The System of Cross-border Tourism in the Polish-Russian Borderland

The main aim of the paper is to analyse the system of cross-border tourism between Poland and Russia. In order to study the system, interviews and surveys were conducted; statistical data, legal documents and other sources were analysed and interpreted. A model of cross-border tourism was used in this article. The key stakeholders of tourism organisational system were specified and links among them were discussed. In relation to the development of cross-border tourism, five types of cross-border areas were distinguished (frontier zone, cross-border administrative area, Euroregions, eligible area of the European Neighbourhood Instrument, local border traffic). This article presents the functioning of the border, an analysis of border traffic in the years 2002-2014 was performed and the causes of fluctuations in such traffic were given. Also the relation between border formalities and the volume of border traffic was discussed. Cross-border cooperation and the introduction of “small border traffic” were proven to increase significantly the volume of cross-border tourism.