The Eurasian Economic Union and Silk Road Tourism: Qualifying Resources, Amplifying Messages

Abstract

The promotion of tourism can often be a dichotomy of national and intra-regional interests, especially when countries are a part of an economic regional grouping. The vast Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which stretches from the Caspian Sea to the western borders of China, comprises five large countries all of which are situated along the ancient Silk Road. Although an ancient historical route, its modern development is still very much in its infancy, with countries in the region eager to develop their own capabilities to not only attract international visitors but also capture important a significant share of the rapidly growing tourism marketplace. This chapter uses the (Ritchie and Crouch, in The competitive destination: a sustainable tourism perspective, CABI, Wallingford, UK, 2003) destination competitive model to assess the travel and tourism opportunities that exist across the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The significance of this study, lies in the proposition that Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) as a regional grouping has the potential to emerge as a dynamic tourism destination. At the heart of such a believe will be the inherent need for countries to leverage their qualifying resources and amplify in unison key developmental factors such as the safety, location, interconnectedness of the different destinations within and more broadly the competitive elements of costs and exchange rates.