1. Introduction The most recent trends and forecasting studies by the World Tourism Organisation indicate that cities will continue to be in high demand by tourists of all sorts, and the problems associated with the han- dling of these tourists will have to be more system- atically tackled by all parties concerned. Cities face, therefore, a double challenge. Firstly, they have to be able to respond to the expectations and needs of the growing numbers of tourists who are attracted to their rich and varied array of cultural, business, entertainment, shopping, sports and oth- er attractions; furthermore, they need to continu- ously renovate and improve such facilities in order to maintain their share in the competitive tourism market and the benefits resulting from it. Secondly, cities have to ensure that tourism is developed and managed in such a way that it benefits the resident population, does not contribute to the deterioration of the urban environment but rather to its enhance- ment, and does not become a financial burden to the local authority. Towns play an important role in the spatial orga- nization of the society and form the largest group among all urban settlements. They are especially important for the further development of tourism. Historical towns are especially highlighted in this category. Every small historical town, especially in the Western region of Ukraine, is a separate page in the annals of Ukraine. Journal of Geography, Politics and Society 2016, 6(4), 34–38 DOI 10.4467/24512249JG.16.025.5812 PROSPECTS FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN BORDER TOWNS OF LVIV OBLAST Yuriy Zhuk Faculty of Geography, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Doroshenka 41, 79000 Lviv, Ukraine, e-mail: jurijzhuk@gmail.com Citation Zhuk Y., 2016, Perspectives for tourism development in border towns of Lviv oblast, Journal of Geography, Politics and Society, 6(4), 34–38. Abstract The definition of the sustainable tourism is considered. The purpose of the integrated spatial formation of the CBR, and its pri- orities are considered. The criteria for tourism development are analysed. The options for the development of touristic agglom- erations are proposed. The problems that hinder the development of effective tourism and recreation industry are analysed and key objectives of local policy to encourage the development of tourist activities are identified. Key words Lviv Oblast, town, sustainable tourism, cross-border region, touristic agglomeration. Prospects for tourism development in border towns of Lviv oblast 35 The objects of the research are border towns of Lviv Oblast. The aim of this work is to consider bor- der towns as a centres of tourist agglomerations. Lviv Oblast is the old settled area, which is lo- cated at the crossroads of important trade routes. The ancient system of settlements, which arose first as a fortresses and were strategical points in the de- fence system around the community were formed, subsequently started to concentrate handicrafts and manufacturing. A significant influence on the formation of towns of Lviv Oblast have natural fac- tors: topography, climate, forested areas, soils, min- eral resources. In combination with the features of historical development, they played a decisive role in the shaping of the settlement system. The to- pography and proximity to groundwater affected the location of the settlements, their size and other features in elevated areas. The towns of Lviv Oblast have a rich architectural, historical, and cultural heri- tage and for a considerable historical period were comfortable for human residence. 2. Ukrainian-Polish cross-border region Border areas of the Lviv Oblast are the part of the Ukrainian-Polish cross-border region (CBR). It em- brace: from the Ukrainian side, Volyn and Lviv Re- gions, from the Polish side – Lublin and Podkarpack- ie Voivodeships. The total area of the Ukrainian part of the CBR is 42.000 km2, and the population is about 3.8 million people. The Polish part of the CBR has the total area of 63.000 km2 and the population amounts 5.5 million people (Губеня, 2013). The purposes of the integrated spatial develop- ment of the CBR: • overcoming the negative trends of social, eco- nomic and environmental development, which have occurred in the past; • maintaining an efficient socially- and ecological- ly- oriented use of natural and historical-cultural identity, resources, demographic, and produc- tion capacity; • effective use of complementary capacities of the Ukrainian and Polish parts of the region; • increasing the attractiveness of the region for people’s lives and investments, its competitive- ness with the European and the global commu- nity. In modern conditions and in the framework of the CBR, a priority task can be the spatial organization of the of 30-km strip of land along the border which is a subject of the regime of simplified crossing of border for citizens of Ukraine. The regime was im- posed in 2009 (Mały Ruch Graniczny…, 2009). There is an increase in the intensity of tourist traffic (from the Polish and Ukrainian sides), and there is a certain recovery in business activities. The length of the state border within Lviv Oblast is 258 km. The border crossings are at: Rava-Ruska– Hrebenne, Krakovets–Korczowa, Shehyni–Medyka) and in one checkpoint local value (Smilnytsia– Krościenko). The crossings (except Krakovets–Korc- zowa), arethe road and rail transport. In Lviv Oblast the border strip covers a large part of the territory of Sokalskyi, Zhovkivskyi, Yavorivskyi, Mostyskyi, Starosambirskyi and Turkivskyi Rayons, has an area of over 7500 km2 and the population of 537 thousand people. There are 15 cities, 9 towns, and 708 villages (Kawalko, 2011). Among the urban settlements, there are his- torical cities: Belz, Dobromyl, Zhovkva, Rava-Ruska, Staryi Sambir, Sudova Vyshnya, famous resort areas – Nemyriv and Shklo, and the main city of the Lviv- Volyn Coal Basin – Chervonograd. There are various elements of historical and architectural heritage: the remnants of the ancient downtown fortifications, defensive yards, the elements of planning, land- scape and architectural complexes. Individual mon- uments have been preserved in more than eighty settlements. The criteria for the tourism development are the presence of objects that respond to the following requirements: • uniqueness, singularity, the absence of ana- logues in other regions; • wide popularity; • cognitive value, relationship to important histori- cal events, prominent personalities of the world history; • the high artistic value of the object itself and it’s environment; • conservation of the objects and theirs prepared- ness to show; • usability and accessibility of the location of these objects. 3. Sustainable tourism and touristic agglomerations development According to the definition, sustainable tourism can be define as a tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environ- mental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities. Sustainable tourism development guidelines and management practices are applicable to all forms of tourism in all types of destinations, including mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments. 36 Yuriy Zhuk Sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism de- velopment, and a suitable balance must be estab- lished between these three dimensions to guaran- tee its long-term sustainability. Sustainable tourism should: • make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism develop- ment, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity; • respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cul- tural heritage and traditional values, and con- tribute to inter-cultural understanding and toler- ance; • ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stake- holders that are fairly distributed, including sta- ble employment and income-earning opportuni- ties and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation. Sustainable tourism development requires the in- formed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process and it re- quires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and/or corrective meas- ures whenever necessary. Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustain- able tourism practices amongst them (Making Tour- ism…, 2005). Strengthening of European integration processes contributes to the growth of interest in visiting the border areas. There are several touristic agglomera- tions, which, under the apropriate management, are able to serve to the travel needs of visitors. Between the settlements on both sides of the border, near the checkpoints, works regular socio-economic rela- tions which are based on the service of cross-border tourist traffic and it is a initial stage of the formation of small cross-border agglomerations (tab. 1). Rava-Ruska touristic agglomeration has a sig- nificant natural and historical-cultural potential (the landscape of Roztochia, unique mural painting in the wooden church in the village of Potelych, the wooden church in the village of Volya Vysotska, en- semble of the Krekhiv monastery, nearby is situated Belz – one of the oldest cities in Ukraine). Yavoriv touristic agglomeration is known for it’s therapeutic resorts – Nemyriv and Shklo, scenic views of Yavoriv National Park and “cosmic land- scapes” of the abandoned sulphur mines. “Yavoriv Lake” is the largest recreation waterbody in Lviv Oblast, which is a flooded sulphur quarry. Here in the village of Prylbychi was born Andrey Sheptytsky Tab. 1. Touristic cross-border agglomerations Ukraine Poland The centre of agglomeration Rava Ruska Tomaszów Lubelski Border crossing Rava Ruska Hrebenne Settlements Uhniv, Belz, Potelych, Volia Vysotska, Krehiv, Rava Ruska Lubycza Królewska, Bełżec, Tomaszów Lubelski The centre of agglomeration Yavoriv Jarosław Border crossing Krakovets Korczowa Settlements Nemyriv, Shklo, Cherchyk, Nahachiv, Yavoriv Lubaczów, Radymno, Munina, Jarosław The centre of agglomeration Mostyska Przemyśl Border crossing Shehyni Medyka Settlements Sudova Vyshnia, Volytsia, Tvirzha, Mal- niv, Buhovychi, Hostyntseve, Husakiv, Mostyska Krasiczyn, Żurawica, Przemyśl The centre of agglomeration Dobromyl Ustrzyki Dolne Border crossing Smilnytsia Krościenko Settlements Khyriv, Nyzhankovychi, Stara Sil, Nove Misto, Skelivka, Staryi Sambir, Dobromyl Solana, Lesko, Ustrzyki Dolne Source: Жук, 2014; Посацький, 2010. Prospects for tourism development in border towns of Lviv oblast 37 – Metropolitan of Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. Famous writer Osyp Makovey was born in Yavoriv. Wooden churches were preserved in the villages of Voroblianychi, Hrushiv, Velykopole. Mostyska touristic agglomeration offers the ob- jects of fortification lines of the First and Second World Wars and numerous architectural monu- ments. Compared to other parts of the border zone here is the most developed service infrastructurefor the international traffic, but its facilities are primarily concentrated along the motorway Shehyni – Lviv. Dobromyl touristic agglomeration is character- ized by the interesting landscape of the Carpathian mountains foothills, picturesque villages, historical monasteries (Khyriv and Dobromyl), monuments of sacral architecture (Жук, 2013; Посацький, 2010). The concept of cross-border tourist agglom- erations formation is provided for their accession to larger urban entities in the Western part of Lviv Oblast which belongs to the CBR. Such border tour- ist agglomerations are linked by the common status of border crossing, local border traffic. Subsequently, there will be the ability to build a specific infrastruc- ture of tourist services at the border zone, which will create jobs for the local population. Positive effects of tourism in small towns of Lviv Oblast: • creates employment opportunities for local peo- ple; • promotes cultural awareness and can help pre- serve local culture and traditions; • income from tourists can be used to develop lo- cal infrastructure and services; • foreign currency can help local people; • natural features that attract tourists in the first place can be protected using income from tour- ism. The analysis of the status and prospects of devel- opment of tourism and recreation in small towns showed the problems that hinder the development of effective touristic and recreation industry: • unsatisfactory condition of the general infra- structure of small towns (roads, water supply and sewerage, heat supply, contamination by the domestic waste) and inadequate development of communication infrastructure (availability of telephones and communications, informatiza- tion and access to the Internet, transportation); • lack of qualified personnel and low quality of training of existing staff; • insufficient informational support and promo- tion of tourism; • low level of business activities in touristic and recreational sphere in small towns owing to ex- cessive tax burden; • problems of preservation and maintenance in proper condition of cultural and historical sites, which are representing the touristic value, owing to lack of public funding; • lack of coordination of planning documents for the recreational sector in small towns; • lack of cluster formations in the tourist and recre- ational sector, which would allow to accumulate financial, human and logistical resources to pro- vide comprehensive travel services (Васильців, 2014). 4. Summary Sustainable tourism is about re-focusing and adapt- ing. A balance must be found between limits and usage so that continuous changing, monitoring and planning ensure that tourism can be managed. This requires thinking long-term (10, 20+ years) and re- alising that change is often cumulative, gradual and irreversible. Economic, social and environmental as- pects of sustainable development must include the interests of all stakeholders including indigenous people, local communities, visitors, industry and government. Conversion of small historical towns into mod- ern tourist centres is a complex task that can be solved only by joint efforts of all stakeholders, mu- nicipalities and the national government (Програма розроблення містобудівної документації…, 2011). Only with this cooperation are possible quick im- provements. The key objectives of local policies that will stimulate the development of tourism are: • creation of hotel, transport and service infra- structure in small towns; • formation of characteristic tourist products; • development of local institutions to support tourism; • search and attraction of internal and external re- sources; • protection and lobbying of common interests of small historical towns. Effective actions for the development and promotion of tourism will contribute to the sustainable development of these territories. The historical past of border towns is a good prerequisite for their development. A skillful management of tourism ag- glomeration will contribute to the development of border areas of the two countries. 38 Yuriy Zhuk References Kawalko B., 2011, Wybrane problemy polsko-ukraińskiej współpracy transgranicznej, Barometr Regionalny, 2(24), 47–50. Making Tourism More Sustainable – A Guide for Policy Makers, 2005, UNEP and UNWTO, Paris, Madrid. 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