 Encouraging the tourist offers of the middle and lower Danube basin which include the coastal areas of Serbia,
Croatia, Bulgaria,
Romania, Ukraine and Moldova. The main activities are the promotion and consolidation of the Danube Tourist Offer.
One of the forms of sustainable tourism development has also been the establishment of
the national and trans-boundary eco trails (hiking and cycling), which are increasingly an
important element of tourist movements (as in offers of tour operators, so through the many
hiking and biking clubs). Due to the space through which the paths pass, eco-paths have to be
developed parallel with rural and event tourism. Since the routes of the paths usually cross the
mountain ranges that are also part of the state border, conditions exist for the joint management
and cooperation through environmental, economic projects and programs, cooperation between
local governments and cultural institutions, which affect many aspects of trans-border
cooperation.
REFERENCES
1. Bjeljac Ž, Radovanović M, Mijović D. (2003). The situation and perspective of the high mountain
tourism on the Balkan peninsula, ,,The development and potentials of ecotourism on Balkan peninsula,, no
1; 129-132, Geografski Institut Jovan Cvijić SANU, Beograd, Fakultet za turizam i hotelijerstvo, Ohrid,
Geografski Institut Bugarske Akademije Nauka, Sofija.
2. Hartman K. (2006). Destination management in crossborder regions. In Wachowiak H. (ed). Tourism
and borders. Contemporary issues, policies and international research, 89–109. Ashgate, Aldershot.
3. Ioannides D, Nielsen P & Billing P. (2006). Transboundary collaboration in tourism: the case of the
Bothian Arc. Tourism Geographies 8: 2, 122–142.
4. Prokkola E. (2007). Cross-border regionalization and tourism development at the Swedish-Finnish
border:destination Arctic Circle. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism 7: 2, 120–138.
5. Timothy, D. J. (1999). Cross-border partnership in tourism resource management: International parks
along the US-Canada Border. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 7(3–4), 182–205.
6. http://www.eurovelo.org/routes/
7. http://www.dunavskastrategija.rs/
8. http://www.traildino.com/trace/continents-europe/countries-european