Tourism Cooperation Projects In The Cross Border Romanian-Ukrainian Maramures. Vectors For Sustainable Development?

TOURISM COOPERATION PROJECTS IN THE CROSS BORDER ROMANIAN-UKRAINIAN MARAMURES. VECTORS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT? BOAR Nicolae, KOSINSZKI Sorin 'Babes-Bolyai' University Cluj Napoca, Faculty of Geography, Sighetu Marmatiei Academic Extension ROMANIA Abstract The tourism cross border cooperation is an integrated model of this type of cooperation, as it is situated at a common point of several cross border fields of activity determined by social and economic phenomena, environmental processes, and territorial planning strategies but also by cultural manifestations. The tourism field of activity, within regional or local cross border relations, is the strongest binding element, where it can materialize very well due to the smaller extent of the area. While stating this, we bear in mind the fact that the tourism influence is complex at an economic, social but also cultural level – the affinity based on mutual heritage from the border areas. The tourism cross border cooperation field, involves mainly the productive use of the common tourism resources, the harmonization of transport and access infrastructure, but mostly accommodation, as well as a common policy concerning the organising of cultural events. The nowadays project regions overlap, in most cases, the ancient historical regions, which prove their functional aspect once more, also from the complex perspective that development projects imply. In the case of the Maramures Land, or Historical Maramures (which comprises as a cross border ethnographical and historical entity, a territory from the Maramures County – Romania and also from The Transcarpathia Region – Ukraine) the opportunity for gradual development of cross border tourism with Ukraine is granted mostly by the partnership for development projects, with funding from the financing authority of The Neighbourhood Programme Romania - Ukraine 2004-2006, PHARE Cross Border Cooperation, through the Romanian Ministry of Development, Public Works and Housing starting with January 2007. This financing instrument evolved during 2009 into a new programme – ENPI (European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument). The importance of the financing funds for the cross border tourism cooperation, but not only that, is thus becoming overwhelming, taking into consideration the large amounts of money that needs to be used from establishing proper transport and accommodation infrastructure in a cross border area to the implementation of integrated cross border tourism marketing or maintaining quality cultural relations through specific events. The cross border partnerships for tourism development projects have insured, through the funds of the above mentioned PHARE CBC Programme, substantial tourism prospective research and integrated marketing for the Maramures (RO) - Transcarpathia (UA) region. Key-words: projects, Maramures, Romania, Transcarpathia, Ukraine, cross border cooperation, tourism, PHARE, ENPI CBC, sustainable development.