Border tourism
Border tourism is generally the travel of a large number of people across national borders. Most of the time, however, the term is used in a different context, namely in the sense that tourism comes there precisely because of the border. It is then also referred to as shopping tourism. Further sub-forms of shopping tourism are tank tourism and cross-border shopping.
background
The basis of shopping tourism is the difference in prices of goods and services, especially cigarettes , gasoline , alcohol and non-prescription drugs, between two neighboring countries. This fact makes shopping in cheaper foreign countries lucrative, especially for people who live near the border. Due to the still clearly different purchasing powers between Western European and Eastern European countries, this type of tourism is particularly pronounced at these borders, such as between Germany and Poland or the Czech Republic or between Austria and Slovenia. However, these differences have diminished due to the rapidly increasing purchasing power in these countries in recent years.
There can also be significant price differences on goods between Western European countries due to different tax rates, for example coffee, which is significantly cheaper in the Netherlands than in Germany.
A country's retail market dominated by discounters can also lead to significant price differences. For example, between Germany, whose retail market is very competitive due to the large number of discounters, and Switzerland, whose market these companies have not yet established on a large scale. In addition, residents of Switzerland that does not belong to the EU can have their German sales tax reimbursed (“export certificate”).
In some cases, there are shopping relationships in both directions: There is also shopping tourism to Germany between the Czech Republic and Germany, for example in the electronics market, the price of which is significantly higher in the Czech Republic than in Germany. In the German-Polish border town of Görlitz / Zgorzelec , for example, it can be observed that the formerly one-sided border tourism towards Poland has now developed into a reciprocal one. When shopping for groceries in Poland, many Polish shopping tourists in Görlitz appreciate not only special offers but also the larger selection of high-quality textiles.
Legal regulations or the different availability of certain products also play a role in border tourism. For example, if there is a one-way deposit of 25 cents on most cans and one-way bottles in Germany, such a deposit has not been introduced in Austria, so that visitors to festivals in south-east Germany often buy considerable quantities of canned beer in Austria so that they do not have to dispose of the Having to worry about packing.
consequences
For historical reasons, the areas near the border are usually among the structurally weaker areas. Although some of the goods of daily life are cheaper for the residents of these areas by shopping in the neighboring country, a not inconsiderable part of the purchasing power flows from these areas to the neighboring country due to border tourism, which leads to a loss of income for the regional economy and, especially in the The case of fuel and cigarette tourism is also associated with significant tax losses. On the other hand, border tourism in the destination countries means that an infrastructure is created near the border that is purely designed to satisfy the needs of border tourists, but which, due to its pure focus on these needs, does not bring any added value for the local population.
In view of these obvious problems, it is often overlooked or underestimated in public discourse that border tourism also has beneficial effects: It opens up economic prospects, especially in those regions that are otherwise seriously disadvantaged and left behind. He creates a large number of cross-border contacts, motivates the acquisition of language skills and thus contributes significantly to European integration .
Border trade
The price differential between neighboring countries leads to cross-border shopping or trade . One example of this is the city of Flensburg . Flensburg is located directly on the German-Danish border and has a bridge function to the Scandinavian region. The city's potential for shopping tourism is entirely due to the growing industrial structure and the relatively low taxation of spirits in Germany . In the border regions where cross-border shopping is carried out, supply and demand are not oriented towards the wishes of the local population, but rather towards the shopping tourists. Whole shopping centers specializing in customers from neighboring countries are being built in areas near the border. Here customers are advised in their language and products from their home country are offered on German terms. Danish is spoken in the shopping centers near the border in Flensburg and the surrounding area, the German border traders call their sales outlets “Scandinavian Park” or “Dansk Vinlager” to make it clear that they specialize in Danish customers. The exemption from the German can deposit , which Scandinavian buyers can claim if they consume the product outside Germany, i.e. export it , also has a not inconsiderable effect . The introduction of a can deposit in border trade was planned for 2018, but has not yet been implemented
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ isg-institut.de: Shopping tourism in an international comparison (PDF; 391 kB) accessed on June 20, 2012
- ↑ a b admin: Can deposit in border trade. Retrieved July 12, 2020 .
- ↑ Border trade on the way back to the pre-crisis level | The North Schleswig. July 12, 2020, accessed July 12, 2020 .