Opportunities for the touristic utilization of heritage values in Baranya County along the Croatian-Hungarian border

Abstract

The study region is the territory of the historical Baranya County, the northern part of which currently belongs to Hungary, while the southern part to Croatia. Through proper exploitation, the region’s rich cultural heritage assets could become a major rural touristic attraction. The political changes of recent decades, and in particular, European integration and the security and stability of the region, have fostered the development of social and economic cooperation in border regions. Likewise, EU cross-border development programs have provided a favorable context for building and strengthening relationships. The present research traces the development of a collaboration targeting the cross-border touristic utilization of cultural heritage. Besides the frameworks of the cooperation, it will present the results and opportunities for the future.