The Importance of the Danube Strategy for Tourism and Culture Development of the Croatian Danube Region

ISSN 0354-8724 (hard copy) | ISSN 1820-7138 (online) The Importance of the Danube Strategy for Tourism and Culture Development of the Croatian Danube Region Demonja DamirA* Received: April 2012 | Revised: June 2012 | Accepted: June 2012 Abstract The Danube Region consists of various countries that are determined by geographic, economic, cultural and socio-demographic characteristics. Certain regions show different trends of development with increasing regional differences. Regarding thattheimportancegets newly formed EU Strategy for the Danube Region, the Danube Strategy, which represents a new approach to the European Union’s macro-regions, and is focused on four main directions of cooperation in the Danube Region: linking macro- regions, environmental protection, building prosperity and strengthening macro-region. Croatia, as a Danube country, accepted the idea of creating a unified European international space, as suggested in the Danube Strategy, and it is actively engaged in the process. The Croatian Danube Re- gion includes two easternmost counties, Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem. The rich cultural and natural heritage of the two counties can be further exploited in the improved tourist offer, advocated by the Strategy. Croatian Danube Region has tourism potentials and with the appropriate measures and incen- tives this region could become one of the leading regions in continental tourism in Croatia. This article presents and analyzes the Danube Strategy and its importance for Croatia, the tourist and cultural potentials of the Croatian Danube Region with regard to their greater recognition and utiliza- tion as crucial for sustainable development of this, in terms of tourism, still insufficiently developed parts of Croatia, and the possibilities of tourism and culture in the Croatian Danube Region within the framework of the Danube Strategy. Key words: Croatia, Danube Region, Danube Strategy, tourism, culture, potentials Introduction is characterized by various groups of Danube coun- The EU strategy for the Danube Region, the Danube tries in relation to the integration processes, as well Strategy, represents a new approach to the European as a number of preconditions and characteristics: ge- macro-region of the Danube basin. It involved 8 mem- ographic, economic, cultural and socio-demographic. ber states of the European Union (Germany, Austria, Due to the spaciousness of theregion, its characteris- Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgar- tics and development trends in each country regional ia and Romania) and 6 non-member states of the Un- differences are present, and the fundamental purpose ion and the Danube basin (Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and of the Strategy is to intensify the relationship between Herzegovina, Montenegro, Ukraine and Moldova), a the functional and strategic cooperation which should total of 14 countries that have 115 million inhabitants, be achieved. It may be claimed, generally looking, that connected by the Danube River. The Danube Region the Danube Strategy represents an excellent frame- A Institute for International Relations, IMO, LjudevitaFarkašaVukotinovića 2, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia; e-mail: [email protected] 112 Geographica Pannonica • Volume 16, Issue 3, 112-125 (September 2012) Demonja Damir work for the cooperation of member states and coun- ly, the Danube Strategy in the areas of tourism and tries that are not European Union members. culture offers many opportunities to increase exploi- In this regard, Croatia’s place in the Danube Strat- tation of transnational and cross-border cooperation egy is the realization of new possibilities and poten- programs, which can unleash the entrepreneurial po- tials for strengthening the economy, regional coop- tentials and can be used to “draw” funds from the Eu- eration and infrastructure development, in which ropean Union, which Croatia has already successfully Croatia is committed to proactive participation. The been implementing. Croatian Danube Region includes two of the easternmost counties, Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem, which represent 11.7% of Croatian territory, where re- Review of recent research and literature sides 12.1% of the population, and due to the natural Since the activities related to the Danube Strategy and cultural richness this makes it one of the most and its operational implementation are “in progress”, important continental tourist areas in Croatia (Fig. 1). there are a large number of, primarily, documents on Therefore, this paper will analyze the tourism poten- the Internet, while the analysis/articles of the Strategy tials and activities of these two counties. They are cru- presented at numerous conferences and meetings are cial because in cooperation with a culture, whose re- mostly unpublished, and can be considered as “gray sources will also be presented and analyzed, they can literature”. serve as a starting point for further development and However, in Budapest, Hungary, in 2009, “The Blue affirmation of the Danube identity of Croatia, and the Ribbon Research Center” (BRRC), was founded and sustainable development of the two counties through it deals with macro-regional researches along the riv- the implementation of a number of cross-border and er Danube, which is one of the themes of the Dan- transnational projects and intensification of entrepre- ube Strategy. The result of the work of this new Cent- neurial activity in the sector of tourism and culture. er is five published books, which from various aspects Furthermore, the goals of improvement and devel- deals with the topic of the Danube Strategy. The latest opment of tourism and culture in the Danube Strate- book presents the theoretical analysis and practical gy are complementary to those of Croatia. Specifical- implications of various aspects of the Danube Strat- AUSTRIA Čakovec Varaždin Koprivnica HUNGARY Krapina Ljubljana Bjelovar Virovitica VOJVODINA ITALY Osijek Osijek- SLOVENIA ZAGREB Novi Sad -Baranja Sisak Požega Vukovar Trieste Karlovac Vukovar- Sl. Brod -Srijem Rijeka Venice Pazin Gulf of Venice SERBIA Gospić BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA Zadar Sarajevo Šibenik SAN-MARINO Split ADRIATIC SEA MONTENEGRO National Capital Chief town of county Dubrovnik Podgorica 0 km 22 44 66 km ALBANIA Figure 1. Croatian Danube Region includes two of the easternmost counties, Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem Geographica Pannonica • Volume 16, Issue 3, 112-125 (September 2012) 113 The Importance of the Danube Strategy for Tourism and Culture Development of the Croatian Danube Region egy, political, economic, social and cultural challeng- the Croatian Danube Region counties, Osijek-Baran- es related to the Danube Strategy, by authors from dif- ja and Vukovar-Srijem, in the Danube Strategy, es- ferent professions, disciplines and nationalities, with pecially through its segments of encouraging invest- the aim of a new, different and interdisciplinary view ments in tourism and culture projects. Development of the Strategy (Agh, et al., 2010). of the Croatian Danube Region has a base on liber- Also, certain European researchers dealt with more al tourist policy and legislation that supports the de- specific themes or problems of the Danube Strate- velopment, and in interests and preferences of popula- gy such as critical analysis of the Strategy as one of tion and community. Also, this development is based the macro-regional strategies of the European Un- on assumptions of sustainability and attractive fac- ion, which implies a new political concept for the tors, especially those of tourism and culture. European Union (Schymik, 2011), followed by possi- In this paper will be detected possibilities of apply- ble changes and consequences that the implementa- ing the Danube Strategy in the Croatian Danube Re- tion of the Danube Strategy may have on its member gion through activation of a stronger involvement of states (Busek, Gjoreska, 2010), or they discussed how tourism and culture potentials as key for sustainable the Danube Strategy can contribute to territorial co- development of this, in terms of tourism, still insuffi- hesion, which is seen as an intensive interrelationship ciently developed part of Croatia. In connection with between functional and strategic planning (Giffin- this hypothesis is proposed which states that the Cro- ger, Suitner, 2010). One of the last papers was that of atian Danube Region has tourist and cultural attrac- S. Duhr (Duhr, 2011) which analyzed the experiences tions that can develop a specific, interesting, friendly, of three macro-regional strategies, including the Dan- competitive and sustainable tourist product. Prov- ube Strategy, and discusses the differences between ing suggested hypothesis was conducted on following existing methods and forms of transnational cooper- methods: ation, as well as whether the strength of each strategy 1. collection and analysis of existing relevant litera- are their strong political commitment, and accentuat- ture and documentation, and analysis of current ed involvement of EU institutions, and national ones, circumstances relating to tourism and culture in in their development and implementation. counties of the Croatian Danube Region, Themes of tourism and culture in the framework of 2. collection and analysis the data, information and the Danube Strategy in the European scientific circles research of relevant institutions regarding tourism, until now have not been dealt as the specific interest culture and the Danube Strategy (Ministry of Cul- of researchers. ture of the

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