Cross-border cooperation in Europe using the example of tourism development in the Greater Region

Duration: 18. April - 25. June 2012 (10 weeks)

Participants: 8 students

Supervisors: René Fleschurz, Christina Steinhauer

Language: German, literature and interviews partially in english 

The “Greater Region” is a merger of the regions of Wallonia (German- and French-speaking community), Lorraine, Luxembourg, Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, which emerged from its predecessor “SaarLorLux” in 2005. This region thus offers students the opportunity to study four different countries and their different planning cultures and processes within a short period of time.

The aim of the Bachelor's project was to examine cross-border cooperation in the Greater Region with regard to tourism. In order to derive recommendations for action, a comparison was made with another large-scale border region, the Upper Rhine region.

The starting point of the project is the increasing loss of importance of national borders, driven by globalization and Europeanization, whereby cooperation between different states is gaining in importance, also for spatial planning. Border areas that lie between more than two countries face particular challenges.

As part of the project, various excursions (lasting several days) took place in the Greater Region (Luxembourg City, Saarbrücken), during which a large number of interviews were conducted, including with representatives of the EU (INTERREG, EGTC, ESPON) and with local representatives of the tourism industry.