KALININGRAD REGION AS A TOURIST GENERATING AREA FOR THE BALTIC SEA REGION.

Tourism is an important element and factor for macroregional integration in the Baltic Sea Region. On the initiative of the European Union, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region has been prepared and implemented. The Strategy recognises tourism as one of the priorities of development. Taking into account the fact that the Russian Federation is the only non-EU country located at the Baltic Sea, this country needs to be engaged in cooperation and macroregional exchange. Such cooperation is particularly important for the Russian Federation's oblasts situated at the Baltic Sea. It is reflected in the strategy documents of regional authorities. The stimulation of tourism exchange in the BSR is determined by a range of factors, among them a special role is played by the demand factor. The aim of this paper was to analyse Kaliningrad Oblast as a tourist-generating area for the Baltic Sea Region. For this purpose, relevant literature research and a critical analysis of legal documents have been conducted. Furthermore, a survey has been carried out among 110 randomly selected students of the Kant University in Kaliningrad. The survey enabled to identify tourist preferences among respondents, including the rank of BSR countries among the visited countries. The attractiveness of the countries in the Region has been analysed. Respondents indicated the strengths and weaknesses of Baltic destinations. This enabled to identify barriers and suggest ways to reduce them. A barrier to the development of outbound tourism is, first of all, visa problems and further financial problems. There is a need for improved transport accessibility, lower prices of transport services and more intensified marketing activities in the Russian Federation's market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]