Abstract:The essential objective of this study has been to analyse the role and significance of political boundaries in the functioning of tourism in near-border areas. It was important to make apparent the influence of a boundary on the development of tourism structure (tourist traffic and tourist infrastructure) within near-border areas of Poland. An attempt was also made to demonstrate the manner in which changes in the functions of boundaries influence the development of tourism, as well as the extent to which a boundary may of itself represent a tourist attraction.

As there are very marked relationships between tourism and transport, integrated knowledge of these processes is essential if destinations and tourism enterprises are to be developed, an effective tourism policy pursued, and emerging local and global issues and conflicts surrounding tourism resolved. Beyond this, in an era of huge change reflecting the consequences of the COVID-19 viral pandemic, the importance of sustainable transport in tourism’s sustainable development appears to be of critical importance. Adopting this kind of perspective, this paper seeks to achieve a critical overview of conceptual dimensions of sustainability that link up with tourism and transport. To this end, ideas based on the literature and previous discussions are extended to include certain new propositions arising out of a (hopefully) post-COVID-19 world. Proceeding first with a systematic literature review (SLR), this article discusses the importance of transport to the development of tourism, dealing critically with modes of transport and their changing roles in sustainable development under COVID and post-COVID circumstances. The author summarises likely new way(s) of thinking in the aftermath of the pandemic, with the need for this/these to be far more sustainable and responsible, and characterised by a reorientation of behaviour in a “green” direction. It is further concluded that three aspects of transport–tourism relations will prove crucial to more sustainable utilisation—i.e., proximity, slower and less energy-intensive travel, and green transport.

The objective of this paper is to consider the main border issues and cross-border relationships in Central and East Europe (CEE) in the context of changing theoretical approaches to border studies. The authors start by analysing the impact of the impressive progress in the theory of borders on studies of CEE. Fundamental political changes in this part of Europe after 1989 were associated with the opening of borders and the intensification of cross-border cooperation, which have radically transformed the functions of boundaries. Emerging cross-border regions became spaces of communication, interaction, innovations and development. The EU enlargement to the east and the inclusion of most CEE countries in the Schengen zone accelerated the processes of re-and de-bordering and the diversification of the functions and regime of borders. The powerful waves of migration to the European Union over recent years have again greatly modified the situation in border areas and provoked the construction of new walls. In conclusion the authors propose eight research questions for future studies of borders and bordering in CEE.

Abstract. The purpose of the study, whose results are reported in the present paper, was to assess the changes in the spatial accessibility, resulting from the realisation of large road investment projects in Poland in the period 2004-2013. Attention was primarily focused on changes in overall accessibility and on investment projects, constituting three chosen case studies. The method, selected for the measurement of the level of spatial accessibility and of its changes, was based on the indicator of potential accessibility. Each analysis was carried out in parallel in three dimensions: European, national, and regional. It was stated that the improvement in the international and national accessibility, which took place in Poland due to the road projects, was highly uneven in space. It was determined by the location of the routes constructed and the distribution of the demographic potential in space. The resulting distribution of accessibility became more polarised, this being inevitable in the situation of undertaking numerous projects within a short time. The projects realised served more the international and inter-metropolitan connections, while their influence on the improvement of the situation within the provinces was smaller. The study confirmed the earlier apprehensions that the motorways might produce the "tunnel effect" (understood as limitation of the service to uniquely the long-distance connections). This sort of threat is decidedly smaller in the case of the expressways. It was also demonstrated that the correct location of the nodes might have a perceptible impact on the spatial reach of the positive effects from the projects.

Borders have significant potential as tourist attractions, and there are many aspects of unique border locations capable of attracting people's attention. One such attraction would be the tripoint, i.e. a place where the borders of three different countries meet physically at a single point. One of the newest such features in Europe where the borders of Poland, Slovakia and Czechia meet in the Beskid Mountainsprovides an example of far-reaching borderrelated changes in the EU, the creativity of local authorities as supported by EU funds, and the creation of a new transboundary meeting space with a strong integration-related identity. It also exemplifies the concept of a new tourist space beyond traditional tourist destinations. The development of tourism at tripoints is modelled ideographically. Spatio-temporal analysis with scalar dimensions shows the spatial relationships between tripoints and tourism development: the central point, the immediate vicinity, the proximal neighborhood (or local zone) and the regional zone. The tripoint examined here supports a proposal for a spatial planning model at tripoints in Europe.